Valuing marine ecosystems: taking into account the value of ecosystem benefits in the Blue Economy

This publication highlights current thinking in ecosystem service valuation for the marine environment. Valuation of the direct and indirect benefits (for either societal welfare, healthand economic activities) stemming from marine ecosystem services, can help to assess the long-term sustainability of blue growth, support policy development and marinemanagement decisions, and raise awareness of the importance of the marine environment to society and in the economy. Recommendations are made on how to incorporate outputsfrom valuation studies into the traditional analyses used in resource and environmental economics and into the European marine policy landscape and related management anddecision making choices

Simultaneous dynamic electrical and structural measurements of functional materials

A new materials characterization system developed at the XMaS beamline, located at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France, is presented. We show that this new capability allows to measure the atomic structural evolution (crystallography) of piezoelectric materials whilst simultaneously measuring the overall strain characteristics and electrical response to dynamically (ac) applied external stimuli

Visualization 1: Phase calibration target for quantitative phase imaging with ptychography

Movie illustrating ultra-wide field of view modulus and phase reconstruction of the phase target. Originally published in Optics Express on 04 April 2016 (oe-24-7-7679

An integrated approach to coastal and biological observations

Maritime economy, ecosystem-based management and climate change adaptation and mitigation raise emerging needs on coastal ocean and biological observations. Integrated ocean observing aims at optimizing sampling strategies and cost-efficiency, sharing data and best practices, and maximizing the value of the observations for multiple purposes. Recently developed cost-effective, near real time technology such as gliders, radars, ferrybox, and shallow water Argo floats, should be used operationally to generate operational coastal sea observations and analysis. Furthermore, value of disparate coastal ocean observations can be unlocked with multi-dimensional integration on fitness-for-the-purpose, parameter and instrumental. Integration of operational monitoring with offline monitoring programs, such as those for research, ecosystem-based management and commercial purposes, is necessary to fill the gaps. Such integration should lead to a system of networks which can deliver data for all kinds of purposes. Detailed integration activities are identified which should enhance the coastal ocean and biological observing capacity. Ultimately a program is required which integrates physical, biogeochemical and biological observation of the ocean, from coastal to deep-sea environments, bringing together global, regional, and local observation efforts