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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland in collaboration with the Marine Institute (MI) has carried out a further surveillance study of levels of dioxins (PCDDs), furans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish, in addition to those already carried out in 2001 and 2004. The study was carried out in a variety of wild and farmed finfish species and also prawns and cultivated mussels available on the Irish market. It was undertaken because of concern about the possible effects on human health of these biopersistent environmental contaminants, known to be present in a number of foodstuffs including, in particular, fish, meat, eggs and dairy products. Furthermore, the study also proactively monitored fish and other seafood for a number of emerging new contaminants, in order to contribute to the knowledge base on the occurrence of these contaminants in food and to aid national and international efforts in their management. These include the brominated flame retardants and related compounds, some of which are known to be persistent and hence, like PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs, are regarded as persistent organic pollutants (POPs)., IE; en; focalpoint@fsai.ie

Coordination of the survey was initiated in the meeting of the Working Group on Northeast Atlantic Pelagic Ecosystem Surveys (WGNAPES, ICES 2011) and continued by correspondence until the start of the survey. During the survey, updates on vessel positions and trawl activities were collated by the survey coordinator and distributed to the participants twice a day. The survey design used and described in ICES (2011) allowed for a flexible setup of transects and good coverage of the spawning aggregations. Due to favourable weather conditions throughout the survey period and full vessel availability, the survey resulted in a high quality coverage of the stock. Transects of all vessels were consistent in spatial coverage and timing, delivering full coverage of the respective distribution areas within 2 weeks.

This shipping review covers Belgium.

This shipping review covers Poland.

This shipping review covers Norway.

This shipping review covers Spain.

This shipping review covers Italy.

This shipping review covers Germany.

This shipping review covers the Baltic States – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

This shipping review covers Denmark.

This shipping review covers France.

As the global climate warms, the fate of lacustrine fish is of huge concern, especially given their sensitivity as ectotherms to changes in water temperature. The Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinusL.) is a salmonid with a Holarctic distribution, with peripheral populations persisting at temperate latitudes, where it is found only in sufficiently cold, deep lakes. Thus, warmer temperatures in these habitats particularly during early life stages could have catastrophic consequences on population dynamics. Here, we combined lake temperature observations, a 1-D hydrodynamic model, and a multi-decadal climate reanalysis to show coherence in warming winter water temperatures in four European charr lakes near the southernmost limit of the species’ distribution. Current maximum and mean winter temperatures are on average ~ 1 °C warmer compared to early the 1980s, and temperatures of 8.5 °C, adverse for high charr egg survival, have frequently been exceeded in recent winters. Simulations of winter lake temperatures toward century-end showed that these warming trends will continue, with further increases of 3–4 °C projected. An additional 324 total accumulated degree-days during winter is projected on average across lakes, which could impair egg quality and viability. We suggest that the perpetuating winter warming trends shown here will imperil the future status of these lakes as charr refugia and generally do not augur well for the fate of coldwater-adapted lake fish in a warming climate.

Scales and otoliths (ear stones) from fish are routinely sampled for age estimation and fisheries management purposes. Growth records from scales and otoliths can be used to generate long-term time series data, and in combination with environmental data, can reveal species specific population responses to a changing climate. Additionally, scale and otolith microchemical data can be utilized to investigate fish habitat usage. A common problem associated with biological collections, is that while sample intake grows, long-term physical storage is rarely a priority, and much of the sampling took place before the advent of open-access digital infrastructure. Material is often collected to meet short-term objectives and resources are seldom committed to maintaining and archiving collections. As a consequence, precious samples are frequently stored in many different and unsuitable locations, and may become lost or separated from associated metadata. The Marine Institute's ecological research station in in Newport, Co. Mayo, Ireland, holds a multi-decadal (1928–2020) collection of scales and otoliths from various fish species, gathered from many geographic locations. Here we present an open-source database model and archiving system to consolidate and digitize this collection, and show how this case study infrastructure could be used for other biological sample collections. The system utilizes the FAIR (Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reusable) open-data principles, and includes a physical repository, sample metadata catalogue, and image library.

ISI Document Delivery No.: DF3JU Times Cited: 6 Cited Reference Count: 70 Gascuel, Didier Coll, Marta Fox, Clive Guenette, Sylvie Guitton, Jerome Kenny, Andrew Knittweis, Leyla Nielsen, J. Rasmus Piet, Gerjan Raid, Tiit Travers-Trolet, Morgane Shephard, Samuel European Commission; European Commission through the Marie Curie CIG grant; Spanish Research Program Ramon y Cajal This study was initially conducted during the 2012 meeting of the Experts working group on the 'Development of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in European Seas' set up by the Scientific Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), and funded by the European Commission. MC was funded by the European Commission through the Marie Curie CIG grant and the Spanish Research Program Ramon y Cajal. We sincerely thank Trevor Branch and anonymous referees for their useful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. Wiley-blackwell Hoboken; International audience; Stock-based and ecosystem-based indicators are used to provide a new diagnosis of the fishing impact and environmental status of European seas. In the seven European marine ecosystems covering the Baltic and the North-east Atlantic, (i) trends in landings since 1950 were examined; (ii) syntheses of the status and trends in fish stocks were consolidated at the ecosystem level; and (iii) trends in ecosystem indicators based on landings and surveys were analysed. We show that yields began to decrease everywhere (except in the Baltic) from the mid-1970s, as a result of the over-exploitation of some major stocks. Fishermen adapted by increasing fishing effort and exploiting a wider part of the ecosystems. This was insufficient to compensate for the decrease in abundance of many stocks, and total landings have halved over the last 30years. The highest fishing impact took place in the late 1990s, with a clear decrease in stock-based and ecosystem indicators. In particular, trophic-based indicators exhibited a continuous decreasing trend in almost all ecosystems. Over the past decade, a decrease in fishing pressure has been observed, the mean fishing mortality rate of assessed stocks being almost halved in all the considered ecosystems, but no clear recovery in the biomass and ecosystem indicators is yet apparent. In addition, the mean recruitment index was shown to decrease by around 50% in all ecosystems (except the Baltic). We conclude that building this kind of diagnosis is a key step on the path to implementing an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.

