Search

The hydrography of the Arctic Ocean has experienced profound changes over the last two decades. The sea-ice extent has declined more than 10 % per decade, and its liquid freshwater content has increased mainly due to glaciers and sea ice melting. Further, new satellite retrievals of Sea Surface Salinity in the Arctic might contribute to better characterizing the freshwater changes in cold regions. That is because ocean salinity and freshwater content are intimately related such that an increase/decrease of one entails a decrease/increase of the other. In this work we evaluate the freshwater content in the Beaufort Gyre, using surface salinity measurements from the satellite radiometric mission Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and reanalysis salinity at depth. We estimate the freshwater content from 2011 to 2019 in the Beaufort Gyre and validate the results with in-situ measurements. The results highlight the underestimation of the freshwater content using reanalysis data in the Beaufort Sea and a clear improvement in the freshwater content estimation when adding satellite sea surface salinity measurements above the mixed layer. The improvements are significant, especially in areas close to ice melting. Our research demonstrates how remotely sensed salinity can assist us in better monitoring the changes in the Arctic freshwater content and improving our understanding of a key process that is creating subtle density differences that have the potential to change the global circulation system that regulates Earth’s Climate.

We analyze the efficacy of using a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) modular instrument to estimate the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), which can be used for operational oceanography in turbid shallow waters. This parameter evaluates the water transparency, as it summarizes several water components providing an indicator for water quality. Historically, water transparency has been measured with a simple and inexpensive tool: the Secchi disk. Although it contributes a valuable index of visual water clarity, the quality of its measurements is user-dependent, and it does not enable the automatic monitoring of the water quality. For this reason, we need electronic devices to get accurate measures and facilitate long-term evaluations for water quality monitoring. This paper has two main objectives: First, to present the KduPRO, a low-cost and DIY moored instrument. The KduPRO is an evolution of the KdUINO buoy, that provides an estimation of the water transparency in coastal areas and continental waters, with an automatic quality control parameter that makes this sensor suitable for operational observing systems; and second, to provide a replicability analysis associated to the uncertainty of its Kd estimations. This instrument is based on a modular system of light sensors, independent of each other, measuring the irradiance at different depths. This study analyses the performance of the KduPRO with other reference commercial instruments, the performance between different modules of the same system and finally, a case study of measuring the water quality in Loch Leven (a lake in Scotland). The affordable cost, ease of use and measurement repeatability make this instrument a potentially valuable tool for anyone interested in monitoring water quality, This research was funded by Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (776480, MONOCLE and 101008724, MINKE). We also received funding from the Spanish government through the “Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence” accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), This work is a contribution to the CSIC Thematic Interdisciplinary Platform Teledetect.-- 14 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1004159/full#supplementary-material.-- Data availability statement: The datasets generated for this study can be found in the following repositories: Data from KdUINO - Loch Leven, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3757669, accessed on 24 July 2022. The code to generate, process and plot the datasets, https://git.csic.es/kduino/kdupro-data-analysis/-/releases/v1.0.0, accessed on 23 July 2022

4th International European Citizen Science Association Conference (ECSA 2022), Citizen Science for Planetary Health, 5-8 October 2022, Berlin, Germany, Monitoring water transparency provides an indicator of the environmental status of the water body. One parameter to estimate the water transparency is the light diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) (Mobley, 1994). Historically, water transparency has been measured with a simple and inexpensive tool: The Secchi disk, a black and white disk that is lowered from above the water surface and tracked visually until it goes out of sight (Pitarch, 2020). Despite it being a valuable index of visual water clarity, the quality of its measurements is user-dependent, owing to differences between observers (Bruckner, 2018). In addition, ZSD (Secchi disk depth) measured data is discrete in time, and it is dependent on external factors such as water surface conditions and sunlight intensity. For this reason, we need electronic devices to get accurate measures and facilitate monitoring over a long time scale. This need to develop novel approaches for monitoring environmental data is reflected in the recent growing attention toward citizen science (Njue et al., 2019). Citizen science is an expanding practice in which scientists and citizens actively collaborate to produce new knowledge for science and society (Vohland et al., 2021). Nowadays, we can find a wide range of projects to monitor aquatic ecosystems thanks to the progress in marine citizen science, especially enabled and promoted through technological developments (Garcia Soto et al., 2021). Within the framework of the European H2020 MONOCLE project, it is developed the KduPRO, a cost-affordable and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) moored system evolved from the KdUINO (Bardaji et al, 2016). It is based on a modular system of light sensors, independent of each other, measuring the irradiance at different depths. The depth of each module can be modified according to the requirements of the project or the environment, offering the user a custom array of sensors. The KduPRO measures the light intensity in the red, green, blue and PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) bands at several depths in the water column to estimate Kd. The affordable cost, along with ease of build and use, make this instrument a valuable tool for anyone interested in getting involved in water quality monitoring programs

