Varijacije termičkih uvjeta u južnom Jadranu prema batitermografskim mjerenjima u periodu od listopada 2002. do lipnja 2003. godine

XBT measurements along two sections in the southern Adriatic carried out from the preconditioning through spreading phase of the deep convection in the season 2002/03 enabled us to describe in detail the process of dense water formation. In autumn, thermal conditions revealed a prominent doming structure and cyclonic circulation in the area that strengthened the inflow of Ionian waters. In March, the vertical convection reached 600 m depth but the air-sea heat and buoyancy losses were mitigated by the horizontal advection of buoyancy. Comparison with previously collected data reveals that the temperature of the mixed water patch shows a continuous interannual increasing trend noticed in the last decade.Redovna batitermografska mjerenja obavljana su dva puta mjesečno u južnom Jadranu u periodu od listopada 2002. do lipnja 2003., kako bi se analizirale vremenske promjene termičkih svojstava vezanih za formiranje pridnene vode. U jesenjem razdoblju prostorna raspodjela temperature ukazuje na pojačanu ciklonalnu cirkulaciju i intenziviranje utjecaja vode iz Jonskog mora. U ožujku vertikalno miješanje dosiže do 600 m dubine, ali je utjecaj gubitka topline na površini mora ublažen dotokom toplije vode s juga. Usporedba termičkih prilika u vertikalno izmiješanom stupcu vode ukazuje na nastavak višegodišnjeg porasta temperature mora uočenog u posljednjem desetljeću

Cost and value of multidisciplinary fixed-point ocean observatories

Sustained ocean observations are crucial to understand both natural processes occurring in the ocean and human influence on the marine ecosystems. The information they provide increases our understanding and is therefore beneficial to the society as a whole because it contributes to a more efficient use and protection of the marine environment, upon which human livelihood depends. In addition the oceans, which occupy 73% of the planet surface and host 93% of the biosphere, play a massive role in controlling the climate. Eulerian or fixed-point observatories are an essential component of the global ocean observing system as they provide several unique features that cannot be found in other systems and are therefore complementary to them. In addition they provide a unique opportunity for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work, combining physical, chemical and biological observations on several time scales. The fixed-point open ocean observatory network (FixO3) integrates the 23 European open ocean fixed-point observatories in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea. The programme also seeks to improve access to key installations and the knowledge they provide for the wider community, from scientists, to businesses, to civil society. This paper summarises the rationale behind open ocean observatories monitoring the essential ocean variables. It also provides an estimate of the costs to operate a typical fixed-point observatory such as those included in the FixO3 network. Finally an assessment of the type of data and services provided by ocean observations and their value to society is also given

DEVELOP EUROGOOS MARINE CLIMATE SERVICE WITH A SEAMLESS EARTH SYSTEM APPROACH

The ocean is an important pathway to a low-carbon and climate resilient society, e.g. in areas of blue carbon, green shipping, offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, fi shery and coastal adaptation. Currently, 26 EU member states have made their National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) and/or National Strategy Plan (NAP) which needs a strong climate information service. European Global Ocean Observing System (EuroGOOS) has a strategy to expand existing operational marine service to climate change in 2020-2030. As focal points of national marine, climate and/or weather services, ROOS (Regional Sea Operational Oceanographic System) members have extensive experiences in working with citizens, stakeholders and decision-makers at national, regional and municipality levels. This paper will review current marine climate service capacity in ROOS members, identify gaps in modelling, products and service, and propose a seamless earth system approach for developing EuroGOOS and ROOS marine climate service capacities.Versión del edito

Biogeochemical, isotopic and bacterial distributions trace oceanic abyssal circulation