We would like to thank the IndiSeas Working Group, endorsed by IOC-UNESCO (www.ioc-unesco.org) and the European Network of Excellence Euroceans (www.eur-oceans.eu). KMK was supported by Conservation International and the Sea Around Us project, a collaboration between The University of British Columbia and The Pew Charitable Trusts. MC was partially supported by the EC Marie Curie CIG grant to BIOWEB and the Spanish Research Program Ramon y Cajal. LJS was supported through the South African Research Chair Initiative, funded through the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) and administered by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). YJS and MIT were supported by the French project EMIBIOS (FRB, contract no. APP-SCEN-2010-11). US and YS were also funded by the European collaborative project MEECE - Marine Ecosystem Evolution in a Changing Environment - (FP7, Contract no. 212085). CPL was supported by Defra project MF1228 (From Physics to Fisheries) and DEVOTES (DEVelopment of innovative Tools for understanding marine biodiversity and assessing good Environmental Status) funded by EU FP7 (grant Agreement no. 308392), www.devotes-project.eu. GIvdM was partially supported by the Norwegian Nature Index programme and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway. HO was funded was funded by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (grant SF0180005s10). MAT was funded by a predoctoral FPI fellowship from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO). MJJJ was supported by the EC Marie Curie IOF Grant, PIOF-GA-2013-628116. We acknowledge all those who conducted surveys to collect the data used in this study.; Fisheries provide critical provisioning services, especially given increasing human population. Understanding where marine communities are declining provides an indication of ecosystems of concern and highlights potential conflicts between seafood provisioning from wild fisheries and other ecosystem services. Here we use the nonparametric statistic, Kendall's tau, to assess trends in biomass of exploited marine species across a range of ecosystems. The proportion of 'Non-Declining Exploited Species' (NDES) is compared among ecosystems and to three community-level indicators that provide a gauge of the ability of a marine ecosystem to function both in provisioning and as a regulating service: survey-based mean trophic level, proportion of predatory fish, and mean life span. In some ecosystems, NDES corresponds to states and temporal trajectories of the community indicators, indicating deteriorating conditions in both the exploited community and in the overall community. However differences illustrate the necessity of using multiple ecological indicators to reflect the state of the ecosystem. For each ecosystem, we discuss patterns in NDES with respect to the community-level indicators and present results in the context of ecosystem-specific drivers. We conclude that using NDES requires context-specific supporting information in order to provide guidance within a management framework. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modern warming of the Arctic Region has been linked to extreme weather events in the Northern Hemisphere, including severe winters, increased precipitation, summer heatwaves, and increased storminess. Further, sea-ice decline and enhanced background melting of the Greenland Ice-Sheet may affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) by altering surface water buoyancy at deep-water formation sites. However, our observation and historical data series are too short to ascertain the impact Arctic warming might have on the climate system, resulting in a gap in our knowledge and uncertainty on how the climate system may respond to future warming. Contradictory conclusions between observations and model studies add to these uncertainties. For example, many models predict a reduction in deep-water formation during times of enhanced freshwater input, while palaeo evidence suggests vigorous deep-water formation despite freshening, highlighting our incomplete understanding of the mechanisms driving climate change. Past climate archives provide us with a tool to assess the ocean-atmosphere climate system during times of enhanced high-latitude warming. However, as the climate system responds not only to direct forcing but also to the forcing history (i.e., boundary conditions), it is crucial we examine the climatic response to enhanced high-latitude warming under various boundary conditions. This research focuses on three new palaeoceanographic investigations during periods of Arctic warming. Two focus on interglacial boundary conditions that were warmer than present, and the third investigates a deglacial period when the Arctic was warming but the boundary conditions were in transition from glacial to interglacial states. This research thus provides an opportunity to assess how different boundary conditions modulated the climate response of the North Atlantic Region. The first investigation focuses on the transition from the warmer than present Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) (~4 – 7 kiloannum (ka)) to the cooler Late Holocene. The HTM was characterised by significantly lower sea-ice extent at high northern latitudes and warm sea surface temperature and surface air temperature anomalies in the Barents Sea and subpolar North Atlantic Region. This was followed by a transition to high-latitude cooling and sea-ice growth during the Late Holocene. Using geochemical proxies to reconstruct past movements of the Irish Shelf Front, this study reveals how past changes in atmospheric circulation resulted in enhanced storm magnitude and frequency for the UK and Ireland during warmer than present climates of the HTM. The second study focuses on an abrupt climate event during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 (~424 – 403 ka) when prolonged warming of the Arctic and continuous background melting of the Greenland Ice-Sheet led to a cold, and relatively fresh surface ocean in the Nordic Seas. Analysing both surface ocean hydrography and deep-water flow strength, preserved in the same sample from a sediment core collected in the eastern North Atlantic, allows us to assess the relative timing of the onset, duration, and recovery of a surface and deep-water climate event. Interestingly, despite the addition of freshwater, Nordic Seas Deep-Water formation remained strong during early MIS 11, supporting the hypothesis that deep-water formation may not be as susceptible to future Greenland Ice-Sheet melting as previously thought. However, our analysis reveals deep-water flow strength weakened when the freshwater lens over the Nordic Seas drained into the subpolar North Atlantic, also causing an abrupt surface cooling event. Finally, the third study focuses on the Glacial-Interglacial transition, Termination 5 – TV (~430 – 424 ka), when the demise of the largest continental ice-sheets of the late Quaternary occurred under relatively weak orbital forcing. Here, the paired surface and deep-water proxies enables an assessment of the relative timing of surface water properties and deep circulation changes (i.e., lead/lags) at our core site in the eastern North Atlantic. Specifically, our analysis reveals that the primary onset of the deglaciation occurred in the Nordic Seas rather than at low-latitudes, since the reinvigoration of overflows in the Nordic Seas at the end of MIS 12 precedes the recovery of the surface ocean by several centuries. Both the investigations on MIS 11 and TV suggest that fluctuations in Nordic Seas Deep-Water formation are precursors to abrupt climate change in the eastern North Atlantic. Further, both studies identify the density gradient between the Nordic Seas and the subpolar North Atlantic as crucial in maintaining overflows, during both warm and cold climates. Thus, Nordic Seas Deep-Water may not be as susceptible to freshwater forcing as previously hypothesised. Moreover, enhanced advection of cold, and relatively fresh Polar Waters to the subpolar North Atlantic can rapidly initiate an abrupt cold event, within centuries, during both glacial and interglacial conditions. This research improves our understanding of how the climate system responds to enhanced high-latitude warming under different boundary conditions. Further, it highlights that boundary conditions are fundamental to how the climate responds. This is important going forward and must be considered when climate models are being developed. 2024-01-30

The extent to which any particular taxon supplies novel natural products depends on biological and evolutionary differences, and on decisions made by (or constraints on) biodiscovery scientists. The influences of different sources of variability on the biodiscovery process were examined in a study of the Cnidaria, a group recognised as an important source of novel marine natural products. The number of species with at least one novel metabolite within a genus was related to the number of species in the genus. This pattern implies that different genera do not differ in the probability of containing a species with novel natural products. Outlying points of this relationship were consistent with the ease of obtaining material through culturing organisms. The most productive five species were the sources of over 100 novel metabolites each. The distribution of novel metabolites across species showed no signs of exhausting novelty for the most productive source species. Novel metabolite drug likeness (ADMET-score) varied among genera. However, this pattern of variation was of the same degree as observed for molecular weights of metabolites, suggesting that differences among genera are generated by the decisions of analysts with different interests and do not reflect underlying biology. Biogeographic patterns of soft coral species with novel natural products were matched to regional species richness. Overall, the evidence for phylogenetic or spatial influences on the chance of finding novel metabolites was weak. The patterns are consistent with a constant chance of finding novel natural products across different species, with some constraints linked to ease of sampling or culturing and some reinforcement of biodiscovery in species that have previously been the source of novel metabolites. Research supported by a research grant from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Marine Institute under the Investigators Programme (grant no. SFI/15/1A/3100), co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund 2014–2020 to A.L.A. peer-reviewed

19 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, supplementary material https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2022.106739.-- Seismic reflection and bathymetric data collected during the MARLBORO and SARAS cruises are stored at SISMER repository (https://doi.org/10.17600/11480100, https://doi.org/10.17600/12450090, and https://campagnes.flotteoceanographique.fr/campagnes/12000010). Landslide parameters for MTDs mapped during this study are given in the appendix., Earthquakes are the most commonly cited cause of offshore slope failure, followed by high sedimentation rates and ensuing pore pressure build-up. In the South Alboran Sea, the moderate seismicity (Mw = 6.4) of the strike-slip Al Idrissi Fault Zone does not appear to control directly the landslides distribution. To provide a preliminary geohazard assessment, we characterized the spatial distribution, the volume and the ages of the submarine landslides from multibeam and seismic reflection data in the southern part of the Alboran Sea. Since the Quaternary numerous submarine landslide processes have affected the marine sedimentary cover with volumes of the mass transport deposits (MTD) estimated between 0.01 and 15 km3. West of the Al Idrissi Fault Zone, along the South Alboran Ridge's northern flank, the distribution of the MTD follows the SW-NE bank and ridge trend that correlates with blind thrusts and folds covered by a plastered contourite drift. A pockmark field, related to fluid escape, is visible near landslide scars where the contourite drift is relatively thicker. In this area, landslide scars occur on variable slopes (2–24°) and their associated MTDs show variable decompacted volumes (0.01-10 km3). East of the Al Idrissi Fault Zone, between the Alboran Ridge and the Pytheas Bank, the mapped MTDs have uneven volume. The smaller ones (10°), whereas those of the largest ones (3–15 km3) occur on gentler slopes (, This work was funded by the French programs Actions Marges, Défi Risques Naturels CNRS-IRD (MITI-ALARM) and UPMC-Emergence (ALARM project), the ALBAMAR JCJC ANR-17-03CE-0004, the EUROFLEETS program (FP7/2007-2013; n°228344), project FICTS-2011-03-01. Seismic reflection data were processed using the Seismic UNIX SU and Geovecteur© software. The processed seismic data were interpreted using Kingdom IHS Suite© software. This work also benefited from the DAMAGE (AEI/FEDER CGL2016-80687-R) and FAUCES (Ref CTM2015-65461-C2-R; MINCIU/FEDER) Projects financed by “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y al Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional” (FEDER). This work acknowledges the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation of ICM-CSIC (CEX2019-000928-S

