Climate change considerations are fundamental to management of deep‐sea resource extraction

Climate change manifestation in the ocean, through warming, oxygen loss, increasing acidification, and changing particulate organic carbon flux (one metric of altered food supply), is projected to affect most deep‐ocean ecosystems concomitantly with increasing direct human disturbance. Climate drivers will alter deep‐sea biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, and may interact with disturbance from resource extraction activities or even climate geoengineering. We suggest that to ensure the effective management of increasing use of the deep ocean (e.g., for bottom fishing, oil and gas extraction, and deep‐seabed mining), environmental management and developing regulations must consider climate change. Strategic planning, impact assessment and monitoring, spatial management, application of the precautionary approach, and full‐cost accounting of extraction activities should embrace climate consciousness. Coupled climate and biological modeling approaches applied in the water and on the seafloor can help accomplish this goal. For example, Earth‐System Model projections of climate‐change parameters at the seafloor reveal heterogeneity in projected climate hazard and time of emergence (beyond natural variability) in regions targeted for deep‐seabed mining. Models that combine climate‐induced changes in ocean circulation with particle tracking predict altered transport of early life stages (larvae) under climate change. Habitat suitability models can help assess the consequences of altered larval dispersal, predict climate refugia, and identify vulnerable regions for multiple species under climate change. Engaging the deep observing community can support the necessary data provisioning to mainstream climate into the development of environmental management plans. To illustrate this approach, we focus on deep‐seabed mining and the International Seabed Authority, whose mandates include regulation of all mineral‐related activities in international waters and protecting the marine environment from the harmful effects of mining. However, achieving deep‐ocean sustainability under the UN Sustainable Development Goals will require integration of climate consideration across all policy sectors.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2020 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Lt

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Marine landscape mapping in submarine canyons

As the largest portion of the Earth's surface, the deep-sea contains various ecosystems and harbours among the highest biodiversity on the planet. Complex deep-sea environments such as submarine canyons are some of the true ecosystem hotspots harbouring extensive species diversity owing to their high terrain variability. However, their complexity and limited accessibility has left many unanswered questions concerning their spatial structure and ecology. Recently, there has been an increasing amount of interest to understand the ecosystem function of this challenging environment, which has led to the development of technology to enable accessibility for research and exploration. Along with this, evidence of anthropogenic impacts has been uncovered, and this calls for more effective management in this complex type of deep-sea environment. Although there is a growing awareness for conservation in the deep-sea, scientific knowledge to underpin these strategies is still inadequate. Often what is known to the scientific community is not properly conveyed to policy makers. Hence, implementation of marine spatial management is not always successful.This thesis provides a scientific framework to underpin ecosystem-based management. It examines the seabed spatial structure in submarine canyons by 1) developing a mapping procedure to represent the spatial structure using commonly available data types for seabed studies, 2) proposing an approach to quantify the structural variability as an indicator for biodiversity to aid decision-making in prioritising conservation areas and 3) evaluating the spatial structure information transfer across different spatial scales and data types.As a result, a novel technique that is objective, automated and statistically robust is developed to map marine landscapes, which are geomorphologically and ecologically meaningful. The marine landscape map is found to be the best representation of environmental characteristics in submarine canyons. Based on this finding, marine landscape configuration and composition is quantified as a proxy for habitat heterogeneity and potentially an indicator of biodiversity. Additionally, the method is transferred to a high-resolution dataset for marine landscape mapping at a local scale, in order to evaluate the evolution of spatial characteristics across data scales. This study reveals that a link between regional and local scale spatial structure can be identified and mapped, and that information from one scale can be transferred to the other. Additionally, regional scale marine landscape maps provide first-level structural information that is suitable and sufficient to facilitate marine spatial management for large heterogeneous areas such as submarine canyons

Objective automated classification technique for marine landscape mapping in submarine canyons

This study proposes a fully automated and objective technique to map marine landscapes in submarine canyons. The method is suitable for broad and regional scale mapping derived from sonar data using multivariate statistical analysis. The method is divided into two main parts: the terrain analysis and the multivariate statistical analysis. The first part aims to optimise the sonar data and comprises three steps 1) data resampling 2) determination of length scale and 3) multiple scale analysis. The second part covers the actual marine landscape classification and consists of 1) principal component analysis (PCA) 2) K-means clustering and 3) cluster determination. In addition, a confidence map is presented based on cluster membership derived from cluster distance in attribute space.The technique was applied in the Lisbon-Setubal and Cascais Canyons offshore Portugal. The area was classified into 6 marine landscapes that represent the geomorphological features present in submarine canyons. The main findings from the study are 1) the transferability of a tool from geomorphometric analysis – Estimation of Scale Parameter (ESP) - to detect the length scale of potential patterns in bathymetric grids; 2) multiple scale terrain analysis allows an appropriate discrimination of local and broad scale geomorphic features in marine landscape mapping; 3) the method not only delineates geomorphic seafloor features but also points out properties that might influence biodiversity in a complex terrain

