Description: Executive Summary The State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2021 together with its predecessors contributes to the documentation of the state of the Arctic environment in and around Svalbard, and highlights research conducted within the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS). Climate change is a global problem, but many of its impacts are being felt most strongly in the Arctic. Given its remote but accessible location, Svalbard constitutes an ideal place to study the Arctic environment in general, including, more specifically, the causes and consequences of climate change. The Arctic Climate Change Update (2021) emphasised the severity of global climate change for ecosystems across the Arctic. They are undergoing radical changes regarding their structure and functioning, affecting flora, fauna and livelihoods of Arctic communities. Oceanic ecosystems and food webs are directly and indirectly altered by the warming and freshening of the Arctic Ocean. A prolonged open water period and the expansion of open water areas caused by declining sea ice affect under-ice productivity and diversity. These changes have cascading effects through ecosystems and impact the distribution, abundance and seasonality of a variety of marine species. Svalbard is located at one of the key oceanic gateways to the Arctic. This land–ice–ocean transition zone is a system particularly vulnerable to environmental changes. Svalbard’s environment is influenced by maritime processes; thus extensive observation of the ocean system is nowadays necessary. The chapter on the iMOP project reports seawater temperature and salinity variability over the last decades and indicates changes of Svalbard fjord seawater properties. The chapter highlights the role of a collaborative and supportive network of observatory operators and encourages joint planning and maintenance of future marine observatories. Arctic vegetation plays a key role in land–atmosphere interactions. Alterations can lead to ecosystem–climate feedbacks and exacerbate climate change. Extreme precipitation events are already becoming more frequent. Together with an increasing rain-to-snow ratio they impact the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Dynamics in Arctic tundra ecosystems are expected to undergo fundamental changes with increasing temperatures as predicted by climate models. To detect, document, understand and predict those changes, COAT Svalbard provides a long-term and real-time operational observation system through ecosystem-based terrestrial monitoring. The observation system consists of six modules comprising food web pathways as well as one climate-monitoring module and focuses on two contrasting regions in Svalbard to allow for intercomparison. To date, the project has done an initial assessment of tundra ecosystems in Norway and will now begin with the long-term ecosystembased monitoring. For remote regions such as the Svalbard archipelago, terrestrial photography is a crucial addition to satellite imagery, because land-based cameras offer high temporal resolution and insensitivity towards varying weather conditions. PASSES provides an overview of cameras operating in Svalbard managed by research institutions and private companies. The survey revealed difficulties and knowledge gaps preventing the full potential of the terrestrial photography network in Svalbard from being used. Therefore, PASSES recommends the creation of a Svalbard camera system network. The effects of climate change contributed to a specific anomaly of the springtime Arctic atmosphere, namely a pronounced depletion of stratospheric ozone during March and April 2020, which can be called an Arctic ozone hole. In Svalbard, the amount of ozone loss was recorded by ground-based dedicated spectroscopic instruments measuring the total ozone column as well as the UV irradiance (EXAODEP-2020, an update of UV Ozone). The latter is important for effects on the biota. Corresponding erythemal daily doses for spring 2020 show a doubling compared to previous years with less or no ozone depletion. While the correspondence between ozone loss and increase in UV doses follows a well-known relationship, the possible later consequences of the observed springtime increase of UV doses on Svalbard’s environment need to be further studied. A particular method to observe the Svalbard environment, which has seen a very strong increase in usage during recent years, is the application of unmanned airborne or marine vehicles. The update on recent publications using these devices (UAV Svalbard) reveals that especially conventional remotely operated aerial vehicles (drones) with camera equipment are now widely used. It is recommended to SIOS to foster interdisciplinary communication among the multitude of drone users to establish exchange of information and data. New EU regulations for drone operations are being put in place from 2022 onwards also in Svalbard. Climate services are receiving more and more attention from Arctic countries, because they translate data into relevant and timely information, thereby supporting governments, societies and industries in planning and decision-making processes. SIOS contributes to climate services by providing research infrastructure with an overarching goal to develop and maintain a regional observational system for long-term measurements in and around Svalbard. The SIOS Core Data (SCD) consists of a list of essential Earth System Science variables relevant to determine environmental change in the Arctic. SCD is developed to improve the relevance and availability of scientific information addressing ESS topics for decision-making. SIOS Core Data providers have committed to maintain the observations for at least five years, to make the data publicly available, and to follow advanced principles of scientific data management and stewardship. Arctic climate change is posing risks to the safety, health and well-being of Arctic communities and ecosystems. Still, there remain gaps in our understanding of physical processes and societal implications. The authors of the SESS chapters have highlighted some unanswered questions and suggested concrete actions that should be taken to address them. The editors would like to thank the authors for their valuable contributions to the SESS Report 2021. These chapters illustrate how SIOS projects contribute to ensure the future vitality and resilience of Arctic peoples, communities and ecosystems.

Description: The study "Review of voluntary approaches in the European Union" has been conducted in the context of the project "Feasibility study on demonstration of voluntary approaches for industrial environmental management in China" and aims at evaluating the experience with voluntary agreements between industry and public authorities in the European Union. It is part of a comparative study between Europe and China. The study aims at providing a basis for adoption and further development of voluntary agreements in China. Therefore, conceptual information and case studies are presented in order to illustrate the instrument, its chances and risks as well as success factors.