[No abstract available] non-peer-reviewed

Fisheries stock assessments are important tools for successful management of fisheries. Reliability of a stock assessment model is often determined by the data available and accounting for key uncertainties in the data is an important aspect of stock assessments and management. Central to many assessment models is the tracking of cohorts through the population, but uncertainty in the identification of cohorts, in the form of uncertainty in age-estimation and fish growth, can impact model performance. Overall, the aim of this thesis was to develop methods to address this cohort uncertainty, as well as assess the impact of biased age-composition data on the fisheries advice process. I focus on anglerfish as the main case study species, as their assessment and management is affected by the challenges touched upon earlier. To provide context, Chapter 1 gives an overview of stock assessment and management, focussing on the challenges of uncertainty in age-estimation and growth, as well as the approaches used to account for them. Anglerfish fisheries are also summarised and issues affecting their assessment and management discussed. Chapter 2 addresses the topic of cohort uncertainty by developing a new method of length frequency analysis. The model is a maximum likelihood-based procedure that uses Gaussian mixture models and the Expectation Maximisation algorithm to estimate von Bertalanffy growth parameters from length frequency data from fisheries surveys. The model was applied to length data from the white-bellied anglerfish stock in the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay. The basic model estimated a single set of growth parameters, whereas the hierarchical extension to the model was able to model some of the natural variability in fish growth between cohorts or years with bivariate random effects on key parameters. Chapter 3 approaches the issue of cohort uncertainty from a different perspective, implementing and and testing the performance of stage-based stock assessment models. Stage-based assessment models have less data requirements and simpler population dynamics than more complex assessment models, so are likely to be more robust to cohort uncertainty in the data. The stage-based assessment models implemented were: Catch-Survey Analysis (CSA), and a model first described in a theoretical paper by Schnute (1987). The performance of these two theoretically different stage-based assessment models was assessed with a simulation-testing framework and on a real anglerfish stock. The findings showed both models are useful stock assessment models, with CSA more robust but less precise than the Schnute model. The Schnute model was more precise than CSA but required growth and mean fish weight data unaffected by selectivity. As part of the work conducted for Chapter 3, the R package ‘sbar’ was developed. This is a fully documented R package that contains the functions to run the stage-based assessment models. Chapter 4 outlines the key assumptions and data requirements of the models, as well as demonstrating use with data from a real anglerfish stock. Versions of the Schnute model not described or tested in Chapter 3 were also detailed here. A goal of this chapter was to allow new users to begin running stage-based assessment models with relevant background information provided. Chapter 5 addresses the impact of using age-composition data generated with a biased growth function in stock assessment and management over time. A management strategy evaluation framework was used, with both stage-based and age-based management procedures tested. A method for estimating CSA reference points was also developed. Both management procedures were affected by the biased sampling data, but in different ways. Performance statistics indicated that it is important to consider the uncertainty and potential bias in growth estimates when generating age-composition data. Overall, the research presented in this thesis has developed and implemented techniques that aim to further advance the field of fisheries stock assessment and management when cohorts are uncertain. The thesis focussed on anglerfish for the majority of case studies due to the fisheries’ reported issues, however the methods implemented here are useful in a wider context and there are many species to which the techniques could be applied. no

The presence of microplastics (MPs), a contaminant of emerging concern, has attracted increasing attention in commercially important seafood species such as Nephrops norvegicus. This species lend themselves well as bioindicators of environmental contamination owing to their availability, spatial and depth distribution, interactions with seafloor sediment and position in the ecosystem and food chain. This study assesses the abundance of MPs in N. norvegicus and in benthic sediments across six functional units in the North East Atlantic. Assessment of the relationship between MP abundance in N. norvegicus, their biological parameters and their surrounding environment was examined. Despite the lack of statistical significance, MP abundances, size, shape, and polymer type recorded in N. norvegicus mirrored those found in the surrounding environment samples. The three main polymers identified in both organisms and sediment were polystyrene, polyamide (nylons), and polypropylene. The level of MP contamination in N. norvegicus could be related to local sources, with relatively low abundances recorded in this study for the North East Atlantic in comparison to other regional studies. Furthermore, larger organisms contained a lower abundance of MPs, demonstrating no accumulation of MPs in N. norvegicus. Based on the results of this study, data on MP ingestion could be used to study trends in the amount and composition of litter ingested by marine animals towards fulfilling requirements of descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. yes

21 pages, 9 figures, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GC010610.-- Data Availability Statement: Seismic data from network codes marked in Figure 3 were freely available from several data centers including: the IRIS Data Management Center (https://ds.iris.edu/ds/nodes/dmc/); the GEOFON Data Centre of the GFZ (https://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/waveform/archive); the RESIF seismic data portal (https://seismology.resif.fr/); Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology (http://orfeus-eu.org/webdc3/); the National Observatory of Athens (http://bbnet.gein.noa.gr); the Turkish Earthquake Research Institute KOERI (http://eida-service.koeri.boun.edu.tr); and the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia INGV (http://webservices.ingv.it). Table S2 in Supporting Information S1 provides details on the network and station codes downloaded from each data center. We thank all the network operators who contributed data to these data centers. The tomographic model is available to download at https://nlscelli.wixsite.com/ncseismology/af2019. It is also deposited to the online IRIS EMC-Earth Models repository (https://doi.org/10.17611/dp/emc.2022.af2019.1), Hot plumes rising from Earth's deep mantle are thought to cause uplift, rifting and large igneous province (LIP) emplacement. LIP volcanism in continents often spans tens of Ma and scatters unevenly over broad areas. This has been attributed to lateral flow of hot plume material, but observational evidence on such flow is scarce. New waveform tomography with massive data sets reveals detailed seismic velocity structure beneath the East Africa-Arabia region, where these processes occur at present. It shows interconnected sub-lithospheric corridors of hot, partially molten rock, fed by three mantle upwellings beneath Kenya, Afar, and Levant. The spatio-temporal distribution of the volcanism suggests that we are witnessing an integral plume head, which morphed into a three-pointed star by ponding and channeling within thin-lithosphere corridors. Plate reconstructions indicate that it spread south-to-north since ∼45 Ma. These results suggest that complex-shape plume heads can explain the enigmatic, scattered LIP volcanism and are, probably, an inherent feature of plume-continent interaction, This work was supported by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Grants 13/CDA/2192 and 16/IA/4598, the latter co-funded by the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute. This work has been completed in the framework of the project 3D Earth funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) as a Support to Science Element (STSE). C.C. acknowledges the grant CEX2019-000928-S funded by AEI 10.13039/501100011033

