SOOP Data System Upgrades

Report on data and connectivity upgrading, documenting system improvements to integrate observing systems, improve network infrastructure, near-real-time delivery of data and best practice for integrated observations to provide data useful for Marine Services and other user

Analysis of tidal currents in the North Sea from shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler data

North Sea tidal currents are determined by applying harmonic analysis to ship-borne acoustic Doppler current profiler data recorded from 1999 to 2016, covering large areas of the northern North Sea. Direct current measurement data sets of this magnitude are rare in the otherwise well investigated North Sea, and thus it is a valuable asset in studying and expanding our understanding of its tidal currents and circulation in general. The harmonic analysis is applied to a least squares fit of the current observations at a set of knot points. Results from the harmonic analysis compare favorably to tidal parameters estimated from observations from moored instruments. The analysis shows that the tides are characterized by strong semi-diurnal component, with amplitudes of the principal Lunar constituent ranging from 1.6 cm/s in the Skagerrak to 67 cm/s in the Fair Isle Channel. Diurnal tides are found to be approximately one fifth the strength of the predominant semi-diurnal constituent. Output from a regional barotropic tide model compares well to tidal current determined from the harmonic analysis of the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data.publishedVersio

Sea pens and bamboo corals in Skagerrak and the Norwegian trench

This study presents the distribution and abundance of key species of the vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) ‘Coral gardens’ and ‘Sea pen and burrowing megafauna’ in Skagerrak and the Norwegian trench. It is based on 543 bycatches from 2017–2021, and 35 ROV dives from 2016-2017. Bycatches were used to indicate distribution and relative abundance of the VME key species while ROV observations provided information on colony densities, associated fauna and damages. Four sea pen species were recorded. Funiculina quadrangularis and Kophobelemnon stelliferum were widely distributed and most abundant below 200 meters. The few records of Pennatula phosphorea were mainly from shallower than 100 meters, and the rare Balticina finmarchica primarily occurred below 200 meters. The ROV videos confirmed the pattern from the bycatches, however, colony densities were much higher, and the sea pen Virgularia mirabilis recorded in high abundances was not present in bycatches. The coral garden key species Isidella lofotensis, endemic to Norway, had a restricted area of occurrence confirmed by both methodologies. The restricted distribution makes it particularly vulnerable. Fishing activities overlap with the VMEs distribution and the observations of sea pen skeletons and the coral predatory anemone Ptychodactis patula are indicative of pressure from bottom trawl fishing.publishedVersio

Fit-for-Purpose Information for Offshore Wind Farming Applications—Part-I: Identification of Needs and Solutions

The rapid expansion of offshore wind farms (OWFs) in European seas is accompanied by many challenges, including efficient and safe operation and maintenance, environmental protection, and biodiversity conservation. Effective decision-making for industry and environmental agencies relies on timely, multi-disciplinary marine data to assess the current state and predict the future state of the marine system. Due to high connectivity in space (land–estuarial–coastal sea), socioeconomic (multi-sectoral and cross-board), and environmental and ecological processes in sea areas containing OWFs, marine observations should be fit for purpose in relation to multiple OWF applications. This study represents an effort to map the major observation requirements (Part-I), identify observation gaps, and recommend solutions to fill those gaps (Part-II) in order to address multi-dimension challenges for the OWF industry. In Part-I, six targeted areas are selected, including OWF operation and maintenance, protection of submarine cables, wake and lee effects, transport and security, contamination, and ecological impact assessments. For each application area, key information products are identified, and integrated modeling–monitoring solutions for generating the information products are proposed based on current state-of-the-art methods. The observation requirements for these solutions, in terms of variables and spatial and temporal sampling needs, are therefore identified.publishedVersio

Fit-for-Purpose Information for Offshore Wind Farming Applications—Part-II: Gap Analysis and Recommendations