Description: This open access book presents the results of three years collaboration between earth scientists and data scientists, in developing and applying data science methods for scientific discovery. The book will be highly beneficial for other researchers at senior and graduate level, interested in applying visual data exploration, computational approaches and scientifc workflows.

Description: This assessment report identifies six key areas of sustainable consumption. Transforming those areas is associated with a significant, positive impact on sustainable development. In this way, those key areas lay the foundation to set clear priorities and formulate concrete policy measures and recommendations. The report describes recent developments and relevant actors in those six fields, outlines drivers and barriers to reach a shift towards more sustainability in those specific areas, and explores international good-practice examples. On top of this, overarching topics in the scientific discourse concerning sustainable consumption (e.g. collaborative economy, behavioural economics and nudging) are revealed by using innovative text-mining techniques. Subsequently, the report outlines the contributions of these research approaches to transforming the key areas of sustainable consumption. Finally, the report derives policy recommendations to improve the German Sustainable Development Strategy (DNS) in order to achieve a stronger stimulus effect for sustainable consumption.

Description: The presence of a challenging microbial flora in larval rearing systems of the ornate rock lobster, Panulirus ornatus, requires the evaluation of suitable options for microbial management. Larval rearing on a commercially viable scale can only be established with a controlled microbial environment, since the proliferation of pathogenic and/or biofouling bacteria contribute to high mortalities of captive-reared larvae. In the present study, the bacterial colonization of three microbial compartments of an aquaculture larval rearing system of Panulirus ornatus was investigated and microbial management options for each compartment analyzed. Biofilm: Ozonation significantly modified the temporal progression of biofilm development and favoured the dominance of γ-Proteobacteria within the biofilm community, of which some dominant sequences showed most similarity to coral-associated bacterial strains. Ozonation delayed the establishment of filamentous bacteria, and also repressed the proliferation of pathogens and sulfur-metabolizing bacteria. The various effects of ozonation illustrated the presence of complex interactions during the process of bacterial colonization. Thus, the experiment highlighted the dynamics within the microbial community. Artemia: The distinct Vibrio load of Artemia demonstrated their potential as a vector of pathogenic bacteria to phyllosoma rearing. This potential was shown to be increased with older animals. Only a mixture of three different antibiotics reduced their load with cultivable vibrios. Concurrently, the problem of antibiotics resistance was underlined. The analysis accented the inadequacy of antibiotics for effective microbial management. At present however, alternative treatments cannot rely on commercial probiotics, whose poor efficiency was demonstrated likewise. Phyllosoma: The bacterial colonization vastly differed between cultured and wild phyllosoma. This confirmed the enhancement of biofouling processes in closed rearing environments, which was illustrated by the increased external attachment of filamentous and rod-shaped bacteria at the mouthparts and anus. The bacterial colonization of wild, healthy larvae was low, and comprised a diverse community including the Vibrionaceae. Thus, a presence of Vibrio-affiliated strains was separated from the occurrence of disease. Three bacterial isolates from wild larvae were demonstrated as inhibitory towards a pathogenic Vibrio strain and could represent probiotic candidates for implementation in phyllosoma rearing.

Description: The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of ecosystems plays an important role in species distribution and ecosystem dynamics (Kovalenko et al., 2012). The physical and biochemical properties of the waters of the Mackenzie Shelf in the Beaufort Sea are strongly influenced by the eponymous river and its discharge plume, occasionally causing strong salinity, temperature, and turbidity gradients (Brenkman et al., 2007; Swanson & Kidd, 2009; Jensen et al., 2014), thus affecting the distribution of economically and culturally important organisms, among others. Clarifying how the physical characteristics of marine habitats influence the relative abundance and demographic characteristics of anadromous fishes has an important bearing on management and conservation objectives. The objective of this study was to examine how the timing and catch of Dolly Varden in the nearshore summer subsistence fishery are affected by environmental conditions in the Beaufort Sea. In addition, we examined whether there is a relationship between environmental parameters and the demographic and somatic characteristics of the Dolly Varden caught. The study analysed fisheries-dependent data from two different study sites (Herschel Island and Shingle Point, Yukon Territory, Canada) from 2013 to 2019. Remotely sensed environmental parameters of temperature, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and sea ice were derived from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 imagery and examined along with wind vectors. To provide information on how Dolly Varden abundances respond to stochastic environmental events in marine waters. Measured environmental parameters show that aggregation of Dolly Varden on Herschel Island is spatially correlated with increased chlorophyll-a as well as SST. Stochastic turbidity events showed a negative influence, causing specimens to seek spatial refuge in better water conditions. Results showed similar correlations for SPT, although the parameters here are much more difficult to differentiate due to the high suspended sediment concentration (CDOM). Data obtained from this study indicate that the geographic distribution of Dolly Varden in the Beaufort Sea is dependent on condition and osmoregulation (age/length). In marine waters, adult individuals are clearly influenced by stochastic environmental events (temperature and turbidity), opportunistically seeking out production hotspots for feeding (sea ice and chlorophyll-a).