Special issue EPOS a Research Infrastructure in solid Earth: open science and innovation .-- 21 pages, 8 figures, Tsunamis constitute a significant hazard for European coastal populations, and the impact of tsunami events worldwide can extend well beyond the coastal regions directly affected. Understanding the complex mechanisms of tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation, as well as managing the tsunami risk, requires multidisciplinary research and infrastructures that cross national boundaries. Recent decades have seen both great advances in tsunami science and consolidation of the European tsunami research community. A recurring theme has been the need for a sustainable platform for coordinated tsunami community activities and a hub for tsunami services. Following about three years of preparation, in July 2021, the European tsunami community attained the status of Candidate Thematic Core Service (cTCS) within the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) Research Infrastructure. Within a transition period of three years, the Tsunami candidate TCS is anticipated to develop into a fully operational EPOS TCS. We here outline the path taken to reach this point, and the envisaged form of the future EPOS TCS Tsunami. Our cTCS is planned to be organised within four thematic pillars: (1) Support to Tsunami Service Providers, (2) Tsunami Data, (3) Numerical Models, and (4) Hazard and Risk Products. We outline how identified needs in tsunami science and tsunami risk mitigation will be addressed within this structure and how participation within EPOS will become an integration point for community development, With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

In data-poor situations, length-based indicators (LBIs) and reference points based on life history parameters have been proposed to classify stocks according to conservation status and yield optimization. Given the variety of potential LBIs, life history traits, and fisheries, it is necessary to evaluate the robustness of length-based advice to ensure that despite uncertainty that management objectives will still be met. Therefore, a simulation procedure was employed where an Operating Model conditioned on life history parameters was used to generate pseudo data. Receiver operator characteristics and the true skill score were then used to screen LBIs based on their ability to identify overfishing and recovery. It was found that LBIs performed better for long-lived species with low individual growth rates, those aimed at ensuring the conservation of mature fish performed better than those aimed at the conservation of immature fish, are better at indicating trends than at quantifying exploitation level, and in general were robust to uncertainty about dynamic processes.

Target and limit reference points are fundamental management components used to define sustainable harvest strategies. Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and the precautionary principle underpin many reference points. Non-proxy reference points based on MSY in age-based single-species assessments depend on the stock–recruitment (SR) relationship, which can display complex variability. Current reference points ignore persistent dynamic change by assuming that the SR relationship is stationary and with constant recruitment parameters over selected time periods. We highlight Peterman's productivity method (PPM), which is capable of tracking temporal dynamics of recruitment productivity via time-varying SR parameters. We show how temporal variability in SR parameters affects fishing mortality and biomass MSY-based reference points. Implementation of PPM allows for integrated dynamic ecosystem influences in tactical management while avoiding overwrought and sometimes ephemeral mechanistic hypotheses tested on small and variable SR datasets. While some of these arguments have been made in individual papers, in our opinion the method has not yet garnered the attention that is due to it.

The Atlantic salmon is a species of great importance culturally, economically and ecologically. Recent declines suffered by many populations have been linked to marine mortality, therefore a better understanding of the marine phase is needed to inform management decisions, slow population declines, and protect this iconic species. The overall aim of this research was to develop, validate and apply methods that unlock the information contained in Atlantic salmon scales to enhance our knowledge of the marine phase. Fish scales incorporate biochemical and isotopic signatures as they grow, acting as a chronological record of the fish’s life history. Large, multi-decadal archives of Atlantic salmon scales are held by many organisations, containing vast amounts of data to be explored. Stable isotopes of scales can be used to examine the diet, origin, and trophic level of prey of a fish, but inorganic carbonates on the scale surface can confound results. The carbon isotopic ratio (δ13C) of acid-treated and untreated scales from 208 Atlantic salmon was analysed. Acid-treatment had a negligible effect on (δ13C) and therefore does not need to be performed prior to stable isotope analysis (SIA) of Atlantic salmon scales, saving scale material, time and money. A recent isotope-based geolocation tool suggests that the marine feeding location of salmon can be determined by correlating a time series of scale δ13C with sea surface temperature (SST). To validate the method, SIA of archived scales from 100 fish (10 years of a 50-year period) caught at their feeding grounds west of Greenland was completed. The highest area of correlation between scale δ13C and SST, the Labrador Sea, accurately represented the foraging location of the fish. This validation allows the results of the geolocation tool to be interpreted with increased confidence. Cortisol, the most commonly measured stress hormone in fish, was recently extracted from fish scales as a measure of chronic stress. In this thesis, the method was adapted for use on Atlantic salmon scales and used to extract cortisol from the scales of 156 experimentally reared post-smolts that were exposed to 3 temperatures (6, 10.5 and 15°C) and varying starvation stressors. Cortisol increased significantly in fish kept at 15°C. Fluctuations occurred in fish at 6°C and in starved fish at 10.5°C, but a larger sample size is needed to determine the significance of these results. This research determined that scale cortisol is a suitable biomarker for temperature stress in Atlantic salmon and, due to optimisation to require lower weights of scale material, may open this method up to a wider range of species and life stages. Using the method, the stability of cortisol was confirmed in archived scales, then cortisol was extracted from 120 archived scale samples (6 years over a 29-year period). No interannual trends were detected, and individual variability appeared to drive the differences in cortisol. Combining cortisol data with other analyses could help understand the factors affecting scale cortisol in Atlantic salmon. This research illustrated the value of scales for examining the marine phase of Atlantic salmon, which may be key to preventing further declines. The methods developed and validated in this thesis can be used to determine marine feeding location and to examine the response of salmon to stressors experienced during their life cycle. no

International audience; We present a three-step inverse model (3SAA) for estimating the inherent optical properties (IOPs) of surface waters from the remote sensing reflectance spectra, Rrs(λ). The derived IOPs include the total (a(λ)), phytoplankton (aphy(λ)), and colored detrital matter (acdm(λ)), absorption coefficients, and the total (bb(λ)) and particulate (bbp(λ)) backscattering coefficients. The first step uses an improved neural network approach to estimate the diffuse attenuation coefficient of downwelling irradiance from Rrs. a(λ) and bbp(λ) are then estimated using the LS2 model (Loisel et al., 2018), which does not require spectral assumptions on IOPs and hence can assess a(λ) and bb(λ) at any wavelength at which Rrs(λ) is measured. Then, an inverse optimization algorithm is combined with an optical water class (OWC) approach to assess aphy(λ) and acdm(λ) from anw(λ).The proposed model is evaluated using an in situ dataset collected in open oceanic, coastal, and inland waters. Comparisons with other standard semi-analytical algorithms (QAA and GSM), as well as match-up exercises, have also been performed. The applicability of the algorithm on OLCI observations was assessed through the analysis of global IOPs spatial patterns derived from 3SAA and GSM. The good performance of 3SAA is manifested by median absolute percentage differences (MAPD) of 13%, 23%, 34% and 34% for bbp(443), anw(443), aphy(443) and acdm(443), respectively for oceanic waters. Due to the absence of spectral constraints on IOPs in the inversion of total IOPs, and the adoption of an OWC-based approach, the performance of 3SAA is only slightly degraded in bio-optical complex inland waters.

Microplastics (MPs) are an extensive global contaminant in the marine environment, known to be ingested by marine organisms. The presence of MPs in the commercially important marine decapod crustacean Nephrops norvegicus (Dublin Bay Prawn) has been documented for the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean, however, uncertainties remain about retention times of MPs in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of this species. This study aims to investigate the retention times of polyester MP fibres of three sizes (3, 5, and 10 mm in length) and to determine whether the egestion of MP fibres is size and time dependent. Results suggest that MP fibres of different lengths are retained for different periods of time, with larger MP fibres being retained for longer periods (e.g., minimum 96 h for 10 mm fibres). The present study also assesses for the first time, the size dependent relationship of MP fibres under controlled conditions for N. norvegicus. yes

Particle-tracking models can simulate the drift of floating objects in the ocean, and provide a valuable tool for search and rescue operations at sea. The choice of model parameters has a big impact on the prediction, and can greatly affect the success of the search and rescue operations. In particular, the way in which windage is introduced into the model largely determines the dispersion and fi nal distribution of the numerical floats. The Marine Institute has conducted several experiments with OpenDrift, which have proven to be useful to help in search and rescue operations and to investigate the important connection that exists between people missing from the coast of Ireland and being found on the Welsh coast. This has culminated in the implementation of a new version of an OpenDrift-based, web application called ADRIFT, which allows to select between a range of different objects with specific leeway properties., Les modèles de suivi des particules peuvent simuler la dérive des objets flottants dans l'océan et constituent un outil précieux pour les opérations de recherche et de sauvetage en mer. Le choix des paramètres du modèle a un impact important sur la prédiction, et peut grandement affecter le succès des opérations de recherche et de sauvetage. En particulier, la manière dont le vent est introduit dans le modèle détermine largement la dispersion et la distribution finale des flotteurs numériques. Le Marine Institute a mené plusieurs expériences avec OpenDrift, qui se sont avérées utiles pour aider les opérations de recherche et de sauvetage et pour étudier le lien important qui existe entre les personnes disparues de la côte irlandaise et celles retrouvées sur la côte galloise. Ces expériences ont abouti à la mise en œuvre d'une nouvelle version d'une application web basée sur OpenDrift, appelée ADRIFT, qui permet de choisir entre une série d'objets différents ayant des propriétés de dérive spécifiques.

