GREENSEAS

Development of global plankton data base and model system for eco-climate early warning

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'GreenSeas shall advance the quantitative knowledge of how planktonic marine ecosystems, including phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and zooplankton, will respond to environmental and climate changes. To achieve this GreenSeas will employ a combination of observation data, numerical simulations and a cross-disciplinary synthesis to develop a high quality, harmonized and standardized plankton and plankton ecology long time-series, data inventory and information service. The focus will be on capturing the latitudinal gradients, biogeographical distributions and provinces in the planktonic ecosystem from the Arctic, through the Atlantic and into the Southern Ocean. It will build on historical data-sets, and ongoing multidisciplinary ocean planktonic ecosystem monitoring programs, enhanced where possible with an emphasis on the Southern Ocean. GreenSeas will also enhance international cooperative links with other plankton monitoring and analysis surveys around the globe. The heart of the GreenSeas concept is establishing a ‘core’ service following the open and free data access policy implemented in the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme. Using state-of-the-art web-based data delivery systems the ‘core’ service will make available both new and historical plankton data and information products along with error-quantified numerical simulations to a range of users. Connecting with ‘downstream’ services GreenSeas will moreover offer ecosystem assessment and indicator reports tailored for decision makers, stakeholders and other user groups contributing in the policy making process. Finally, knowledge transfer will be guaranteed throughout the project lifetime, while the legacy of the GreenSeas database web-server will be maintained for at least 5 years beyond the project lifetime.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An EU project has collected data and improved models of plankton ecology in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, with far-reaching effects on climate change modelling.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Plankton plays a crucial role in the marine ecosystem by assimilating carbon dioxide (CO2) and forming the base of the marine food web. To better understand climate change, researchers need a better grasp of how plankton influences ecological and biochemical processes in global oceans.

To achieve this goal, the GREENSEAS (Development of global plankton data base and model system for eco-climate early warning) project developed multiple simulation models of plankton ecology. Modelling included water colour measurements, nitrogen uptake and geographical distribution of the plankton in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans.

The GREENSEAS project team first collected historic data of plankton distribution in the Arctic, Atlantic, Nordic and Southern Oceans. The next step was to generate a database of the sea-air CO2 flux in the South Atlantic Ocean. Finally, they collected new data characterising the physical-chemical environment and phytoplankton community structure and productivity.

Modelling these parameters allowed scientists to generate simulations of phytoplankton behaviour in response to environmental changes. Minute changes in phytoplankton mass and distribution dictate significant changes in fish population. That in turn may require a major policy overhaul to protect fishing resources.

GREENSEAS developed new indicators for changes in planktonic ecosystems. Researchers also found that current proxies for productivity in plankton communities are not very accurate, suggesting that these should be recalculated.

Lastly, the project created a web portal for researchers and policymakers to access data and analysis on plankton activity in these oceans. The GREENSEAS project may contribute to improved climate change monitoring, which will improve decision making for human health, the environment and marine life.