Offshore wind energy installations in coastal areas have grown massively over the last decade. This development comes with a large number of technological, environmental, economic, and scientific challenges, which need to be addressed to make the use of offshore wind energy sustainable. One important component in these optimization activities is suitable information from observations and numerical models. The purpose of this study is to analyze the gaps that exist in the present monitoring systems and their respective integration with models. This paper is the second part of two manuscripts and uses results from the first part about the requirements for different application fields. The present solutions to provide measurements for the required information products are described for several European countries with growing offshore wind operations. The gaps are then identified and discussed in different contexts, like technology evolution, trans-European monitoring and modeling initiatives, legal aspects, and cooperation between industry and science. The monitoring gaps are further quantified in terms of missing observed quantities, spatial coverage, accuracy, and continuity. Strategies to fill the gaps are discussed, and respective recommendations are provided. The study shows that there are significant information deficiencies that need to be addressed to ensure the economical and environmentally friendly growth of the offshore wind farm sector. It was also found that many of these gaps are related to insufficient information about connectivities, e.g., concerning the interactions of wind farms from different countries or the coupling between physical and biological processes.publishedVersio

Effects of sound from seismic surveys on fish reproduction, the management case from Norway

Anthropogenic noise has been recognized as a source of concern since the beginning of the 1940s and is receiving increasingly more attention. While international focus has been on the effects of noise on marine mammals, Norway has managed seismic surveys based on the potential impact on fish stocks and fisheries since the late 1980s. Norway is, therefore, one of very few countries that took fish into account at this early stage. Until 1996, spawning grounds and spawning migration, as well as areas with drifting eggs and larvae were recommended as closed for seismic surveys. Later results showed that the effects of seismic surveys on early fish development stages were negligible at the population level, resulting in the opening of areas with drifting eggs and larvae for seismic surveys. Spawning grounds, as well as concentrated migration towards these, are still closed to seismic surveys, but the refinement of areas and periods have improved over the years. Since 2018, marine mammals have been included in the advice to management. The Norwegian case provides a clear example of evidence-based management. Here, we examine how scientific advancements informed the development of Norwegian management and how management questions were incorporated into new research projects in Norway.publishedVersio

Comparison of visual and molecular taxonomic methods to identify ichthyoplankton in the North Sea

The North Sea is an important spawning and nursery ground for many demersal and pelagic fishes whose spawning areas are largely overlapping in time and space. This makes ichthyoplankton visual identification from the various species particularly challenging. Despite historically intensive research in the area, detailed information on spawning sites and times for many taxa, are incomplete. To update and detail the mapping of fish spawning performance and distribution in the central and northern regions of the North Sea, the performance of a visual method and a molecular taxonomic approach used for taxonomic classification of ichthyoplankton was evaluated. Samples of fish eggs and larvae were collected regularly and in parallel at different latitudinal locations from the central to the northern North Sea, including a sample with 78 larvae used for direct comparison between both methods. A total of 5332 individuals were inspected and 36 different species were identified. The visual processing identified 89% of the collected larvae to species level, however, for the eggs the taxonomic resolution was lower with only 5% identified to species level. In comparison to visual identification, molecular barcoding gave higher precision of identification for larvae and especially for the eggs. For the larvae, 98% were assigned to species level, and for the eggs 94% were assigned to species level. We find that molecular barcoding is more effective and precise in taxonomic identification of both eggs and larvae to species level. However, visual identification is still needed to provide information on the developmental stages.publishedVersio

Assessment of Fish Spawning in the North Sea; Final Project Report of KINO-2, 2017–2021

Increased and updated knowledge of reproductive strategies of fish is crucial to optimize the temporal and spatial planning for conducting seismic surveys; in order to reduce its potential negative ecosystems impacts. The overall goal of this study is to improve our knowledge about the spawning times of the major North Sea fish stocks.publishedVersio

An assessment of the added value from data assimilation on modelled Nordic Seas hydrography and ocean transports

-The Nordic Seas is a hotspot both in terms of climate related processes, such as Atlantic–Arctic heat exchange, and natural marine resources. A sustainable management of the marine resources within the Nordic Seas, including the co-existence between fisheries and petroleum industries, requires detailed information on the state of the ocean within an operational framework and beyond what is obtainable from observations only. Numerical ocean models applying data assimilation techniques are utilized to address this need. Subsequently, comprehensive comparisons between model results and observations are required in order to assess the model performance. Here, we apply a set of objective statistics to quantitatively assess the added value of data assimilation in numerical ocean models that are currently used operationally. The results indicate that the inclusion of data assimilation improves the model performance both in terms of hydrographic properties and volume and heat transports. Furthermore, we find that increasing the resolution towards eddy resolving resolution performs similarly to coarser resolution models applying data assimilation in shelf areas