VIII International Symposium on Marine Sciences, 6-8 July 2022, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España, Monitoring water transparency provides an indicator of the environmental status of the water body. One parameter to estimate the water transparency is the light diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) (Mobley, 1994). Historically, water transparency has been measured with a simple and inexpensive tool: The Secchi disk, a black and white disk that is lowered from above the water surface and tracked visually until it goes out of sight (Pitarch, 2020). Despite it being a valuable index of visual water clarity, the quality of its measurements is user-dependent, owing to differences between observers (Bruckner, 2018). In addition, ZSD (Secchi disk depth) measured data is discrete in time, and it is dependent on external factors such as water surface conditions and sunlight intensity. For this reason, we need electronic devices to get accurate measures and facilitate evaluations on a long-term scale for water quality monitoring. This need to develop novel approaches for monitoring environmental data is reflected in the recent growing attention toward citizen science (Njue et al., 2019). Citizen science is an expanding practice in which scientists and citizens actively collaborate to produce new knowledge for science and society (Vohland et al., 2021). Nowadays, we can find a wide range of projects to monitor aquatic ecosystems thanks to the progress in marine citizen science, especially enabled and promoted through technological developments (Garcia-Soto et al., 2021). Within the framework of H2020 MONOCLE project, it is developed the KduPRO, a cost-affordable and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) moored system evolved from the KdUINO (Bardaji et al, 2016). It is based on a modular system of light sensors, independent of each other, measuring the irradiance at different depths. The depth of each module can be modified according to the requirements of the project or the environment, offering to the user a custom array of sensors. To estimate Kd, the KduPRO measures the light intensity in the PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) band at several depths in the water column. The affordable cost, ease of use and measurement repeatability make the KduPRO a potentially valuable tool for anyone interested in monitoring water quality, including fisheries, diving clubs, citizen volunteer groups, schools, research groups, and local governments to get involved in water quality monitoring programs, This work has been supported by project MONOCLE (grant agreement n. 776480), funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. ICM-CSIC authors acknowledge the institutional support of the 'Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence' accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

3 pages, 2 figures, [EN] In 1987, Konstantin Fedorov, a prominent Soviet oceanographer of the time, dedicated one of his popular science talks to the salinity of the ocean and called it “The Cinderella of Dynamic Oceanology”. Fedorov said that “The fate of salinity as a physical parameter is closely related to the dynamics of ocean waters and is very similar to the fate of poor Cinderella in Charles Perrault’s fairy tale. And, like the fate of poor Cinderella, salinity has long cried out for justice”. […], [ES] En 1987, el Prof. Fedorov, destacado oceanógrafo soviético de la época, dedicó una de sus charlas divulgativas a la salinidad del océano y la llamó “La Cenicienta de la oceanología dinámica”. Fedorov decía que “El destino de la salinidad como parámetro físico está estrechamente relacionado con la dinámica de las aguas del océano y es muy similar al destino de la pobre Cenicienta del cuento de hadas de Charles Perrault. Y, como el destino de la pobre Cenicienta, hace tiempo que la salinidad clama justicia”. […], [CAT] El 1987, el Prof. Fedorov, destacat oceanògraf soviètic de l’època, va dedicar una de les seves xerrades divulgatives a la salinitat de l’oceà i la va anomenar “La Ventafocs de l’oceanologia dinàmica”. Fedorov deia que “El destí de la salinitat com a paràmetre físic està estretament relacionat amb la dinàmica de les aigües de l’oceà i és molt similar al destí de la pobra Ventafocs del conte de fades de Charles Perrault. I, com la pobra Ventafocs, fa temps que la salinitat clama justícia”. […]

