How might we use environmental indicators to understand complex phenomena affecting marine ecosystems and detect changes in their status with sufficient time to respond?
Climate change is causing severe impacts on marine ecosystems. However, these changes are often difficult to anticipate, leading to delays in the implementation of actions that could mitigate risks and help us adapt to new conditions. With your help, we can track and anticipate changes in the health of marine ecosystems to anticipate a more effective response.
How could you tackle this challenge? Here are some ideas for inspiration. Using the resources provided across the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (but especially those available in the Virtual Labs “Integration of coastal ocean observations along Europe”, “Ocean Currents from Observations” and “Marine Environmental Indicators”):
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- Suggest solutions to making predictions about the dispersion of different pollution scenarios (e.g., in the Mediterranean Sea), using a Lagrangian drifter model. The drifter model will need to be implemented to predict drifter trajectories based on surface currents data products available, and based on different scenarios of initial positions. Pollution can be considered to be a passive tracer for this challenge.
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- Suggest solutions to better understanding and tracking thermal trends, getting insight on the way heat storage influences marine ecosystem structure and function over time
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- Suggest solutions to identify where potential eutrophication hotspots might occur in the Mediterranean sea using the spatial variation in the eutrophication indicator (TRIX), and relating these hotspots to possible major contributing factors.
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- Suggest solutions to better understanding ocean warming patterns and trends in different regions and layers of the Mediterranean Sea, harnessing different data sources. Are current estimates consistent? Which regions or layers of the Mediterranean Sea are warming more rapidly?
