Attuning to a changing ocean

Abstract

The ocean is a lifeline for human existence, but current practices risk severely undermining ocean sustainability. Present and future social−ecological challenges necessitate the maintenance and development of knowledge and action by stimulating collaboration among scientists and between science, policy, and practice. Here we explore not only how such collaborations have developed in the Nordic countries and adjacent seas but also how knowledge from these regions contributes to an understanding of how to obtain a sustainable ocean. Our collective experience may be summarized in three points: 1) In the absence of long-term observations, decision-making is subject to high risk arising from natural variability; 2) in the absence of established scientific organizations, advice to stakeholders often relies on a few advisors, making them prone to biased perceptions; and 3) in the absence of trust between policy makers and the science community, attuning to a changing ocean will be subject to arbitrary decision-making with unforeseen and negative ramifications. Underpinning these observations, we show that collaboration across scientific disciplines and stakeholders and between nations is a necessary condition for appropriate actions.

Eutrophication: Early warning signals, ecosystem-level and societal responses, and ways forward

“…In order to fully comprehend the effects of eutrophication on large-scale systems, elaborate modeling approaches are needed, and in order for such efforts to be effective, long time-series of data are required and should continue to be collected in basic research and monitoring at all levels and in multiple ecosystems around the world (Reusch et al 2018 ; Stenseth et al 2020 ). A good example of how such data can be utilized is given by Gustafsson et al ( 2012 ), who reconstructed the eutrophication process of the Baltic Sea for the period 1850–2006.…”

“…With an increasing coupling to climate-driven global change, the entire oceanic system may ultimately provide severe and serious feedbacks to human society (Paasche and Bonsdorff 2018 ). In order to tackle or to minimize the impacts of such anthropogenically driven processes, lessons learned from studies of specific problems (eutrophication in this case) should be taken seriously, as human livelihood ultimately depends on the marine realm (Reusch et al 2018 ; Stenseth et al 2020 ). Until now (2020), the share of published contributions in the journal Ambio that combines ‘eutrophication’ and ‘climate/global change’ has been low (3.9% for the entire publication-period of 50 years of existence), although the number of papers on these topics individually has increased dramatically from 60 papers on eutrophication and 101 on climate/global change during the first 25 years (through 1995), to 169 and 510, respectively, in the 25 years from 1996 until October 2020.…”

“…Hence, there is an increased need for dialogue and active collaboration between Science and Policy/Society, and eutrophication in the light of global change has become one example of this emerging multidisciplinary field, and future perspectives depend on our capability to integrate and amalgamate knowledge from cross-the-board perspectives and genuine collaborative efforts from specific to general aspects for the future (Rudolph et al 2020 ). Schindler ( 2006 ) provided a good example of ways forward when understanding and tackling freshwater eutrophication, and Andersen et al ( 2011 , 2017 ) presented basin-wide comprehensive analyses and assessment schemes for eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, which were followed by an increased understanding of the potential recovery from eutrophication (Riemann et al 2016 ; Heiskanen et al 2019 ), and how the lessons learned over the twentieth century (Elmgren 1989 , 2001 ) may in fact be developed into regional and global management options (Elliott et al 2017 ), with implications for global networks of understanding and managing of the coastal oceans (Cloern et al 2016 ; Reusch et al 2018 ; Stenseth et al 2020 ). Thus, it is evident that eutrophication can no longer be seen as an isolated source of environmental stress, but rather must be integrated in the scientific and societal debate of global climate change, posing massive challenges for the twenty-second century (Kahru et al 2020 ; Rudolph et al 2020 ).…”

Understanding and Managing Harmful Algal Bloom Risks in a Changing Climate: Lessons From the European CoCliME Project

“…The transdisciplinary approach taken in CoCliME reflects increasing calls to improve the link between high-quality scientific outputs from marine based research and societal decision-making needs (Stenseth et al, 2020). Attending to the multiple drivers and consequences of coastal and marine ecosystem dynamics and changes-including those that contribute to HABs-requires that environmental decisionmakers have access to the necessary knowledge to manage complex risks and changes in a flexible and adaptive manner (Cvitanovic et al, 2015).…”

Atlantic Ocean science diplomacy in action: the pole-to-pole All Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance

“…Human activities must be managed and governed in order to maintain ocean health, resilience and function so that it will continue to safely deliver benefits to humankind (Lubchenco and Gaines, 2019). Such management and governance requires ambitious levels of scientific evidence to inform decision making (Stenseth et al, 2020;Visbeck, 2018). Science is needed to understand the way the ocean functions and to predict the state of the ocean.…”