Remote Sensing for Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Studies and Applications Workshop, 1-3 December 2021, The traditional framework used for inferring the density driven oceanic circulation necessitates the need of air-sea flux datasets. These datasets are of coarse spatio-temporal resolution as well as highly uncertain due to the nature of their derivation. This means that we cannot take advantage of high resolution ocean surface variables (e.g. provided by satellites) in studies of oceanic circulation. In this study, we have developed an alternative framework in which deep circulation can be inferred through ocean surface variables alone via the material evolution of sea surface salinity (SSS) and sea surface temperature (SST). We showcase the performance of both the approaches over 23 years (1995-2018) in the Southern Hemisphere

1st ESA Ocean Science Cluster Collocation Meeting, 29 November - 2 December 2021

VI Expanding Ocean Frontiers Conference (EOF 2021), 5-7 July 2021

Challenge 9.-- Coordinators: José Pintado Valverde (IIM, CSIC), Ana Crespo Solana (IH-CCHS, CSIC).-- 20 pages, 4 figures., The Ocean has shaped human societies, providing resources and ways of communication, trade, exploration and expansion. Understanding the interactions with Society in the past and the present, is essential to tackle the challenges that face the future of the Ocean. With that aim, this chapter develops the consilience between Ocean Science, Social Sciences and Humanities, leading to the integration of diverse methodologies in an interdisciplinary framework. This holistic approach will be used to increase the knowledge and understanding of the interactions of the Oceans with Society by integrating digital and historical data, and natural and cultural heritage management and protection; connecting Ocean and Cultural Heritage Literacy to promote social change and citizen participation in research; developing interdisciplinary knowledge to base Governance and Management and to foster Sustainable Blue Economy, bridging Local and Indigenous Knowledge with Science-based knowledge

Some years ago, Helene Rozwadowski, a renowned historian of the oceans, entitled one of her books The Sea Knows No Boundaries ( 2002 ). It was a study of the ICES ( International Council for the Exploration of the Seas ), probably the first organization to identify the oceans as a transdisciplinary and collaborative research object. The sea knows no boundaries indeed, though it is a boundary object and it has some limits, since marine resources and biodiversity are today seriously threatened. Our blue planet is at risk. Throughout history, the sea has been many things and has played many different roles. Historically, the seas have located empires and business, networks of humans and commodities. Over the waters, chartered companies, spices or oil routes were established. The oceans have witnessed hundreds of conflicts, naval battles, and piratical encounters, but now it is time to rescue the ocean’s role as a common theatre and as a boundary object for international cooperation, for if the sea knows no boundaries, nor should oceanographic studies, maritime courses, hydrographic and bathymetric charts. Over the centuries, the oceans have been the school for collective endeavours for fishing, studying the fauna, transporting natural species, measuring the world or making astronomical observations. Furthermore, Spain has an historical background and a cultural heritage fully linked to the oceans, navigation and life on board. Numerous naturalists, sailors, astronomers, biologists, and oceanographers have participated in joint nautical undertakings. They have lived and worked on board of their floating laboratories, travelling academies, corvettes, frigates or oceanographic vessels. The sea knows no boundaries. It encircles and encompasses the world, as the Shield of Achilles reflected, as the first circumnavigation we are celebrating today demonstrated. All the oceans were connected. Common matters of different disciplines, collective concerns for humankind float on, navigate through and dive into the oceans. We may survey over its horizon, very likely, the future of our planet Earth. Keeping in mind this historical background, this challenge aims to develop consilience between Ocean Science, Social Sciences and Humanities, leading to the integration of diverse methodologies in an interdisciplinary framework. This holistic approach will be used to increase the knowledge and understanding on the interactions of the Oceans with Society in four main areas : Maritime Cultural Heritage, Ocean Literacy, Governance and Blue Economy, the four of them interconnected in a quadruple helix model.

International Conference on Marine Data and Information Systems (IMDIS 2021), 12-14 April 2021.-- 2 pages, 2 figures, Rivers are the major pathways for material fluxes from land to sea. They supply nutrients and sediments to marine ecosystems, whereas riverine freshwater supplies largely affect the coastal and offshore circulation of oceanic systems. Unfortunately, most of the river data is fragmented and not accessible. In this paper, we describe the results from a joint European cross-cutting action between EMODnet Physics and the LAMBDA project for making river data available, accessible, downloadable and usable. In the framework of EMODnet Physics and SeaDataNet NODCs have started designing the workflow for long term river data (for oceanography) management. [...]

16th Specialist Meeting on on Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing of the Environment (MicroRAD 2020), 16-20 November 2020

Earth Observation for Water Cycle Science. 16-18 November 2020