Description: Ocean acidification is thought to be a major threat to coral reefs: laboratory evidence and CO2 seep research has shown adverse effects on many coral species, although a few are resilient. There are concerns that cold-water corals are even more vulnerable as they live in areas where aragonite saturation (Omega ara) is lower than in the tropics and is falling rapidly due to CO2 emissions. Here, we provide laboratory evidence that net (gross calcification minus dissolution) and gross calcification rates of three common cold-water corals, Caryophyllia smithii, Dendrophyllia cornigera, and Desmophyllum dianthus, are not affected by pCO2 levels expected for 2100 (pCO2 1058 µatm, Omega ara 1.29), and nor are the rates of skeletal dissolution in D. dianthus. We transplanted D. dianthus to 350 m depth (pHT 8.02; pCO2 448 µatm, Omega ara 2.58) and to a 3 m depth CO2 seep in oligotrophic waters (pHT 7.35; pCO2 2879 µatm, Omega ara 0.76) and found that the transplants calcified at the same rates regardless of the pCO2 confirming their resilience to acidification, but at significantly lower rates than corals that were fed in aquaria. Our combination of field and laboratory evidence suggests that ocean acidification will not disrupt cold-water coral calcification although falling aragonite levels may affect other organismal physiological and/or reef community processes.

Description: Water mass generation and mixing in the eastern Fram Strait are strongly influenced by the interaction between Atlantic and Arctic waters and by the local atmospheric forcing, which produce dense water that substantially contributes to maintaining the global thermohaline circulation. The West Spitsbergen margin is an ideal area to study such processes. Hence, in order to investigate the deep flow variability on short-term, seasonal, and multiannual timescales, two moorings were deployed at ~1040 m depth on the southwest Spitsbergen continental slope. We present and discuss time series data collected between June 2014 and June 2016. They reveal thermohaline and current fluctuations that were largest from October to April, when the deep layer, typically occupied by Norwegian Sea Deep Water, was perturbed by sporadic intrusions of warmer, saltier, and less dense water. Surprisingly, the observed anomalies occurred quasi-simultaneously at both sites, despite their distance (~170 km). We argue that these anomalies may arise mainly by the effect of topographically trapped waves excited and modulated by atmospheric forcing. Propagation of internal waves causes a change in the vertical distribution of the Atlantic water, which can reach deep layers. During such events, strong currents typically precede thermohaline variations without significant changes in turbidity. However, turbidity increases during April–June in concomitance with enhanced downslope currents. Since prolonged injections of warm water within the deep layer could lead to a progressive reduction of the density of the abyssal water moving toward the Arctic Ocean, understanding the interplay between shelf, slope, and deep waters along the west Spitsbergen margin could be crucial for making projections on future changes in the global thermohaline circulation.

Description: The large-scale circulation and dense water formation (DWF) in the Svalbard archipelago influence the thermohaline circulation in the whole Arctic. In particular, DWF depends on the rate of cooling and homogenisation of the Atlantic water along its northward pathway, brine rejection, boundary convection on shelves and slopes, and open-ocean convection. This study focuses on brine rejection, shelf convection and entrainment processes, which occur in the SW Spitsbergen area. Two short (~140m) moorings (named S1 and ID2), deployed at a depth of ~1040 m over the slope, collected multiannual (2014-2017) time-series in an area of interaction between the West Spitsbergen Current and the descending dense shelf plumes. Time-series revealed a large thermohaline and current variability between October and April. Data highlight the presence of Norwegian Sea Deep Water (θ = -0.90°C, S = 34.90, σθ = 28.07 kg m-3) influenced by occasional intrusions of warmer (up to +2°C), saltier (up to ~35), and less dense (down to 27.98 kg m-3) water during fall-winter periods. Interestingly, such intrusions occur simultaneously at both sites, despite their distance (~170 km), suggesting that winter meteorological perturbations play an important role in triggering dense shelf plumes, which collect particulate matter during their descent. Here we discuss the origin, timing, and role of such turbidity plumes in a period characterized by a general warming and ice reduction of the Arctic.

Description: SEACleanerII is the present follow up of the SEACleaner citizenscience project (2014-2016) implemented by CNR-ISMAR in collaboration with other Research and Organization Centers (DLTM, INGV), 5 Regional/National Parks in South Liguria and North Tuscany, and many associations School Institutions. The project’s aim is to collect data on the type, distribution and principal pollution sources of macro and micro “Anthropogenic Marine Debries” (AMDs) on several beaches in a vast area belonging to the Pelagos Mammals Santuary. SEACleaner takes advantage of the ministerial program Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro to involve hundreds of secondary school students. Strong collaborations and synergies have been activated with other citizenscience projects focused on biological surveys, through Reef Check Protocol MAC-e, in the same selected areas. Results were made public by means of scientific publications (also for generic public), a master thesis and trough the documentary “MARINE RUBBISH. A challenge to share” distributed by CNR-WEB TV, realized for the 10th of Researchers Night in Bruxell in 2015, and presented in various national and international Environmental Film Festival. In 2016 the network has been extended to ENEA-UTMAR of La Spezia. SEACleanerII focuses on microplastics which represent a major problem for marine mammals in the considered area. It provides data collected during repeated campaigns at the same georeferenced stations, with seasonal time lapse. Compared to the previous project, the survey is restricted to marine high protected areas and to some neighboring urban beaches, in order to compare situations that differ for anthropization, tourist exploitation, cleaning beach actions etc. Here we present some preliminary results of the last year of microplastic collection and a brief review of past SEACleaner results.