International audience; Ireland occupies a unique location in the NE Atlantic - an important carbon sink and an area most vulnerable to changes in Atlantic circulation. Ireland has actively participated in European ocean observation projects from the EC Sixth Framework Programme through to Horizon 2020 leading to the development of ocean and climate observing systems from the coast to open ocean. However, infrastructure gaps remain which impact the capability to address scientific questions of national and global importance. Ireland’s longstanding scientific interaction at a European level coupled with significant state investments in ocean observation infrastructures has led to the development of EirOOS (the Irish Ocean Observing System). We demonstrate how EirOOS has developed, at a national level, into a key Research Infrastructure to further develop scientific and technical research capacity in sea level science, ocean circulation, and carbon sequestration to understand the connection between Ireland, its coastal seas and the Atlantic. The data infrastructure underpinning EirOOS is discussed and how it links the disparate elements of the distributed infrastructure together through harmonisation and interoperability of its data platforms.The multi-level interaction and cooperation between EirOOS and other key marine European Research infrastructures like EMSO, EuroArgo and JERICO RI in terms of developing cohesive and impactful science, user and business cases for EirOOS to ensure it is delivering services and outputs defined by its stakeholders is discussed. Finally, the role of EirOOS as an effective and sustainable component in a distributed European Ocean Observing System with a description of the framework for integration is considered.

International audience; The ocean is an important pathway to a low-carbon and climate resilient society, e.g. in areas of blue carbon, green shipping, offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, fishery and coastal adaptation. Currently, 26 EU member states have made their National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) and/or National Strategy Plan (NAP) which needs a strong climate information service. European Global Ocean Observing System (EuroGOOS) has a strategy to expand existing operational marine service to climate change in 2020-2030. As focal points of national marine, climate and/or weather services, ROOS (Regional Sea Operational Oceanographic System) members have extensive experiences in working with citizens, stakeholders and decision-makers at national, regional and municipality levels. This paper will review current marine climate service capacity in ROOS members, identify gaps in modelling, products and service, and propose a seamless earth system approach for developing EuroGOOS and ROOS marine climate service capacities.; L'océan est une voie importante vers une société à faible émission de carbone et résiliente au changement climatique, par exemple dans les domaines du carbone bleu, du transport maritime vert, des énergies renouvelables en mer, de l'aquaculture, de la pêche et de l'adaptation côtière. Actuellement, 26 États membres de l'UE ont élaboré leur stratégie nationale d'adaptation (NAS) et/ou leur plan stratégique national (NAP), ce qui nécessite un service d'information climatique solide. Le système européen d'observation des océans (EuroGOOS) a une stratégie pour étendre le service marin opérationnel existant au changement climatique en 2020-2030. En tant que points focaux des services marins, climatiques et/ou météorologiques nationaux, les membres du ROOS (Regional Sea Operational Oceanographic System) ont une grande expérience de la collaboration avec les citoyens, les parties prenantes et les décideurs aux niveaux national, régional et municipal. Ce document passe en revue les capacités actuelles des services de climatologie marine des membres du ROOS, identifie les lacunes en matière de modélisation, de produits et de services, et propose une approche de système terrestre homogène pour développer les capacités des services de climatologie marine d'EuroGOOS et du ROOS.

International audience; Built on the two previous FP7 grants Eurofleets (2009-2013) and Eurofleets 2 (2013-2017) and within the on-going H2020 Eurofleets+ project, the under-discussion Eurofleets RI aims at strengthening the role of the European Research Vessel Fleet in collecting marine data from global oceans, regional seas and coastal waters, deploy and service observing systems, so providing a vital platform for other European RIs. Eurofleets+ provides transnational access to a unique fl eet of research vessels through a robust call management and evaluation process. Joint research activities in the project aims at advancing data management, improving interoperability of rigs for deployment of different equipment, facilitating installation of mobile equipment across different vessels and validating new innovations for intelligent exploration. Active dialog with stakeholders ensures that marine research vessels including associated equipment are coordinated, designed and operated optimally to meet scientific user’s requirements in addition to providing training activities to support the next generation of marine scientists. Fostering innovation through the management of exploitable results is supported through collaboration with industrial partners. A business plan and strategic roadmap are under development for Eurofl eets RI, while extensive dissemination and communication activities to raise awareness of the essential role of the European Research Vessel Fleet are ongoing.

International audience; Eurofl eets is a key research infrastructure, essential for collecting in situ marine data sets from global oceans, regional seas and coastal waters. Research vessels carry and operate shipborne observation equipment and facilitate deployment and handling of a large range of observing and sampling instruments. The infrastructure is also evolving, with fixed ocean seafl oor observation and mobile surface and subsea autonomous technologies presenting challenges to the existing fl eet to deploy and maintain. Meeting the complex end user needs of European scientists across disciplines and geographic locations is an expensive and complex exercise requiring coordination at national and international levels, and the use of common standards and approaches. To meet the expected challenges, Eurofl eets+ (An alliance of European marine research infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of the research and industrial communities) project is undertaking Joint Research Activities (JRA) with key industry partners. Specifi cally, the objective of JRA 3.2 led by CSIC, with the Marine Institute and industry partners Hampidjan, MacArtney AS and SEAONICS is the study and conceptual development of equipment for deep sea operations from research vessels co-designed by research and industry partners.Improving interoperability of Large Exchangeable Instrumentation (LEXI) is a primary aim of Eurofl eets+, especially in terms of improvement and standardisation of tools/rigging for more effi cient operations.The collaborative approach aims to develop a new deep-sea winch design, a multipurpose crane/handling system for deep water operations and a dual mode handling system designed for the deployment and recovery of research tools through moon-pools or/and over the side.

Cephalopods evolved during the Cambrian and were once the dominant lifeforms in the world’s oceans. Several groups of the 800 living cephalopod species have diversified due to their rapid response to drivers of evolution and different adaption strategies. My research aims to investigate their evolutionary history and relationships, and answer different questions about cephalopod biology and systematics, using a variety of molecular techniques with the support of morphology. Chapter 2 uses DNA barcoding to determine the diversity and abundance of cephalopods within warm-core eddies in the North Atlantic. I identified different taxonomic groups which need to be reviewed, expanded the known distribution of six species, provided the first sequence for two known species and identified a potential new species Todarodes cf. sagittatus. Chapter 3 investigates the distribution of deep-sea octopuses in the North east Atlantic, also using DNA barcoding. I discuss the taxonomic and systematic issues of the groups represented in this study, extend the known depth range for one species and identify a potential new Muusoctopus species. Chapter 4 uses genome skimming to build a phylogeny of the Octopodiformes. I provide whole mitochondrial genome sequences and 18S rRNA genes and 28S rRNA for twenty Octopoda specimens comprising 18 Cirrata and Incirrata species. Chapter 5 uses CT scanning to investigate the internal anatomy of cirrate octopods. I discuss the non-invasive imaging techniques that have been used in cephalopods, along with their advantages and disadvantages. My research shows how different molecular techniques can be used to answer certain questions and will contribute to improving the cephalopod tree of life.

