The RADMED monitoring programme as a tool for MSFD implementation: towards an ecosystem-based approach

Abstract

Abstract. In the western Mediterranean Sea, the RADMED monitoring programme is already conducting several of the evaluations required under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MFSD) along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The different aspects of the ecosystem that are regularly sampled under this monitoring programme are the physical environment and the chemical and biological variables of the water column, together with the planktonic communities, biomass and structure. Moreover, determinations of some anthropogenic stressors on the marine environment, such as contaminants and microplastics, are under development.Data are managed and stored at the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) Data Centre that works under the SeaDataNet infrastructure, and are also stored in the IBAMar database. In combination with remote sensing data, they are used to address open questions on the ecosystems in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Thermohaline Evolution of the Western Mediterranean Deep Waters Since 2005: Diffusive Stages and Interannual Renewal Injections

“…The Minorca deep station (40°10.00′N, 04°34.96′E, 2,540 m deep) is a deep hydrographic station located on the outer continental slope included in the sampling strategy of the RADMED monitoring program (López‐Jurado et al., ; Figure a). This station, located outside the dense‐water formation area, is a privileged site since the continental slope of the Balearic Islands is the preferential advective pathway of the newly formed deep waters toward the Algerian basin (Beuvier et al., ) and also of the cascading waters (Durrieu de Madron et al., ).…”

“…Instrument calibration and cast processing were performed following standard protocols as described in López‐Jurado et al. ().…”

“…The conspicuous signature that emerged after winter 2005 has progressively eroded, resulting in much warmer, salty waters that currently fill the deep layers of the WMED. Several projects carried out by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía and grouped nowadays under the RADMED (' RADiales del MEDiterráneo ') monitoring program (López‐Jurado et al., ) have been gathering hydrographic data on a seasonal basis along the Spanish Mediterranean coast since the late 1990s. The deep stations included in this program provide a detailed picture of the evolution of the WMT along the eastern continental slope of the Iberian Peninsula, midway between the WMDW origin at the GoL and the Alboran Sea.…”

Persistent, Depth‐Intensified Mixing During The Western Mediterranean Transition's Initial Stages

“…After 15 years of monitoring and 45 seasonal occupations (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020), the station offers a detailed picture of the variability in WMED deep layers induced by this climatic event and successive injections of dense waters up to the present. All CTD casts in this time series were obtained, processed and calibrated following common oceanographic standards (RADMED program protocols as described in López-Jurado et al, 2015).…”

IEOOS: the Spanish Institute of Oceanography Observing System

“…In 2006 the deep hydrographic section around the Canary Islands began, in order to establish the scales of variability in the decadal/subdecadal range in the subtropical gyre, specifically in its eastern margin (Velez-Belchi et al, 2014). In 2009, new stations in the Gulf of Cádiz (STOCA programme) were added to the network (Monteiro et al, 2015). The results of water sample analysis at the different levels are included in the EMODNet (chemistry) network.…”