The MedEAF forecasting system for the Mediterranean Sea has followed the developments of the EU operational marine services: deployed within the MERSEA project (2004–2008), the system has become pre-operational during the MyOcean projects series (2009–2015), and has then finally established a regular and validated operational product delivery in the Copernicus Marine Service (CMS).
A new paper showing how chromatic adaptation shapes the biogeography of phytoplankton functional types in the Mediterranean Sea has been recently published in Progress in Oceanography. The study integrates several novel elements in the Biogeochemical Flux Model (BFM): it includes a bio-optical component that simulates how the different wavelengths of light propagate through the water column, represents nine optically different phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) and explores how the chromatic characteristics of the PFTs allow them to use the available wavelengths of light.
The Ecological Modelling Group (ECHO) of the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) has just opened three postdoc positions for marine ecosystem modellers. The formal call is available at the website https://www.inogs.it/en/node/1799. The deadline for application is 21/01/2022. A brief description of the three positions with a summary of the relevant information is in attachment. For general scientific enquiries regarding the positions, please contact: Stefano Querin (squerin@inogs.it, position n. 1), Simone Libralato (slibralato@inogs.it, position n.
The Mediterranean biogeochemical reanalysis of the Copernicus Marine Service has been recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science and provides information on changes and variability in the Mediterranean Sea over the past decades. The reanalysis integrates several novel elements: ERA5 atmospheric forcing, coupling with the new 1/24° physical reanalysis, updated versions of the BFM model and biogeochemical variational assimilation scheme, and several updated observational datasets for assimilation and validation purposes.
During summer, maxima of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration (DCM) occur in the subsurface of the Mediterranean Sea and can play a relevant role in carbon sequestration into the ocean interior. A numerical model based on in situ and satellite observations provides insights into the range of DCM conditions across the relatively small Mediterranean Sea and shows a western DCM that is 25 % shallower and with a higher phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration than in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Copernicus Marine Service General Assembly (26-28 January 2021) is online! https://marine.copernicus.eu/news/copernicus-marine-service-general-asse... It is possible to watch all the lectures (plenaries, parallel sessions, virtual booths). The ECHO group was present with two contributes: 1.
The Ocean State Report 4 Summary has been just released https://marine.copernicus.eu/ocean-state-report-4-summary/.
The Summary offers a synthetic look at the state, natural variations, and ongoing changes in the ocean in 2018. Its outcomes include the accelerated sea level rise since 1993, the unprecedented warming of the upper ocean, and the economic valuation of the carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean Sea.
Ocean Literacy (OL) is defined as the understanding of our influence on the ocean and the ocean’s influence on us. Ocean literacy is a methodological approach to increase the awareness of the public about responsible and informed behavior towards the ocean and its resources.
https://education.ocean.org/olsummit/
The ECHO Group at the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting (16-21 Feb 2020, San Diego, USA). Organization of the session "Biogeochemistry in the BGC-Argo Era: From Process Studies to Ecosystem Forecasts"
Fostering the establishment of a global ocean observing system, Walter Munk defined the twentieth century as the “century of undersampling”, and this is true especially for marine biogeochemical data.