Climate change is modifying the hydrological and thermal regimes of rivers worldwide, threatening the triggering of organisms’ key life-cycle processes. European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a critically endangered fish species that migrates over several thousand kilometres between its rearing habitats in continental waters of Europe and North Africa and its spawning area in the Sargasso Sea. Downstream migration of adult eels occurs during periods of decreasing river water temperature associated with high discharge but changes in these environmental cues may affected eel migratory conditions. An innovative multivariate method was developed to analyse long-term datasets of daily water temperature, discharge and eel passage in two European rivers. Over the past 50 years, water temperature and discharge increased in both rivers during the downstream migration period from August to November. Silver eels preferentially migrated at temperatures between 10 and 20 °C combined with high discharge. Environmental changes have resulted in the migration of silver eels under warmer water temperatures. This example illustrates how the changes in environmental cues have led to a growing mismatch between the migratory conditions preferentially selected and those actually used, which may threaten the completion of the eel’s life cycle and ultimately the persistence of this already critically endangered species.

Seabird eggs are considered a favourable matrix for monitoring marine pollutants and are widely used as higher trophic level indicators. Concentrations of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Σ15PAH) were determined in the eggs of four piscivorous seabirds in Ireland from multiple colonies for the first time, Common Guillemot Uria aalge, Northern Gannet Morus bassanus, Common Tern Sterna hirundo and Arctic Tern S. paradisaea. PAH concentrations were generally lower than levels detected in eggs from other seabird studies and considerably lower than concentrations associated with no adverse effect in the eggs of domestic avian species. This study indicates potential site and species differences in PAH concentrations. Baseline data of PAHs in a range of seabird species from this study may provide an important reference point should a major pollution event occur in European waters, such as an oil spill.

34 pages, 4 figures.-- Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0, Host-microbe interactions play crucial roles in marine ecosystems. However, we still have very little understanding of the mechanisms that govern these relationships, the evolutionary processes that shape them, and their ecological consequences. The holobiont concept is a renewed paradigm in biology that can help to describe and understand these complex systems. It posits that a host and its associated microbiota with which it interacts, form a holobiont, and have to be studied together as a coherent biological and functional unit to understand its biology, ecology, and evolution. Here we discuss critical concepts and opportunities in marine holobiont research and identify key challenges in the field. We highlight the potential economic, sociological, and environmental impacts of the holobiont concept in marine biological, evolutionary, and environmental sciences. Given the connectivity and the unexplored biodiversity specific to marine ecosystems, a deeper understanding of such complex systems requires further technological and conceptual advances, e.g., the development of controlled experimental model systems for holobionts from all major lineages and the modeling of (info)chemical-mediated interactions between organisms. Here we propose that one significant challenge is to bridge cross-disciplinary research on tractable model systems in order to address key ecological and evolutionary questions. This first step is crucial to decipher the main drivers of the dynamics and evolution of holobionts and to account for the holobiont concept in applied areas, such as the conservation, management, and exploitation of marine ecosystems and resources, where practical solutions to predict and mitigate the impact of human activities are more important than ever, This paper is based on the results of a foresight workshop funded by the EuroMarine network, Sorbonne University, and the UMRs 8227 and 7144 of the Roscoff Biological Station. Ezequiel M. Marzinelli was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP180104041), and José Pintado Valverde was funded by the Galician Innovation Agency (IN607A 2017/4). The work of Simon M. Dittami ad Catherine Leblanc was funded by the ANR project IDEALG (ANR-10-TBR-04). Claire M.M. Gachon, Catherine Leblanc, and SimonMDittami received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 624575 (ALFF). The work of Fabrice Not was funded by the ANR project IMPEKAB (ANR-15-CE02-001). Ulisse Cardini was funded by the Research Council of Lithuania project INBALANCE (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0069). Johan Decelle was supported by the CNRS and the ATIP-Avenir program, the LabEx GRAL (ANR-10-LABX-49-01) and Pôle Dittami et CBS from the University of Grenoble Alpes. Paco Cardenas received support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the SponGES project (grant agreement No. 679849). Elena Kazamia was funded by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship (Horizon 2020, IRONCOMM). Aschwin H Engelen was supported by Portuguese national funds from FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology through projects UID/Multi/04326/2019 and UIDB/04326/2020

Globally, inland waters emit over 2 Pg of carbon per year as carbon dioxide, of which the majority originates from streams and rivers. Despite the global significance of fluvial carbon dioxide emissions, little is known about their diel dynamics. Here we present a large-scale assessment of day- and night-time carbon dioxide fluxes at the water-air interface across 34 European streams. We directly measured fluxes four times between October 2016 and July 2017 using drifting chambers. Median fluxes are 1.4 and 2.1mmolm(-2) h(-1) at midday and midnight, respectively, with night fluxes exceeding those during the day by 39%. We attribute diel carbon dioxide flux variability mainly to changes in the water partial pressure of carbon dioxide. However, no consistent drivers could be identified across sites. Our findings highlight widespread day-night changes in fluvial carbon dioxide fluxes and suggest that the time of day greatly influences measured carbon dioxide fluxes across European streams. Diel patterns can greatly impact total stream carbon dioxide emissions, with 39% greater carbon dioxide flux during the night-time relative to the day-time, according to a study of 34 streams across Europe.

11 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145351.-- Data availability: SmartBay Observatory Video Camera Data (Raw) dataset is available at: http://data.marine.ie/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/ie.marine.data:dataset.3880 (Gaughan et al., 2020), Cabled observatories are marine infrastructures equipped with biogeochemical and oceanographic sensors as well as High-Definition video and audio equipment, hence providing unprecedented opportunities to study marine biotic and abiotic components. Additionally, non-invasive monitoring approaches such as environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding have further enhanced the ability to characterize marine life. Although the use of non-invasive tools beholds great potential for the sustainablemonitoring of biodiversity and declining natural resources, such techniques are rarely used in parallel and understanding their limitations is challenging. Thus, this study combined Underwater Video (UV) with eDNA metabarcoding data to produce marine fish community profiles over a 2 months period in situ at a cabled observatory in the northeast Atlantic (SmartBay Ireland). By combining both approaches, an increased number of fish could be identified to the species level (total of 22 species), including ecologically and economically important species such as Atlantic cod, whiting, mackerel and monkfish, Funding for this research was possible thanks to Marine Institute's National Infrastructure Access Programme (NIAP/18/004). This study was partly developed within the framework of the Tecnoterra (ICM-CSIC/UPC) and the following project RESBIO (TEC2017-87861-R; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades). The EMSO_SmartBay cabled observatory was funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) as part of an SFI Research Infrastructure Award under Grant No. 12/RI/2331, With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

Background: Globally, streams emit significant amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. However, little is known about the stream sediment microbial communities that control the net methane balance in these systems, and in particular about their distribution and composition at large spatial scales. This study investigated the diversity and abundance of methanogenic archaea and methane-oxidizing microorganisms across 16 European streams (from northern Spain to northern Sweden and from western Ireland to western Bulgaria) via 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR. Furthermore, it examined environmental factors influencing both abundance and community composition and explored the link to measured potential methane production and oxidation rates of the respective sediments. Results: Our results demonstrated that the methanogenic and methanotrophic microbiomes of the studied European streams were linked to both the temperature and degree of anthropogenic alteration. The microbiomes could be separated into two to three groups according to environmental factors at both stream and catchment scales. Main methanogenic taxa found within more anthropogenically-altered, warm, and oxygen-poor environments were either Methanospirillum spp. or members of the families Methanosarcinaceae and Methanobacteriaceae . Within such environments, methane oxidizing communities were strongly characterized by members of the family Methylobacteriaceae ( Meganema spp. and Microvirga spp.). Contrastingly, communities in colder environments rich in oxygen and with relatively little anthropogenic impact at the catchment scale were characterized by the methanogenic Methanosaetaceae , Methanocellaceae and Methanoregulaceae and the methanotrophic Methyloglobulus spp ., members of the CABC2E06 group (all Methylococcaceae ) and by various Candidatus Methanoperedens. Overall, diversity of methanogenic archaea increased with increasing water temperature. Methane oxidizing communities showed higher diversities in southern sampling sites and in streams with larger stream areas and widths. Potential methane production rates significantly increased with increasing abundance of methanogenic archaea, while potential methane oxidation rates did not show significant correlations with abundances of methane oxidizing bacteria, presumably due to the more diverse physiological capabilities of this group. Conclusions: We present the first large scale overview of the large-scale microbial biogeography of two microbial groups driving the methane cycle dynamics within stream sediments and deduce the impact that future anthropogenic alterations may cause.

