ALBERT

Description: Maintaining healthy, productive ecosystems in the face of pervasive and accelerating human impacts including climate change requires globally coordinated and sustained observations of marine biodiversity. Global coordination is predicated on an understanding of the scope and capacity of existing monitoring programs, and the extent to which they use standardized, interoperable practices for data management. Global coordination also requires identification of gaps in spatial and ecosystem coverage, and how these gaps correspond to management priorities and information needs. We undertook such an assessment by conducting an audit and gap analysis from global databases and structured surveys of experts. Of 371 survey respondents, 203 active, long-term (〉5 years) observing programs systematically sampled marine life. These programs spanned about 7% of the ocean surface area, mostly concentrated in coastal regions of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Seagrasses, mangroves, hard corals, and macroalgae were sampled in 6% of the entire global coastal zone. Two-thirds of all observing programs offered accessible data, but methods and conditions for access were highly variable. Our assessment indicates that the global observing system is largely uncoordinated which results in a failure to deliver critical information required for informed decision-making such as, status and trends, for the conservation and sustainability of marine ecosystems and provision of ecosystem services. Based on our study, we suggest four key steps that can increase the sustainability, connectivity and spatial coverage of biological Essential Ocean Variables in the global ocean: (1) sustaining existing observing programs and encouraging coordination among these; (2) continuing to strive for data strategies that follow FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable); (3) utilizing existing ocean observing platforms and enhancing support to expand observing along coasts of developing countries, in deep ocean basins, and near the poles; and (4) targeting capacity building efforts. Following these suggestions could help create a coordinated marine biodiversity observing system enabling ecological forecasting and better planning for a sustainable use of ocean resources.

Description: Barkley Canyon is one of the few known sites worldwide with the occurrence of thermogenic gas seepage and formation of structure-II and structure-H gas hydrate mounds on the seafloor. This site is the location of continuous seafloor monitoring as part of the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) cabled observatory off the west coast off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. We combine repeat remotely operated vehicle (ROV) seafloor video observations, mapping with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), ship-, ROV-, and AUV-based identification of gas flares, as well as seismic and Chirp data to investigate the distribution of fluid migration pathways. Geologically, the site with the prominent gas hydrate mounds and associated fluid seepage is covering an area of ∼0.15 km 2 and is situated on a remnant of a rotated fault block that had slipped off the steep flanks of the north-east facing canyon wall. The gas hydrate mounds, nearly constant in dimension over the entire observation period, are associated with gas and oil seepage and surrounded by debris of chemosynthetic communities and authigenic carbonate. The formation of gas hydrate at and near the seafloor requires additional accommodation space created by forming blisters at the seafloor that displace the regular sediments. An additional zone located centrally on the rotated fault block with more diffuse seepage (∼0.02 km 2 in extent) has been identified with no visible mounds, but with bacterial mats, small carbonate concretions, and clam beds. Gas venting is seen acoustically in the water column up to a depth of ∼300 m. However, acoustic water-column imaging during coring and ROV dives showed rising gas bubbles to much shallower depth, even 〈50 m, likely a result of degassing of rising oil droplets, which themselves cannot be seen acoustically. Combining all observations, the location of the gas hydrate mounds is controlled by a combination of fault-focused fluid migration from a deeper reservoir and fluid seepage along more permeable strata within the rotated slope block. Fluids must be provided continuously to allow the sustained presence of the gas hydrate mounds at the seafloor.

