IMBeR International Project Office, Bergen, Norway
Abstract
The Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR) project, formerly the Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER1) project, is a global environmental change research initiative. Since its start in 2005, IMBeR has advanced understanding about potential marine environmental effects of global change, and the impacts and linkages to human systems at multiple scales. It is apparent that complex environmental issues and associated societal/sustainability choices operate at and across the interfaces of natural and social sciences and the humanities, and require both basic, curiosity-driven research and problem-driven, policy-relevant research. Collaborative, disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and integrated research that addresses key ocean science issues generated by and/or impacting society is required to provide evidence-based knowledge and guidance, along with options for policy-makers, managers and marine-related communities, to help achieve sustainability of the marine realm under global change. This recognition underlies a new vision, “Ocean sustainability under global change for the benefit of society”, to guide IMBeR research for the next decade (2016-2025). This vision recognises that the evolution of marine ecosystems (including biogeochemical cycles and human systems) is linked to natural and anthropogenic drivers and stressors, as articulated in the new IMBeR research goal to, “Understand, quantify and compare historic and present structure and functioning of linked ocean and human systems to predict and project changes including developing scenarios and options for securing or transitioning towards ocean sustainability”. To implement its new vision and goal in the next decade, IMBeR’s mission is to, “Promote integrated marine research and enable capabilities for developing and implementing ocean sustainability options within and across the natural and social sciences, and communicate relevant information and knowledge needed by society to secure sustainable, productive and healthy oceans”. This Science Plan and Implementation Strategy provides a 10-year (2016-2025) marine research agenda for IMBeR. It is developed around three Grand Challenges (GC, see Graphical Executive Summary) focusing on climate variability, global change and drivers and stressors. The qualitative and quantitative understanding of historic and present ocean variability and change (Grand Challenge I) are the basis for scenarios, projections and predictions of the future (Grand Challenge II). These are linked in Grand Challenge III to understand how humans are causing the variability and changes, and how they, in turn, are impacted by these changes, including feedbacks between the human and ocean systems. Priority research areas with overarching and specific research questions are identified for each Grand Challenge. The Grand Challenges are supplemented with Innovation Challenges (IC, see graphical executive summary) that focus on new topics for IMBeR where research is needed and where it is believed that major achievements can be made within three to five years. The Innovation Challenges also provide a means for IMBeR to adjust its focus as major science discoveries are made and new priorities arise, especially regarding scientific innovations
