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The Ligurian Sea plays a relevant role in driving both the circulation of the Western Mediterranean Sea and the weather and climate of the area. In order to better understand the peculiarities of this basin, the Oceanographic Data Acquisition System (ODAS) Italia 1 buoy was developed and deployed in the early ‘70s. Throughout the years, the buoy has been fitted with updated measuring and data acquiring systems. Since 2003 the buoy has been part of the Mediterranean Moored Multi-sensor Array network of fixed open ocean observatories with the W1-M3A identifier and presently constitutes one of the Mediterranean sites of the European FixO3 network. Recently, a deep-ocean sub-surface mooring line was, and is, deployed close to it in relation to specific projects. This multidisciplinary observing system is able to perform both long-term operational and ad-hoc monitoring from the lower atmosphere to the deep ocean. It is used for analysis of air–sea interaction processes, study of the physical proprieties of the water column, bio-geo-chemical monitoring of the sea, meteorological and oceanographic model evaluation, calibration of remotely sensed measurements, and development of innovative marine monitoring technologies. After reporting some historical notes and the description of the observing system, this paper summarises and reviews the main oceanographic and atmospheric studies performed during the last 15 years using the data acquired on board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An upward-looking 150 kHz narrow-band Acoustic Doppler Current profiler was operated in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) from 5 February 2000 to 16 January 2001 to monitor marine currents. The instrument sampled the upper 160 m of the water column with a time resolution of 1 h. Although the experimental setup was not specifically designed to assess zooplankton and fish distributions and behaviour, the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler ancillary data provided useful information regarding the diel vertical migration of these acoustic targets. A time frequency analysis of the mean backscatter strength time series was conducted using a 240 h-wide window with a 1 day step. Assuming that the 24 h period peak is associated with zooplankton diel vertical migration, the amplitude of the power spectral energy on this band was extracted from each spectrum and the time series of amplitudes was analysed. The migration signal was very weak during summer, December to January, but was evident at the beginning and end of the polar night. Interestingly, the results indicated four “migratory blooms,” the first at the end of August and the others approximately every three weeks subsequently, ending at the end of October. The daily migration was found to have a good relation with the solar cycle, while it was apparently uncorrelated with the moon phase. Migration patterns in the upper and the lower ocean layers displayed significant differences. Due to the lack of contemporary in-situ net samples, the results are more qualitative than quantitative; nonetheless, they demonstrate the validity of the method to extract relevant information even when applied to data obtained from a non-devoted low-resolution system. This may be of particular interest in polar areas where it is difficult to perform continuous biological monitoring but where a long time series of Acoustic Doppler Current profiler data is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MLD, NPP, density, oxygen, light influence space-time distribution of zooplankton. • Upper migrants descend when sun is 20° below horizon and rise 1 hour before sunset. • Sun angle greater than 35° seems to be the trigger for deep-sea-species DVM. • Close relation between DVM and moon's periodicity in the layer 1000–1200m. • Sv and ADCP vertical velocity highlight different types/ranges of DVM. The pattern of zooplankton migration has been investigated in the water column from 120 to 1300 m depth using the backscatter strength signal (Sv) provided by Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (operating at 300 kHz and 76.8 kHz), from a 10-year high-frequency mooring time series (2008–2018) in the deepwater region of the western Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This analysis was complemented with in-situ thermohaline data, model derived data, as well as one-month deployment glider-derived oceanographic information. The overall Sv time series presents a marked circadian cycle at 12 and 24 h associated with the well-known Diel Vertical Migration (DVM) motion performed by the zooplankton community. The signal analysis reveals the existence of two main layers (a shallow layer between the surface to about 100 m and an intermediate one from 400 m to 600 m), where the abundance of scatterers is the highest. Both layers exhibit a seasonal -but different- modulation of the DVM, with peaks in backscatter at ~ 200 m in winter but at ~ 400 m depth in summer; with no seasonal variability below 800 m. The migration pattern differed between depths, and relative to density, dissolved oxygen concentration, mixed layer depth and net primary production. Density plays a major role in the upper 600 m limiting the depth of the different migration patterns, whereas oxygen concentration reveals to be the best single predictor of resident depth of non-migrating species in the deeper layer. A relationship was found between the migration patterns and the moon and sun position, since the migration patterns were finely tuned to the timing of sunrise and sunset. The shallowest group (0–500 m) begins to descend about two hours before sunrise, and starts to rise about one hour before sunset. The amount of light penetrating the ocean when the sun altitude is greater than 35° seems to be the triggering mechanism of DVM for the mesopelagic species in the GoM. A wavelet analysis applied to the backscatter signal reveals a close relation between migratory patterns and the moon's periodicity in the layer 1000–1200 m, rather than in the upper water column. Based on previous studies of the biological community of the deepwater region of the GoM, the migration patterns likely reflect the presence of a seasonally-varying community of scatterers in the surface layer, partially-migratory and strongly migratory taxa in the mesopelagic layer, resident taxa associated with the minimum oxygen layer, and a deeper community which may migrate in response to the lunar cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]