Description: Published

Description: San Diego, California, USA

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: The Arctic region has gained a large interest because of climate changes and its effects on ice melting and global warming. Abrupt changes in the atmosphere are responsible for significant changes in the ocean water masses and large-scale circulation, which in turn affect again the global climate. The knowledge of the circulation and related processes along the southwest (SW) offshore Svalbard area and within Storfjorden (southern Svalbard Archipelago) is essential to describe the thermohaline circulation and the dense water formation (DWF) in the Arctic, and how they contribute to the global thermohaline circulation. DWF processes in this region depend on the rate of cooling and homogenisation of the Atlantic water along its northwards pathway, the brine rejection, boundary convection on the Arctic Ocean shelves and slopes, and the deep open-ocean convection in the central gyres of the Greenland and Iceland Seas. Here, we focus on the brine rejection, shelf convection and entrainment processes, which happen on the west shelf/slope of Svalbard and in the Storfjorden during the winter season. Two short (130m) moorings (S1 and I2) were deployed in 2014 in the SW offshore Svalbard at ~1000m depth, with the purpose of collecting multiannual time-series in an area of potential interaction between the Western Spitsbergen Current and the dense shelf plumes. Three oceanographic cruises were carried out to integrate time-series with CTD casts in the area. One purpose of this research activity was to combine geophysical and oceanographic data to study the interaction of bottom currents and sediment drifts (contourites) formations. At S1 and I2, time-series revealed a large thermohaline and current variability during the winter period, from October to April. Our data highlight the presence of a stable signal of Norwegian Sea Deep Water influenced by occasional intrusions of warmer, saltier, and less dense water during fall-winter periods. Interestingly, such intrusions occur simultaneously at both sites, despite their distance (~170km). We discuss the origin, timing, and role of shelf turbidity plumes (denser than TS plumes), which descend along slope and undergo a strong entrainment process that modify their properties. The role of possible mesoscale processes is also investigated.

Description: In the last decades, the Arctic region has gained a large interest because of climate changes and relevant effects on ice melting and global warming. Abrupt changes in the atmosphere are responsible for significant changes in ocean water masses and large-scale circulation patterns, which in turn affect the global climate. Studying ocean circulation and related processes along the west Svalbard slope and within the Storfjorden (south Svalbard Archipelago) is essential to describe the thermohaline circulation and the dense water formation (DWF) in the Arctic, and the way they contribute to the global thermohaline circulation. DWF processes in this region depend on the rate of cooling and homogenisation of the Atlantic water along its northwards pathway, brine rejection phenomena, boundary convection on the Arctic Ocean shelves and slopes, and deep open-ocean convection in the central gyres of the Greenland and Iceland Seas. This study focuses on brine rejection, shelf convection and entrainment processes, which occur on the west Svalbard margin and in the Storfjorden during the winter season. Two short (~140m) moorings (named S1 and ID2, figure 1) were deployed ~1000m deep along the slope in 2014, to collect multiannual time-series in an area of potential interaction between the West Spitsbergen Current and the descending dense shelf plumes. Four oceanographic cruises were carried out between 2014 and 2017 to integrate time-series with CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) casts in the area. One purpose of this research activity was to study the role played by bottom currents in the formation of two sediment drifts (Isfjorden and Bellsund). At S1 and ID2, time-series revealed a large thermohaline and current variability during the winter period, from October to April. Our data highlight the presence of a stable signal of Norwegian Sea Deep Water (θ = -0.90°C, S = 34.90, σθ = 28.07 kg m-3) at 1000m depth, influenced by occasional intrusions of warmer (up to +2°C), saltier (up to ~35), and less dense (down to 27.98 kg m-3) water during fall-winter periods. Interestingly, such intrusions occur simultaneously at both sites, despite their distance (~170km), suggesting also that winter meteorological perturbations play an important role in triggering dense shelf plumes. In this paper, the origin, timing, and role of shelf turbidity plumes (denser than TS plumes), which descend along the slope and undergo a strong entrainment process that modify their properties will be discussed. The role of possible mesoscale processes and land-sea atmosphere interactions will also be investigated.