Higher levels of persistent pollutants (Σ16PCB, Σ6PBDE, ΣHCH, ΣDDT, ΣCHL) were detected in fresh eggs of Common Terns Sterna hirundo from Rockabill Island near Dublin (Ireland's industrialised capital city) compared to Common and Arctic Terns S. paradisaea from Ireland's west coast. Intra-clutch variation of pollutant levels in Common Terns was shown to be low, providing further evidence that random sampling of one egg may be an appropriate sampling strategy. Significant differences in pollutant concentrations were detected between fresh and abandoned eggs on Rockabill. However, abandoned eggs can still provide a useful approximation of pollutants in bird eggs if non-destructive sampling is preferred. Levels of p,p’ –DDE in tern eggs have decreased over time according to this study, in concurrence with worldwide trends. Results in this study fall below toxicological thresholds for birds and OSPARs EcoQO thresholds set for Common Tern eggs, except for mercury and HCH in the west coast. yes

20 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.556313/full#supplementary-material.-- Data Availability Statement: The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. Some datasets presented in this article are not readily available because parts of the study are ongoing, and cannot be made public until they have been fully analysed. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to DP, d.m.price@soton.ac.uk and AW, a.wheeler@ucc.ie, Benthic fauna form spatial patterns which are the result of both biotic and abiotic processes, which can be quantified with a range of landscape ecology descriptors. Fine- to medium-scale spatial patterns (200 m2 were created and all organisms were geotagged in order to illustrate their point pattern. The pair correlation function was used to establish whether organisms demonstrated a clustered pattern (CP) at various scales. We further applied a point pattern modelling approach to identify four potential point patterns: complete spatial randomness (CSR), an inhomogeneous pattern influenced by environmental drivers, random clustered point pattern indicating biologically driven clustering and an inhomogeneous clustered point pattern driven by a combination of environmental drivers and biological effects. Reef framework presence and structural complexity determined inhabitant distribution with most organisms showing a departure from CSR. These CPs are likely caused by an affinity to local environmental drivers, growth patterns and restricted dispersion reproductive strategies within the habitat across a range of fine to medium scales. These data provide novel and detailed insights into fine-scale habitat heterogeneity, showing that non-random distributions are apparent and detectable at these fine scales in deep-sea habitats, These data were collected during the Querci expedition, funded by the Marine Institute under the Ship Time Programme of the National Development Plan. DP was funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council (grant number NE/N012070/1) and University of Southampton GSNOCS European Exchange Programme. VH was funded by the NERC CLASS project (grant number NE/R015953/1). AL and VH were supported by the iAtlantic project of the EU H2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant number 818123). CLI was supported by the H2020 MSC Action HABISS (GA 890815), With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

The MyCOAST project (http://mycoast-project.org/) is an INTERREG Atlantic Area project designed to demonstrate that marine services for tackling coastal risks can be jointly developed. The main innovation and originality of the project stems from the implementation of transferable tools able to improve the risk management systems operated in the Atlantic Area. A successful outcome was achieved by identifying mature existing tools and selecting those that could be further developed by partners during the project duration. Demonstration of the tools in pilot actions showed that they are effective in supporting end users and relocatable among different regions in the Atlantic Area., Le projet MyCOAST (http://mycoast-project.org/) est un projet INTERREG de l'Espace Atlantique destiné à démontrer que les services maritimes pour faire face aux risques côtiers peuvent être développés conjointement. La principale innovation et originalité du projet réside dans la mise en œuvre d'outils transférables capables d'améliorer les systèmes de gestion des risques exploités dans l'Espace Atlantique. L'identification d'outils matures existants et la sélection de ceux qui pourraient être développés par les partenaires pendant la durée du projet ont permis d'atteindre un résultat positif. La démonstration des outils dans des actions pilotes a montré qu'ils sont efficaces pour soutenir les utilisateurs finaux et qu'ils peuvent être transférés dans différentes régions de l'Espace Atlantique.

Since 1750, land-use change and fossil fuel combustion has led to a 46% increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, causing global warming with substantial societal consequences. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels. Increasing levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), in the atmosphere are the primary cause of climate change. Approximately half of the carbon emissions to the atmosphere are sequestered by ocean and land sinks, leading to ocean acidification but also slowing the rate of global warming. However, there are significant uncertainties in the future global warming scenarios due to uncertainties in the size, nature, and stability of these sinks. Quantifying and monitoring the size and timing of natural sinks and the impact of climate change on ecosystems are important information to guide policy-makers’ decisions and strategies on reductions in emissions. Continuous, long-term observations are required to quantify GHG emissions, sinks, and their impacts on Earth systems. The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) was designed as the European in situ observation and information system to support science and society in their efforts to mitigate climate change. It provides standardized and open data currently from over 140 measurement stations across 12 European countries. The stations observe GHG concentrations in the atmosphere and carbon and GHG fluxes between the atmosphere, land surface, and the oceans. This article describes how ICOS fulfills its mission to harmonize these observations, ensure the related long-term financial commitments, provide easy access to well-documented and reproducible high-quality data and related protocols and tools for scientific studies, and deliver information and GHG-related products to stakeholders in society and policy.

The water quality index (WQI) model is a popular tool for evaluating surface water quality. It uses aggregation techniques that allow conversion of extensive water quality data into a single value or index. Globally, the WQI model has been applied to evaluate water quality (surface water and groundwater) based on local water quality criteria. Since its development in the 1960s, it has become a popular tool due to its generalised structure and ease-of-use. Commonly, WQI models involve four consecutive stages; these are (1) selection of the water quality parameters, (2) generation of sub-indices for each parameter (3) calculation of the parameter weighting values, and (4) aggregation of sub-indices to compute the overall water quality index. Several researchers have utilized a range of applications of WQI models to evaluate the water quality of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries. Some problems of the WQI model are that they are usually developed based on site-specific guidelines for a particular region, and are therefore not generic. Moreover, they produce uncertainty in the conversion of large amounts of water quality data into a single index. This paper presents a comparative discussion of the most commonly used WQI models, including the different model structures, components, and applications. Particular focus is placed on parameterization of the models, the techniques used to determine the sub-indices, parameter weighting values, index aggregation functions and the sources of uncertainty. Issues affecting model accuracy are also discussed. The authors would like to acknowledge the Hardiman Research Scholarship of the National University of Ireland Galway, which funded the first author as part of his PhD program. The reserach was also supported by MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate, and Marine [Grant No: 12/RC/2302_P2]. peer-reviewed

