Operational oceanography and european ocean observing system (EOOS)

Peer Reviewe

Irish Ocean Climate and Ecosystem Status Report

Summary report for Irish Ocean Climate & Ecosystem Status Report also published here. This Irish Ocean Climate & Ecosystem Status Summary for Policymakers brings together the latest evidence of ocean change in Irish waters. The report is intended to summarise the current trends in atmospheric patterns, ocean warming, sea level rise, ocean acidification, plankton and fish distributions and abundance, and seabird population trends. The report represents a collaboration between marine researchers within the Marine Institute and others based in Ireland’s higher education institutes and public bodies. It includes authors from Met Éireann, Maynooth University, the University of Galway, the Atlantic Technological University, National Parks and Wildlife, Birdwatch Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Inland Fisheries Ireland, The National Water Forum, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Dundalk Institute of Technology.This report is intended to summarise the current trends in Ireland’s ocean climate. Use has been made of archived marine data held by a range of organisations to elucidate some of the key trends observed in phenomena such as atmospheric changes, ocean warming, sea level rise, acidification, plankton and fish distributions and abundance, and seabirds. The report aims to summarise the key findings and recommendations in each of these areas as a guide to climate adaptation policy and for the public. It builds on the previous Ocean Climate & Ecosystem Status Report published in 2010. The report examines the recently published literature in each of the topic areas and combines this in many cases with analysis of new data sets including long-term time series to identify trends in essential ocean variables in Irish waters. In some cases, model projections of the likely future state of the atmosphere and ocean are presented under different climate emission scenarios.Marine Institut

Measuring poverty in Britain as a multi-dimensional concept, 1991 to 2003

While poverty is widely accepted to be an inherently multi-dimensional concept, it has proved very difficult to develop measures that both capture this multi-dimensionality and facilitate comparison of trends over time. Structural equation modelling appears to offer a solution to this conundrum and is used to exploit the British Household Panel Study to create a multi-dimensional measure of poverty. The analysis reveals that the decline in poverty in Britain between 1991 and 2003 was driven by falls in material deprivation, but more especially by reduced financial stress, particularly during the early 1990s. The limitations and potential of the new approach are critically discussed. © 2008 Cambridge University Press

Marine Environmental Characterisation of Irish Inshore Aquaculture Regions

Understanding the hydrography and ocean dynamics of Ireland's inshore regions is crucial for assessing how these physical processes impact the aquaculture or fisheries industries. This study examines temperature, salinity, and stratification patterns, along with extreme climatic events such as marine heatwaves (MHWs) and marine cold spells (MCSs), which significantly impact marine ecosystems and aquaculture productivity. Using a combination of observational data, numerical ocean models, and literature sources, the study provides insights into physical environmental characteristics per region, both contemporary and historical. Distributions of temperature and salinity within regional bays and harbours, as shown here, highlight the growing threats climate change poses to Irish coastal waters, particularly through increasing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and MHWs. Results indicate potential for harsher growing conditions and more frequent harmful algal blooms (HABs). Although a decline in marine cold spells (MCSs) at most studied sites offers some respite, the rise in the frequency of cold spells in Bantry Bay highlights the need for continued monitoring and adaptive strategies. Existing, planned and potential long-term observations at key Marine Institute sites, aim to bridge gaps in our understanding of marine environmental trends, aiding mitigation and adaptive efforts, which are evermore required in warming regional seasMarine Institut

HIV genotypic resistance among pregnant women initiating ART in Uganda: a baseline evaluation of participants in the Option B+ clinical trial

Background: Pre-treatment HIV drug resistance is a threat to elimination of mother to child HIV transmission and could lead to virological failure among HIV-positive pregnant women. We analysed genotypic HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) of baseline samples of participants enrolled in the Option B+ clinical trial in Uganda.Methods: HIV-infected pregnant women attending antenatal care were enrolled from Uganda’s National Referral Hospital (Mulago) and Mityana District general hospital and surrounding health centers (HCs). Genotypic HIV testing was performed on blood samples from the first 135 enrolled women out of a subset of 136 participants (25%) who had a baseline VL>1000 copies/mL as one sample failed to amplify.Results: 159/540 (29.4%) had a VL < 1000 copies/ml and 381/540 (70.6%) had a VL >1,000 copies/ml. Of the women with VL>1000 copies/ml, 32 (23.7%) had resistance mutations including 29/135 (21.5%) NNRTI mutations, 6/135 (4.4%) NRTI mutations and 3/135 (2.2%) had both NNRTI and NRTI mutations. The most common NNRTI resistance mutations were: K103KN (5), K103N (5), V179T (4) and E138A (4).Conclusions: One quarter of the HIV-infected pregnant women in this trial at baseline had NNRTI genotypic resistance mutations. Our findings support new WHO guidelines for first-line ART that were changed to dolutegravir-based regimens