Description: Vertebrates are recognized as sentient beings. Consequently, urgent priority is now being given to understanding the needs and maximizing the welfare of animals under human care. The general health of animals is most commonly determined by physiological indices e.g., blood sampling, but may also be assessed by documenting behavior. Physiological health assessments, although powerful, may be stressful for animals, time-consuming and costly, while assessments of behavior can also be time-consuming, subject to bias and suffer from a poorly defined link between behavior and health. However, behavior is recognized as having the potential to code for stress and well-being and could, therefore, be used as an indicator of health, particularly if the process of quantifying behavior could be objective, formalized and streamlined to be time efficient. This study used Daily Diaries (DDs) (motion-sensitive tags containing tri-axial accelerometers and magnetometers), to examine aspects of the behavior of bycaught loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta in various states of health. Although sample size limited statistical analysis, significant behavioral differences (in terms of activity level and turn rate) were found between “healthy” turtles and those with external injuries to the flippers and carapace. Furthermore, data visualization (spherical plots) clearly showed atypical orientation behavior in individuals suffering gas emboli and intestinal gas, without complex data analysis. Consequently, we propose that the use of motion-sensitive tags could aid diagnosis and inform follow-up treatment, thus facilitating the rehabilitation process. This is particularly relevant given the numerous rehabilitation programs for bycatch sea turtles in operation. In time, tag-derived behavioral biomarkers, TDBBs for health could be established for other species with more complex behavioral repertoires such as cetaceans and pinnipeds which also require rehabilitation and release. Furthermore, motion-sensitive data from animals under human care and wild conspecifics could be compared in order to define a set of objective behavioral states (including activity levels) for numerous species housed in zoos and aquaria and/or wild species to help maximize their welfare.

Description: Improved comparability of nutrient concentrations in seawater is required to enhance the quality and utility of measurements reported to global databases. Significant progress has been made over recent decades in improving the analysis and data quality for traditional laboratory measurements of nutrients. Similar efforts are required to establish high-quality data outputs from in situ nutrient sensors, which are rapidly becoming integral components of ocean observing systems. This paper suggests using the good practices routine established for laboratory reference methods to propose a harmonized set of deployment protocols and of quality control procedures for nutrient measurements obtained from in situ sensors. These procedures are intended to establish a framework to standardize the technical and analytical controls carried out on the three main types of in situ nutrient sensors currently available (wet chemical analyzers, ultraviolet optical sensors, electrochemical sensors) for their deployments on all kinds of platform. The routine reference controls that can be applied to the sensors are listed for each step of sensor use: initial qualification under controlled conditions in the laboratory, preparation of the sensor before deployment, field deployment and finally the sensor recovery. The fundamental principles applied to the laboratory reference method are then reviewed in terms of the calibration protocol, instrumental interferences, environmental interferences, external controls, and method performance assessment. Data corrections (linearity, sensitivity, drifts, interferences and outliers) are finally identified along with the concepts and calculations for qualification for both real time and time delayed data. This paper emphasizes the necessity of future collaborations between research groups, reference-accredited laboratories, and technology developers, to maintain comparability of the concentrations reported for the various nutrient parameters measured by in situ sensors.

Description: Data from coastal tide gauges, oceanographic moorings, and a numerical model show that Arctic storm surges force continental shelf waves (CSWs) that dynamically link the circumpolar Arctic continental shelf system. These trains of barotropic disturbances result from coastal convergences driven by cross-shelf Ekman transport. Observed propagation speeds of 600−3000 km day–1, periods of 2−6 days, wavelengths of 2000−7000 km, and elevation maxima near the coast but velocity maxima near the upper slope are all consistent with theoretical CSW characteristics. Other, more isolated events are tied to local responses to propagating storm systems. Energy and phase propagation is from west to east: ocean elevation anomalies in the Laptev Sea follow Kara Sea anomalies by one day and precede Chukchi and Beaufort Sea anomalies by 4−6 days. Some leakage and dissipation occurs. About half of the eastward-propagating energy in the Kara Sea passes Severnaya Zemlya into the Laptev Sea. About half of the eastward-propagating energy from the East Siberian Sea passes southward through Bering Strait, while one quarter is dissipated locally in the Chukchi Sea and another quarter passes eastward into the Beaufort Sea. Likewise, CSW generation in the Bering Sea can trigger elevation and current speed anomalies downstream in the Northeast Chukchi Sea of 25 cm and 20 cm s–1, respectively. Although each event is ephemeral, the large number of CSWs generated annually suggest that they represent a non-negligible source of time-averaged energy transport and bottom stress-induced dissipative mixing, particularly near the outer shelf and upper slope. Coastal water level and landfast ice breakout event forecasts should include CSW effects and associated lag times from distant upstream winds.

