Recent freshening and cooling of Biscay subsurface waters

The monitoring program Radiales (https://www.seriestemporales-ieo.net/) by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, has been providing hydrographical and biogeochemical series in marine waters around Spain on a monthly basis from early 90's. The proximity of the shelf-break in front of the city of Santander (SE Bay of Biscay) allowed tracking intermediate and deep waters along the standard section perpendicular to this city for three decades (sampling was limited to 1000 meter until late 2007, then extended to 1500 m, and full-depth 2400 m since 2014). From the start of the sampling in nearly 90`s, subsurface waters showed unabated warming and salt-increase. Warming was linked to isopycnal sinking (heave) during the 90`s and early 00`s until the occurrence of very strong winter mixing in 2005 that shifted quickly the salinity down to lower East North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) levels (ca. 400 m). Overall, warming and salt-increase at the core of ENACW added up to 0.3ºC and 0.08 in salinity within only two and a bit decades. In 2014, the upper central waters showed freshening and cooling for the first time in the series, a process that enhanced in the following years especially in salinity that currently (2021) presents the lowest value of the overall timeseries. This shift in regional hydrography follows the large salinity drop observed in the subpolar gyre around 2012 and its subsequent expansion downstream into the subtropical gyre and subarctic seas. This regime shift implies that subsurface environmental conditions in the region have returned back to 90`s state, contrasting to the uppermost waters which continue to show large positive anomalies. The effects of this cold and freshwater inflow in the regional circulation of southern Biscay are discussed

iFADO project: contribution to the determination of the Good Environmental Status in the Atlantic Area through modeling and in situ monitoring approaches

The project iFADO ( innovation in the Framework of the Atlantic Deep Ocean ) aims to combine conventional monitoring programs (with special focus on novel semi-automatic techniques that can be applied for in situ biological monitoring) with emerging technologies (such as gliders, satellite imagery, etc.) and modeling approaches to assist the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), providing tools for the optimization of observing strategies for better evaluation and forecasting of the Good Environmental Status (GES). Within this framework, the multidisciplinary iFADO cruise (within the RADPROF time series program, Instituto Español de Oceanografía) was carried out with transnational collaboration on summer 2020 along a standard coastal-oceanic transect off NW Iberian Peninsula, including physical, biogeochemical and biological measurements. Additionally, an effort is being made in the implementation and validation of existing and new biogeochemical models in the Atlantic margin, focusing on key variables for the implementation of MSFD Descriptors. The combination of iFADO models and in situ monitoring approaches not only might contribute data and potential indicators for MSFD Descriptors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10, from coastal to open-ocean environments, but they are essential tools to detect, model and predict temporal changes in marine ecosystems in the study area

Vertical distribution and abundance of copepod nauplii and ichthyoplankton in northern Baja California during strong internal tidal forcing

11 pages, 3 tables, 4 figuresIn this study, we explored the changes in the vertical distribution and abundance of copepod nauplii and ichthyoplankton every hour in three different depth strata during a period of strong internal tides, which have been shown to accumulate and transport plankters. In the deeper stratum, the abundance of copepod nauplii was significantly greater, significantly increased during the cold phase of the internal tide, and was significantly correlated with both total and baroclinic current flows in the direction of internal tide propagation. On the other hand, ichthyoplankton abundance was generally low, with no stratification in vertical distribution, no significant changes across the two phases of the internal tide, and no correlation at any depth with any current flows. The cold phases of the internal tide were characterized by a shallow thermocline, a cooler water column, and a significant increase in the abundance of copepod nauplii in the bottom stratum. On the other hand, the warm phases of the internal tide were characterized by abrupt warming in surface waters, a depression of the thermocline, and a significant decrease of copepod nauplii in the bottom stratum. The depth distribution and buoyancy of the different groups of larvae may be responsible for the differences foundThis work was supported by CONACyT project (221662) awarded to LBL. LSV acknowledges the CONACyT Fronteras de la Ciencia (contract 2015-2-280) project for supportPeer reviewe

Delaying surgery for patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection

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The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AimThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery.MethodsThis was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin.ResultsOverall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P ConclusionOne in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease