Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the ninth and first woman Administrator of NOAA and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, was the keynote speaker at the Senate Luncheon July 21 in Washington, DC, honoring 2011 delegates to the National Youth Science Camp. West Virginia Senator John D. Rockefeller IV hosted the luncheon.
Lubchenco discussed ocean acidification and its implications for the ocean and the life it supports. Potential direct effects of ocean acidification, according to Lubchenco, include: reduced calcification rate of shell-forming animals; altered reproduction and survival at lower pH; reduced olfaction in fish; increased photosynthesis; hypercapnia; acoustic disruption from reduced sound absorption; and changes in speculation of some metals, nutrients or toxic compounds.
Lubchenco is a marine ecologist and environmental scientist by training with expertise in oceans, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being.