We explore the possibility of tracing routes of dense waters toward and within the ocean abyss by the use of an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters. To this purpose, we employ mercury, isotopic oxygen, biopolymeric carbon and its constituents, together with indicators of microbial activity and bacterial diversity found in bottom waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. In this basin, which has been considered as a miniature global ocean, two competing sources of bottom water (one in the Adriatic and one in the Aegean seas) contribute to the ventilation of the local abyss. However, due to a recent substantial reduction of the differences in the physical characteristics of these two water masses it has become increasingly complex a water classification using the traditional approach with temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen alone. Here, we show that an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters allows recognizing the existence of two different abyssal routes from the Adriatic source and one abyssal route from the Aegean source despite temperature and salinity of such two competing sources of abyssal water being virtually indistinguishable. Moreover, as the near-bottom development of exogenous bacterial communities transported by convectively-generated water masses in the abyss can provide a persistent trace of episodic events, intermittent flows like those generating abyssal waters in the Eastern Mediterranean basin may become detectable beyond the availability of concomitant measurements.We explore the possibility of tracing routes of dense waters toward and within the ocean abyss by the use of an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters. To this purpose, we employ mercury, isotopic oxygen, biopolymeric carbon and its constituents, together with indicators of microbial activity and bacterial diversity found in bottom waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. In this basin, which has been considered as a miniature global ocean, two competing sources of bottom water (one in the Adriatic and one in the Aegean seas) contribute to the ventilation of the local abyss. However, due to a recent substantial reduction of the differences in the physical characteristics of these two water masses it has become increasingly complex a water classification using the traditional approach with temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen alone. Here, we show that an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters allows recognizing the existence of two different abyssal routes from the Adriatic source and one abyssal route from the Aegean source despite temperature and salinity of such two competing sources of abyssal water being virtually indistinguishable. Moreover, as the near-bottom development of exogenous bacterial communities transported by convectively-generated water masses in the abyss can provide a persistent trace of episodic events, intermittent flows like those generating abyssal waters in the Eastern Mediterranean basin may become detectable beyond the availability of concomitant measurements. © 2016 Rubino et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Biogeochemical properties of Adriatic dense waters

Distribution and characteristics of dense waters in the Adriatic Sea were monitored during their formation in winter 2008, and later, in autumn at the end of the seasonal stratification period in the Adriatic Sea. Different types of dense waters were identified on the basis of their physical features. In order to characterised their biogeochemical properties dissolved oxygen, nutrient, and particulate organic matter (chlorophyll a, particulate organic carbon, particulate nitrogen and phosphorus) were analysed

EMSO ERIC: A challenging infrastructure to monitor Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) across European Seas

The European Multidisciplinary Seafoor and water Column Observatory (EMSO, www.emso.eu) is a distributed research infrastructure (RI), composed of fxed-point deep-sea observatories and shallow water test sites at strategic environmental locations from the southern entrance of the Arctic Ocean all the way through the North Atlantic through the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Working as a single powerful system, it is a valuable new tool for researchers and engineers looking for long time series of high-quality and high-resolution data to study and continuously monitor complex processes interactions among the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, as well as to test, validate and demonstrate new marine technologies.Peer Reviewe

Terms of reference for the mediterranean tuna habitat observatory initiative

[EN] We present the Terms of Reference for a case study on a Mediterranean eco-region focusing on the environmental component of the Ecosystem Report Card. The objective of this case study is to describe and monitor the variability of environmental processes in the Mediterranean Sea that affect the ecology of large pelagic fishes, with a particular attention on tunas, and the possible role of climate change on this variability. Here we define the objectives and activities of the initiative, the participant roles, primary indicators and the methodological approach[FR] Ce document présente les termes de référence d’une étude de cas sur une écorégion méditerranéenne consacrée à la composante environnementale de la fiche informative sur les écosystèmes. L'objectif de cette étude de cas est de décrire et de suivre la variabilité des processus environnementaux en mer Méditerranée qui affectent l'écologie des grands poissons pélagiques, en accordant une attention particulière aux thonidés, et de déterminer le rôle possible du changement climatique sur cette variabilité. Nous définissons ici les objectifs et les activités de l'initiative, les rôles des participants, les indicateurs primaires et l'approche méthodologique.[ES] En el documento se presentan los términos de referencia para un estudio de caso sobre una ecorregión mediterránea centrado en el componente medioambiental de la ficha informativa sobre ecosistemas. El objetivo de este estudio de caso es describir y hacer un seguimiento de la variabilidad de los procesos medioambientales en el mar Mediterráneo que afectan a la ecología de los grandes peces pelágicos, con especial atención a los túnidos, y el posible papel del cambio climático en esta variabilidad. A continuación, se definen los objetivos y actividades de la iniciativa, las funciones de los participantes, los indicadores principales y el enfoque metodológico.Peer reviewe

Coastal high-frequency radars in the Mediterranean ??? Part 2: Applications in support of science priorities and societal needs

International audienceThe Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate-change hot spot, with many socioeconomically vital coastal areas being the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, high-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in coastal ocean observing systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-user and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: (i) maritime safety, (ii) extreme hazards and (iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean coastal areas required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to provide a set of recommendations for future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution to extending science-based HFR products into societally relevant downstream services to support blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU's Green Deal goals