Description: Background and Aims Dysregulated mineral homeostasis is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and associated with bone demineralization and vascular calcification. The balance between bone formation and resorption, which reflect the bone calcium (Ca) balance (BCaB), cannot be determined without bone biopsy which is invasive and not easily repeatable. Recently, we have shown that stable (i.e. non-radioactive) Ca isotopes, 42Ca and 44Ca, can be measured in serum and their ratio (δ44/42Caserum) quantitatively determines net bone gain or loss of Ca. Thus, when bone formation exceeds bone resorption, the net BCaB is positive and δ44/42Caserum is high, and when bone resorption is the predominant process δ44/42Caserum is low compared to age-matched controls. In this study we compared δ44/42Caserum against δ44/42Cabone and arterial biopsy samples (δ44/42Caartery) and the sensitivity of δ44/42Ca in predicting changes in bone histology.

Description: Submarine hydrothermal systems along active volcanic ridges and arcs are highly dynamic, responding to both oceanographic (e.g., currents, tides) and deep-seated geological forcing (e.g., magma eruption, seismicity, hydrothermalism, and crustal deformation, etc.). In particular, volcanic and hydrothermal activity may also pose profoundly negative societal impacts (tsunamis, the release of climate-relevant gases and toxic metal(loid)s). These risks are particularly significant in shallow (〈1000m) coastal environments, as demonstrated by the January 2022 submarine paroxysmal eruption by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano that destroyed part of the island, and the October 2011 submarine eruption of El Hierro (Canary Islands) that caused vigorous upwelling, floating lava bombs, and natural seawater acidification. Volcanic hazards may be posed by the Kolumbo submarine volcano, which is part of the subduction-related Hellenic Volcanic Arc at the intersection between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. There, the Kolumbo submarine volcano, 7 km NE of Santorini and part of Santorini’s volcanic complex, hosts an active hydrothermal vent field (HVF) on its crater floor (~500m b.s.l.), which degasses boiling CO 2 –dominated fluids at high temperatures (~265°C) with a clear mantle signature. Kolumbo’s HVF hosts actively forming seafloor massive sulfide deposits with high contents of potentially toxic, volatile metal(loid)s (As, Sb, Pb, Ag, Hg, and Tl). The proximity to highly populated/tourist areas at Santorini poses significant risks. However, we have limited knowledge of the potential impacts of this type of magmatic and hydrothermal activity, including those from magmatic gases and seismicity. To better evaluate such risks the activity of the submarine system must be continuously monitored with multidisciplinary and high resolution instrumentation as part of an in-situ observatory supported by discrete sampling and measurements. This paper is a design study that describes a new long-term seafloor observatory that will be installed within the Kolumbo volcano, including cutting-edge and innovative marine-technology that integrates hyperspectral imaging, temperature sensors, a radiation spectrometer, fluid/gas samplers, and pressure gauges. These instruments will be integrated into a hazard monitoring platform aimed at identifying the precursors of potentially disastrous explosive volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides of the hydrothermally weakened volcanic edifice and the release of potentially toxic elements into the water column.

Description: The dynamics of marine systems at decadal scales are notoriously hard to predict—hence references to this timescale as the “grey zone” for ocean prediction. Nevertheless, decadal-scale prediction is a rapidly developing field with an increasing number of applications to help guide ocean stewardship and sustainable use of marine environments. Such predictions can provide industry and managers with information more suited to support planning and management over strategic timeframes, as compared to seasonal forecasts or long-term (century-scale) predictions. The most significant advances in capability for decadal-scale prediction over recent years have been for ocean physics and biogeochemistry, with some notable advances in ecological prediction skill. In this paper, we argue that the process of “lighting the grey zone” by providing improved predictions at decadal scales should also focus on including human dimensions in prediction systems to better meet the needs and priorities of end users. Our paper reviews information needs for decision-making at decadal scales and assesses current capabilities for meeting these needs. We identify key gaps in current capabilities, including the particular challenge of integrating human elements into decadal prediction systems. We then suggest approaches for overcoming these challenges and gaps, highlighting the important role of co-production of tools and scenarios, to build trust and ensure uptake with end users of decadal prediction systems. We also highlight opportunities for combining narratives and quantitative predictions to better incorporate the human dimension in future efforts to light the grey zone of decadal-scale prediction.