Quantifying spatial heterogeneity in submarine canyons

Spatial variability in environmental conditions has been attributed as the main driver behind marine biodiversity in structurally complex environments. Despite this, spatial heterogeneity, reflecting terrain organisation of environmental conditions, is seldom quantified in the marine environment, especially at regional scale. In contrast, quantification of spatial patterns has been widely applied to characterise structural features of terrestrial landscapes and has been demonstrated to be of great use in landscape ecology and spatial planning. To address this discrepancy, we use landscape ecology indices (entropy-based contagion) and objective automated marine landscape mapping techniques to quantify marine landscape heterogeneity and evaluate the use of this metric as proxy for biodiversity in submarine canyons. Submarine canyons enhance marine landscape diversity at regional scales and provide unique habitats for diverse and abundant faunal assemblages. The deep and complex topography, strong currents and occurrence of specific oceanographic patterns affect the habitat heterogeneity potentially making canyons a hotspot for biological activity, with high faunal diversity. Here, multibeam bathymetry and sidescan sonar imagery were used to generate a marine landscape map for Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic, using objective automated classification and object-based image analysis (OBIA). The resulting marine landscape map was characterised by seven landscape types, of which five were found to be ecologically relevant using species indicator analysis (IndVal). Spatial heterogeneity within the landscape map was then quantified with the entropy-based contagion index. Differences in the entropy-based contagion index were highly significant between canyon branches and the lower canyon. The two main canyon branches were not significantly different from each other. Differences in entropy-based contagion value across seabed areas can help to determine areas suitable for the establishment of Marine Protected Area

Quantifying spatial heterogeneity in submarine canyons

Spatial variability in environmental conditions has been attributed as the main driver behind marine biodiversity in structurally complex environments. Despite this, spatial heterogeneity, reflecting terrain organisation of environmental conditions, is seldom quantified in the marine environment, especially at regional scale. In contrast, quantification of spatial patterns has been widely applied to characterise structural features of terrestrial landscapes and has been demonstrated to be of great use in landscape ecology and spatial planning. To address this discrepancy, we use landscape ecology indices (entropy-based contagion) and objective automated marine landscape mapping techniques to quantify marine landscape heterogeneity and evaluate the use of this metric as proxy for biodiversity in submarine canyons. Submarine canyons enhance marine landscape diversity at regional scales and provide unique habitats for diverse and abundant faunal assemblages. The deep and complex topography, strong currents and occurrence of specific oceanographic patterns affect the habitat heterogeneity potentially making canyons a hotspot for biological activity, with high faunal diversity. Here, multibeam bathymetry and sidescan sonar imagery were used to generate a marine landscape map for Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic, using objective automated classification and object-based image analysis (OBIA). The resulting marine landscape map was characterised by seven landscape types, of which five were found to be ecologically relevant using species indicator analysis (INDVAL). Spatial heterogeneity within the landscape map was then quantified with the entropy-based contagion index. Differences in the entropy-based contagion index were highly significant between canyon branches and the lower canyon. The two main canyon branches were not significantly different from each other. Differences in entropy-based contagion value across seabed areas can help to determine areas suitable for the establishment of Marine Protected Area.</p

Climate change considerations are fundamental to management of deep‐sea resource extraction

Climate change manifestation in the ocean, through warming, oxygen loss, increasing acidification, and changing particulate organic carbon flux (one metric of altered food supply), is projected to affect most deep-ocean ecosystems concomitantly with increasing direct human disturbance. Climate drivers will alter deep-sea biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, and may interact with disturbance from resource extraction activities or even climate geoengineering. We suggest that to ensure the effective management of increasing use of the deep ocean (e.g., for bottom fishing, oil and gas extraction, and deep-seabed mining), environmental management and developing regulations must consider climate change. Strategic planning, impact assessment and monitoring, spatial management, application of the precautionary approach, and full-cost accounting of extraction activities should embrace climate consciousness. Coupled climate and biological modeling approaches applied in the water and on the seafloor can help accomplish this goal. For example, Earth-System Model projections of climate-change parameters at the seafloor reveal heterogeneity in projected climate hazard and time of emergence (beyond natural variability) in regions targeted for deep-seabed mining. Models that combine climate-induced changes in ocean circulation with particle tracking predict altered transport of early life stages (larvae) under climate change. Habitat suitability models can help assess the consequences of altered larval dispersal, predict climate refugia, and identify vulnerable regions for multiple species under climate change. Engaging the deep observing community can support the necessary data provisioning to mainstream climate into the development of environmental management plans. To illustrate this approach, we focus on deep-seabed mining and the International Seabed Authority, whose mandates include regulation of all mineral-related activities in international waters and protecting the marine environment from the harmful effects of mining. However, achieving deep-ocean sustainability under the UN Sustainable Development Goals will require integration of climate consideration across all policy sectors

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701