Transport of meroplankton larvae in the ocean is a crucial process as it enables connectivity between populations and determines larval supply for species with narrow habitat requirements and sedentary adult stages. The Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), Europe’s most important commercial crustacean, has a patchy distribution across the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Adults inhabit areas of muddy substrate where they excavate and spend most of their time within burrows. The pelagic larval phase enables connectivity between populations separated by uninhabitable substrate. Larvae rely on settlement on suitable mud habitat for survival. Therefore, larval settlement, driven by local hydrography, may act as a constraint on recruitment. Biophysical models offer a method of simulating larval transport, which is extremely difficult to observe in-situ due to the inherent difficulties in tracking miniscule larvae in vast areas of the ocean. In the current study, a biophysical larval transport model was used to estimate larval retention, dispersal distance and connectivity for N. norvegicus grounds around Ireland. Models parameters were supported by empirical data in order to accurately represent the biological and behavioural processes of larvae. In Chapter 2, the vertical distribution and occurrence of a Diel Vertical Migration (DVM) in N. norvegicus larvae was examined. Larval vertical distribution was influenced by the vertical temperature differential in the water column, zooplankton biomass and the potential energy anomaly. A twilight DVM was identified and involved two ascents and two descents per day. In Chapter 3, historical zooplankton datasets were used to identify an earlier larval phenology shift in N. norvegicus by 19.1 days from 1982 - 1995 to 2000 - 2010. Ocean warming was identified as the most likely cause as increasing temperatures led to a contraction of the embryo incubation period and earlier hatching of larvae. The phenology shift appeared to have a limited effect on larval duration and transport. Only large variations in modelled larval retention and dispersal distance were observed between larvae released very early and very late in the season. In Chapter 4, a 20-year time series of modelled larval retention, dispersal distance and connectivity estimates for 6 N. norvegicus Functional Units (FUs) demonstrated their capacity to retain, import and export larvae. Smaller FUs had a decreasing trend in retention over the time series which appeared to be as a result of strengthening currents. On the Aran grounds, a link between modelled larval retention and dispersal distance and empirically observed burrow densities from underwater television with a 3-year lag was observed. The findings indicate that larval transport may act as a constraint on recruitment for N. norvegicus populations like the Aran grounds with low and variable larval retention and limited larval imports due to spatial isolation from other grounds. It demonstrates the potential of using larval transport estimates to identify instances of poor recruitment, due to low larval settlement, early in the life cycle before its effects manifest in the adult population. It can also be applied to similar species with defined habitat and planktonic life stages and may assist in limiting overexploitation for commercial species, particularly in the face of climate change and the likely impacts on oceanography. 2022-02-02

The European eel is critically endangered. Although the quality of silver eels is essential for their reproduction, little is known about the effects of multiple contaminants on the spawning migration and the European eel management plan does not take this into account. To address this knowledge gap, we sampled 482 silver eels from 12 catchments across Europe and developed methods to assess three aspects of eel quality: muscular lipid content (N = 169 eels), infection with Anguillicola crassus (N = 482), and contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs, N = 169) and trace elements (TEs, N = 75). We developed a standardized eel quality risks index (EQR) using these aspects for the subsample of 75 female eels. Among 169 eels, 33% seem to have enough muscular lipids content to reach the Sargasso Sea to reproduce. Among 482 silver eels, 93% were infected by A. crassus at least once during their lifetime. All contaminants were above the limit of quantification, except the 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), Ag and V. The contamination by POPs was heterogeneous between catchments while TEs were relatively homogeneous, suggesting a multi-scale adaptation of management plans. The EQR revealed that eels from Warwickshire were most impacted by brominated flame-retardants and agricultural contaminants, those from Scheldt were most impacted by agricultural and construction activities, PCBs, coal burning, and land use, while Frémur eels were best characterized by lower lipid contents and high parasitic and BTBPE levels. There was a positive correlation between EQR and a human footprint index highlighting the capacity of silver eels for biomonitoring human activities and the potential impact on the suitability of the aquatic environment for eel population health. EQR therefore represents a step forward in the standardization and mapping of eel quality risks, which will help identify priorities and strategies for restocking freshwater ecosystems., The EELIAD project was funded by the European Union FP7 researchprogram on environment (Grant agreement No. GOCE-2008212133, EU-EELIAD 2008-2012).

The Rockall Trough (RT), a deep channel in the northeast North Atlantic (NA), hosts water masses of subpolar and subtropical origins. Large-scale atmospheric (North Atlantic oscillation, Eastern Atlantic pattern) and oceanic (NA subpolar gyre) settings have been noted as the major drivers of water masses presence in the region, their properties, thus impacting heat and salinity inputs into the RT and higher northern latitudes. Intermediate water masses are known to retain their characteristics long distance away from their places of origin, thus their presence and impact on water properties further afield notable. To detect/discern large-scale driver(s) of intermediate water masses presence in the RT, empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was used. Water masses metrics, used in the EOF analysis, are fractions based on a mixing triangle approach and derived from high-resolution ship-board conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) and delayed mode processed Argo (ISAS15) in-situ datasets. The large-scale atmospheric and oceanic signals did not emerge as the main drivers. The EOF analysis pointed to intermediate water masses presence within the RT, southern and central domains in particular, to be most likely influenced by locally induced interior (sub)mesoscale processes and features, and possible consequent mixing. These results brought forward the role of interior water masses pathways, i.e., intermediate water currents, notably the deep, Mediterranean Overflow Water (MOW)-rich slope current, and interior (sub)mesoscale dynamics. The use of ship-board in-situ CTD, Coastal and Regional Ocean COmmunity (CROCO) model output and altimetry absolute dynamic topography datasets permitted the identification of a deep, recurrent, non-stationary anticyclone, centred at ~12 °W, 55 °N, named here the RT anticyclone. The above datasets were further used to perform analysis of RT anticyclone generating mechanism and core water masses origin. The analysis shows that the RT anticyclone is the result of the merging of, and sustained by, smaller anticyclones, generated by bottom topography-slope current interactions at intermediate depths along the southeast banks of the trough. High ship-board in-situ-derived salinity and temperature anomalies, found within the anticyclone deep core, fall within MOW upper and conservative lower ~750-1100 m regional depth bounds and inner 27.41-27.60 kg m-3 density ranges. The in-situ analysis supported the model-based deductions that the RT anticyclone is a locally generated deep vortex, stretching throughout the water column and imprinting on the ocean surface between ~11-13 °W, 54-56 °N. The findings are the first insight on the generation and water masses origin of the RT anticyclone. To further check and extend previous analyses of MOW presence regionally and within the larger scale northeast Atlantic, GLORYS12v1 (Global Reanalysis-PHY-001-030), eddy-resolving (1/12 °) reanalysis data, and Ariane, a Lagrangian particle tracking tool, were used. The GLORYS12v1 reanalysis product, jointly with the Ariane particle tracking tool, allowed for investigations into MOW pathways, and further, the origin of water masses, encapsulated in the RT anticyclone core. The particle tracking within the MOW upper ~700-950 m and lower 1000-1300 m veins’ depth ranges complemented the findings of the RT anticyclone generation and core water masses origins. The depth-restricted particle tracking does not permit for tracing RT (modified) MOW beyond the Wyville-Thomson Ridge. However, the particle tracking analysis showed that MOW reaches the RT, propagates deep into the trough (≥60 °N), and further westward and northward (≥65 °N) towards Iceland and Irminger basin, and beyond. The particles also spread westward of the trough’s southern approach, into the NA subpolar gyre, encapsulated in (sub)mesoscale eddies, i.e., of both submesoscale (up to 50 km) and mesoscale (>50 km) dimensions. The presence of MOW within the RT and MOW extension throughout the length of the trough were confirmed and supported by Argo floats trajectories and Argo-based (ISAS15) water masses metrics. The presented findings highlight the role of interior water masses pathways, i.e., intermediate water currents, notably the deep MOW-rich slope current. Interior (sub)mesoscale dynamics in the southern and central RT domains emerged as the predominant mechanism influencing intermediate water masses presence in the RT. The results further suggest that the deep MOW-rich slope current and the regional interior (sub)mesoscale processes may play a role not only in the local heat, salt, biogeochemical (re)distribution, but also in the neighbouring northeast NA subpolar gyre and higher northern latitudes.