Description: Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantify and close the global inventory of marine plastics, which in turn represents critical information for mitigation or policy strategies. At the same time, plastic is a unique tracer that provides an opportunity to learn more about the physics and dynamics of our ocean across multiple scales, from the Ekman convergence in basin-scale gyres to individual waves in the surfzone. In this review, we comprehensively discuss what is known about the different processes that govern the transport of floating marine plastic debris in both the open ocean and the coastal zones, based on the published literature and referring to insights from neighbouring fields such as oil spill dispersion, marine safety recovery, plankton connectivity, and others. We discuss how measurements of marine plastics (both in situ and in the laboratory), remote sensing, and numerical simulations can elucidate these processes and their interactions across spatio-temporal scales.

Description: The purpose of the guidelines is to review existing knowledge and provide guidance for designing an Arctic monitoring program that will track litter and MP. The topics of litter, plastic pollution, and MP are addressed in many fora, including several of the Arctic Council working groups: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP; https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/amap-assessment-2016-chemicals-of-emerging-arctic-concern/1624), Protection of the Marine Environment (PAME, 2019), and Conservation of the Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). The development of an Arctic monitoring program and its technical approaches will be based on the work that already exists in other programs such as those of OSPAR, the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Plastic pollution is typically categorized into items and particles of macro-, micro-, and nano-sizes. These guidelines address macrosized litter as well as MP (〈 5 mm), essentially including smaller size ranges (〉1 µm). However, determination of nanoplastic (〈 1 µm) particles is still hampered by technical challenges, as addressed in Section 4.3 Analytical methods, and thus not currently considered in the current recommendations. Although most studies have addressed marine litter and MP, these guidelines also comprise the Arctic’s terrestrial and freshwater environments. Thus, the objectives of the guidelines are to: 1) support litter and MP baseline mapping in the Arctic across a wide range of environmental compartments to allow spatial and temporal comparisons in the coming years; 2) initiate monitoring to generate data to assess temporal and spatial trends; 3) recommend that Arctic countries develop and implement monitoring nationally via community-based programs and other mechanisms, in the context of a pan-Arctic program; 4) provide data that can be used with the Marine Litter Regional Action Plan (ML-RAP) to assess the effectiveness of mitigation strategies; 5) act as a catalyst for future work in the Arctic related to biological effects of plastics, including determining environmentally relevant concentrations and informing cumulative effects assessments; 6) identify areas in which research and development are needed from an Arctic perspective; and 7) provide recommendations for monitoring programs whose data will feed into future global assessments to track litter and MP in the environment. To achieve these objectives, the guidelines present indicators (with limitations) of litter and MP pollution to be applied throughout the Arctic, and thus, form the basis for circumpolar comparability of approaches and data. In addition, the guidelines present technical details for sampling, sample treatment, and plastic determination, with harmonized and potentially standardized approaches. Furthermore, recommendations are given on sampling locations and sampling frequency based on best available science to provide a sound basis for spatial and temporal trend monitoring. As new data are gathered, and appropriate power analyses can be undertaken, a review of the sampling sizes, locations, and frequencies should be initiated. Plastic pollution is a local problem in Arctic communities, and thus, guidelines and references need to include community-based monitoring projects to empower communities to establish plastics monitoring with comparable results across the Arctic. Community-based monitoring is an integrated part of the objectives of this report. The monitoring program design and guidelines for its implementation are the necessary first steps for monitoring and assessment of litter and MP in the Arctic. The work under the AMAP LMEG is taking a phased approach under this new expert group. The first phase (which included the development of these Monitoring Guidelines) focuses on a monitoring framework and set of techniques for physical plastics. Later phases of the work will extend to assessments of levels, trends, and effects of litter and MP in the Arctic environment. The guidelines strictly cover environmental monitoring of litter and MP. This does not include drinking water or indoor air quality tests. Additionally, although there is an emphasis on examining litter and MP in biota that are consumed by humans, and thus of interest to human-health questions, the guidelines do not consider MP ingestion by humans.

Description: The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) has published a plan and guidelines for the monitoring of litter and microplastics (MP) in the Arctic. Here we look beyond suggestions for immediate monitoring and discuss challenges, opportunities and future strategies in the long-term monitoring of litter and MP in the Arctic. Challenges are related to environmental conditions, lack of harmonization and standardization of measurements, and long-term coordinated and harmonized data storage. Furthermore, major knowledge gaps exist with regard to benchmark levels, transport, sources and effects, which should be considered in future monitoring strategies. Their development could build on the existing infrastructure and networks established in other monitoring initiatives in the Arctic, while taking into account specific requirements for litter and MP monitoring. Knowledge existing in northern and Indigenous communities, as well as their research priorities, should be integrated into collaborative approaches. The monitoring plan for litter and MP in the Arctic allows for an ecosystem-based approach, which will improve the understanding of linkages between environmental media of the Arctic, as well as links to the global problem of litter and MP pollution.