A blueprint for integrating scientific approaches and international communities to assess basin-wide ocean ecosystem status

Abstract

Ocean ecosystems are at the forefront of the climate and biodiversity crises, yet we lack a unified approach to assess their state and inform sustainable policies. This blueprint is designed around research capabilities and cross-sectoral partnerships. We highlight priorities including integrating basin-scale observation, modelling and genomic approaches to understand Atlantic oceanography and ecosystem connectivity; improving ecosystem mapping; identifying potential tipping points in deep and open ocean ecosystems; understanding compound impacts of multiple stressors including warming, acidification and deoxygenation; enhancing spatial and temporal management and protection. We argue that these goals are best achieved through partnerships with policy-makers and community stakeholders, and promoting research groups from the South Atlantic through investment and engagement. Given the high costs of such research (€800k to €1.7M per expedition and €30–40M for a basin-scale programme), international cooperation and funding are integral to supporting science-led policies to conserve ocean ecosystems that transcend jurisdictional borders.

Forty years of ocean acidification observations (1983–2023) in the Sargasso Sea at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site

“…The SC index uses data from 1980, and it is a useful metric for showing long-term changes in the oceans. There has been interest in recognizing and demonstrating ocean extremes and compound events (e.g., Gruber et al, 2021;Berger et al, 2022) and blueprints for environmental assessments of oceanic basins such as the North Atlantic Ocean (Roberts et al, 2023). The ocean observations at BATS provide a useful long-term record of OA, but building on this and other efforts, an Alkalinity-Contrast (AC) index may be a potentially helpful metric for OA.…”

Ship-to-Shore Training for Active Deep-Sea Capacity Development

“…The EU Horizon2020 project iAtlantic (https://www.iatlantic.eu/) has science outreach and capacity-building of ECRs as one of its key objectives (Roberts et al, 2023). The iMirabilis expedition was originally planned as a multidisciplinary scientific expedition involving scientists from several countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, with a strong training and outreach component and berths set aside for ECR partners based in Brazil and South Africa.…”