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Effective data management plays a key role in oceanographic research as cruise-based data, collected from different laboratories and expeditions, are commonly compiled to investigate regional to global oceanographic processes. Here we describe new and updated best practice data standards for discrete chemical oceanographic observations, specifically those dealing with column header abbreviations, quality control flags, missing value indicators, and standardized calculation of certain properties. These data standards have been developed with the goals of improving the current practices of the scientific community and promoting their international usage. These guidelines are intended to standardize data files for data sharing and submission into permanent archives. They will facilitate future quality control and synthesis efforts and lead to better data interpretation. In turn, this will promote research in ocean biogeochemistry, such as studies of carbon cycling and ocean acidification, on regional to global scales. These best practice standards are not mandatory. Agencies, institutes, universities, or research vessels can continue using different data standards if it is important for them to maintain historical consistency. However, it is hoped that they will be adopted as widely as possible to facilitate consistency and to achieve the goals stated above.

The global increase in anthropogenic CO2 is leading to ocean warming and acidification, which is threatening corals. In Ischia, Italy, two species of Mediterranean scleractinian corals–the symbiotic Cladocora caespitosa and the asymbiotic Astroides calycularis–were collected from ambient pH sites (average pHT = 8.05) and adjacent CO2 vent sites (average pHT = 7.8) to evaluate their response to ocean acidification. Coral colonies from both sites were reared in a laboratory setting for six months at present day pH (pHT ~ 8.08) or low pH (pHT ~7.72). Previous work showed that these corals were tolerant of low pH and maintained positive calcification rates throughout the experiment. We hypothesized that these corals cope with low pH by increasing their heterotrophic capacity (i.e., feeding and/or proportion of heterotrophically derived compounds incorporated in their tissues), irrespective of site of origin, which was quantified indirectly by measuring δ13C, δ15N, and sterols. To further characterize coral health, we quantified energy reserves by measuring biomass, total lipids, and lipid classes. Additional analysis for C. caespitosa included carbohydrates (an energy reserve) and chlorophyll a (an indicator of photosynthetic capacity). Isotopic evidence shows that ambient-sourced Mediterranean corals, of both species, decreased heterotrophy in response to six months of low pH. Despite maintaining energy reserves, lower net photosynthesis (C. caespitosa) and a trend of declining calcification (A. calycularis) suggest a long-term cost to low heterotrophy under ocean acidification conditions. Conversely, vent-sourced corals maintained moderate (C. caespitosa) or high (A. calycularis) heterotrophic capacity and increased photosynthesis rates (C. caespitosa) in response to six months at low pH, allowing them to sustain themselves physiologically. Provided there is sufficient zooplankton and/or organic matter to meet their heterotrophic needs, vent-sourced corals are more likely to persist this century and potentially be a source for new corals in the Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most inhabitants of the Arctic live near the coastline, which includes fjord systems where socio-ecological coupling with coastal communities is dominant. It is therefore critically important that the key aspects of Arctic fjords be measured as well as possible. Much work has been done to monitor temperature and salinity, but in-depth knowledge of the light environment throughout Arctic fjords is lacking. This is particularly problematic knowing the importance of light for benthic ecosystem engineers such as macroalgae, which also play a major role in ecosystem function. Here we document the creation and implementation of a high-resolution (∼50 –150 m) gridded dataset for surface photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), diffuse attenuation of PAR through the water column (KPAR), and PAR available at the seafloor (bottom PAR) for seven Arctic fjords distributed throughout Svalbard, Greenland, and Norway during the period 2003–2022. In addition to KPAR and bottom PAR being available at a monthly resolution over this time period, all variables are available as a global average, annual averages, and monthly climatologies, with standard deviations provided for the latter two. Throughout most Arctic fjords, the interannual variability of monthly bottom PAR is too large to determine any long-term trends. However, in some fjords, bottom PAR increases in spring and autumn and decreases in summer. While a full investigation into these causes is beyond the scope of the description of the dataset presented here, it is hypothesized that this shift is due to a decrease in seasonal ice cover (i.e. enhanced surface PAR) in the shoulder seasons and an increase in coastal runoff (i.e. increased turbidity and decreased surface PAR) in summer. A demonstration of the usability of the dataset is given by showing how it can be combined with known PAR requirements of macroalgae to track the change in the potential distribution area for macroalgal habitats within fjords with time. The datasets are available on PANGAEA at 10.1594/PANGAEA.962895 (Gentili et al., 2023a) and 10.1594/PANGAEA.965460 (Gentili et al., 2024). A toolbox for downloading and working with this dataset is available in the form of the FjordLight R package, which is available via CRAN (Gentili et al., 2023b, 10.5281/zenodo.10259129) or may be installed via GitHub: https://face-it-project.github.io/FjordLight (last access: 29 April 2024). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations aims to 'conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development'. Achieving this goal will require rebuilding the marine life-support systems that deliver the many benefits that society receives from a healthy ocean. Here we document the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions. Recovery rates across studies suggest that substantial recovery of the abundance, structure and function of marine life could be achieved by 2050, if major pressures--including climate change--are mitigated. Rebuilding marine life represents a doable Grand Challenge for humanity, an ethical obligation and a smart economic objective to achieve a sustainable future. Analyses of the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions indicate that substantial recovery of the abundance, structure and function of marine life could be achieved by 2050 if major pressures, including climate change, are mitigated., Author(s): Carlos M. Duarte [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Susana Agusti [sup.1] , Edward Barbier [sup.4] , Gregory L. Britten [sup.5] , Juan Carlos Castilla [sup.6] , Jean-Pierre Gattuso [sup.7] [sup.8] [...]

Ocean acidification has emerged over the last two decades as one of the largest threats to marine organisms and ecosystems. However, most research efforts on ocean acidification have so far neglected management and related policy issues to focus instead on understanding its ecological and biogeochemical implications. This shortfall is addressed here with a systematic, international and critical review of management and policy options. In particular, we investigate the assumption that fighting acidification is mainly, but not only, about reducing CO2 emissions, and explore the leeway that this emerging problem may open in old environmental issues. We review nine types of management responses, initially grouped under four categories: preventing ocean acidification; strengthening ecosystem resilience; adapting human activities; and repairing damages. Connecting and comparing options leads to classifying them, in a qualitative way, according to their potential and feasibility. While reducing CO2 emissions is confirmed as the key action that must be taken against acidification, some of the other options appear to have the potential to buy time, e.g. by relieving the pressure of other stressors, and help marine life face unavoidable acidification. Although the existing legal basis to take action shows few gaps, policy challenges are significant: tackling them will mean succeeding in various areas of environmental management where we failed to a large extent so far.