Sustained transatlantic coastal observations Report: Strategy for transatlantic sustained measurements in the coastal ocean, based on the strengthened forum for interaction between US IOOS, GOOS regional alliances and EuroGOOS

DoA: Task 4.4 Transatlantic cooperation and sustainability This task will enhance the European Forum for Coastal Technologies and establish a formal link between the US Alliance for Coastal Technologies and the European Forum for Coastal Technologies. We will strengthen links with coastal observing initiatives around the Atlantic basin including links between EuroGOOS ROOSes, and the regional operational oceanographic systems in the US and Canada. In doing so, we will create a forum for interaction between US IOOS, GOOS regional alliances, and EuroGOOS. The task will develop a strategy for transatlantic sustained measurements in the coastal ocean, building on developments such as OceanObs, Coastal GOOS and JERICO FP7 project, to deliver data for social and economic benefi

An observational and warning system for the aquaculture sector

© 2024 Pereiro, Belyaev, Dunbar, Conway, Dabrowski, Graves, Navarro, Nolan, Pearlman, Simpson and Cusack. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.This work presents the steps followed in the design and implementation of a marine observatory that provides the current state and forecast of oceanic conditions relevant to the aquaculture sector. Examples of successful implementation of these guidelines are presented in the framework of the EuroSea project (H2020 grant agreement No. 862626) for two aquaculture sites: Deenish Island in Ireland and El Campello in Spain. In-situ essential ocean measurements, remote-sensing observations and modelled forecasts are jointly provided to the aquaculture end users. The process begins with stakeholder interaction to understand their main needs and concerns, followed by software architecture design and development to facilitate data acquisition, post-processing and visualization on an open-access web platform. User input regarding the development of the observatory and web platform content and frequent feedback are of paramount importance during the whole process to ensure that the services offered match the needs of the aquaculture sector.This study was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 862626.Peer reviewe

What we have learned from the framework for ocean observing: evolution of the global ocean observing system

The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and its partners have worked together over the past decade to break down barriers between open-ocean and coastal observing, between scientific disciplines, and between operational and research institutions. Here we discuss some GOOS successes and challenges from the past decade, and present ideas for moving forward, including highlights of the GOOS 2030 Strategy, published in 2019. The OceanObs’09 meeting in Venice in 2009 resulted in a remarkable consensus on the need for a common set of guidelines for the global ocean observing community. Work following the meeting led to development of the Framework for Ocean Observing (FOO) published in 2012 and adopted by GOOS as a foundational document that same year. The FOO provides guidelines for the setting of requirements, assessing technology readiness, and assessing the usefulness of data and products for users. Here we evaluate successes and challenges in FOO implementation and consider ways to ensure broader use of the FOO principles. The proliferation of ocean observing activities around the world is extremely diverse and not managed, or even overseen by, any one entity. The lack of coherent governance has resulted in duplication and varying degrees of clarity, responsibility, coordination and data sharing. GOOS has had considerable success over the past decade in encouraging voluntary collaboration across much of this broad community, including increased use of the FOO guidelines and partly effective governance, but much remains to be done. Here we outline and discuss several approaches for GOOS to deliver more effective governance to achieve our collective vision of fully meeting society’s needs. What would a more effective and well-structured governance arrangement look like? Can the existing system be modified? Do we need to rebuild it from scratch? We consider the case for evolution versus revolution. Community-wide consideration of these governance issues will be timely and important before, during and following the OceanObs’19 meeting in September 2019

Chemical combination effects predict connectivity in biological systems

Efforts to construct therapeutically useful models of biological systems require large and diverse sets of data on functional connections between their components. Here we show that cellular responses to combinations of chemicals reveal how their biological targets are connected. Simulations of pathways with pairs of inhibitors at varying doses predict distinct response surface shapes that are reproduced in a yeast experiment, with further support from a larger screen using human tumour cells. The response morphology yields detailed connectivity constraints between nearby targets, and synergy profiles across many combinations show relatedness between targets in the whole network. Constraints from chemical combinations complement genetic studies, because they probe different cellular components and can be applied to disease models that are not amenable to mutagenesis. Chemical probes also offer increased flexibility, as they can be continuously dosed, temporally controlled, and readily combined. After extending this initial study to cover a wider range of combination effects and pathway topologies, chemical combinations may be used to refine network models or to identify novel targets. This response surface methodology may even apply to non-biological systems where responses to targeted perturbations can be measured