Resolving the impact of climatic processes on ecosystems of the North Atlantic Basin and shelf seas: Integrating and advancing observation, monitoring, and prediction

Funding Period: 2007

Funding: European Union, 6th framework

Contacts: Prof. Mike St. John, Dr. Christian Möllmann

Description

The BASIN project is based on four workshops and meetings that will take place in regular intervals of three months (see section B.6.3). Each meeting forms the basis of a work package (WP2-5), and these will form a logical sequence to the development of a pan-Atlantic science plan on the impact of global change to ecosystem processes.

The first two meetings will be organised as workshops, funding up to 20 scientists with expertise in the relevant fields of marine research. In particular, funded participants will include a balanced selection of active scientists from climatology, field and experimental ecology, physical and biological oceanography, ecosystem modelling, and biogeochemistry. Furthermore, experts on ecosystem functioning of both types of systems, the Atlantic Basin and the associated shelf seas, will attend the meetings. These meetings will be open to all interested parties on a self-funding basis as long as the size of such external participation does not affect the effectiveness of the meetings.

The first workshop (WP2) will take place in Europe, at the University of Hamburg, with 15 European scientists funded by the BASIN SSA (as well as self-funded interested parties), and up to five experts from North American countries, funded by the NSF and NSERC. The second workshop (WP3), to be held in the US, will have 15 North American participants funded by NSF and NSERC in attendance (as well as self-funded interested parties) and up to five experts from European scientists funded by the BASIN SSA.

The workshops will

1. Assess the current status of climate-related ecosystem research in the Atlantic research area with an emphasis on European research initiatives at the first and on North American initiatives at the second workshop
2. Identify and document gaps in systematic observations and the process understanding of atmospheric and oceanic parameters. This objective will form the basis for the development of a meta-database
3. Evaluate the potential for consolidation of long-term observations from EU and international databases for the modelling and prediction of the dynamics of the North Atlantic and associated shelf ecosystems.

Both workshops will essentially deal with the same objectives, although the content will be dependent upon the scientific and geographical experience at the respective meetings. In work packages 4 and 5, first steps will be taken towards the development of a basinscale science plan. The working group coming together for the third meeting comprises in addition to a smaller group of scientists already participating in one or both of the previous workshops, delegates of international funding agencies. This cooperation aims to develop the implementation plan necessary to enable the development of a joint, multinationally funded research programme. Based on the results of the first two meetings an implementation plan template will be developed in WP 5.

To define the key points of the proposal, scientists from European and North American countries will work together ensuring that a well-balanced research programme will be developed. The proposal will focus on the primary BASIN SSA objectives these being

1. Resolving the natural variability, potential impacts and feedbacks of global change on the structure, function and dynamics of the ecosystems of the North Atlantic Basin and regional seas
2. Improving the understanding of marine ecosystem functioning in North Atlantic Basin and regional Seas
3. Developing ecosystem based management strategies that incorporate the effects of global change and hence contribute to the sustainable use of marine resources in the North Atlantic Basin and regional seas.

According to the project structure, major milestones will be the four workshops or working group meetings and their corresponding reports, the progress and final report to the EU Commission, and a draft science plan for consideration by international funding organisations. Furthermore, the webpage and the meta-database provided by work package 1 will be made available to participants and in part to the public during the course of the project.