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Objectives: to improve the understanding on the sphere of influence of hydrothermal vents on the distribution of deep-sea megafauna around vent sites and the exploration of Sarda seamount to improve our knowledge on the distribution and abundance of large VME indicator species and deep-sea commercial fishes in the large Azores region. Vessel: R/V Pelagia Chief scientist: Sabine Gollner (NIOZ) Scientific team: Carlos Dominguez-Carrió (IMAR), Sabine Gollner (NIOZ) Main achievements: Improvement of our understanding on the effects of hydrothermal vent plumes on the distribution of benthic megafauna Identification of new VME areas in Sarda seamount, including glass sponge aggregations and dense cold-water coral assemblages Cruise summary: The Rainbow 2019 cruise on board of R/V Pelagia allocated 2 days of work to explore 2 different deep-sea areas of the Azores region using the Hopper tow-cam system: the Rainbow hydrothermal vent site and Sarda seamount. Overall, 6 successful video transects were carried out, generating more than 18 hours of seafloor images. These dives provided information along 17.8 km of seabed, at depths that ranged between 430 and 2,500 meters. Two high-definition video transects of 1.5 km long were performed at the hydrothermal vent site, starting and ending at a distance larger than 500 m off the main active chimneys. Spatial changes in the structure of the benthic community will be visually evaluated to understand the potential effect of vent plumes on deep-sea megafauna. The total amount of bottom time recorded at Rainbow site was above 3 hours and 20 minutes, with all footage considered valid for annotation purposes. Another main objective of the Rainbow 2019 cruise was to explore Sarda seamount, located on the western side of the MAR. This geological structure stretches for more than 120 kilometres in length, and its summit can reach depths as shallow as 300 m. The 4 Hopper dives carried out at Sarda seamount aimed to obtain video footage from a wide bathymetric range, starting down to 1000 m depth all the way up to the summit. The 4 dives covered 14.8 km of seabed, generating over 15 hours of bottom time.

The MEDWAVES (MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS) cruise targeted areas under the potential influence of the MOW within the Mediterranean and Atlantic realms. These include seamounts where Cold-water corals (CWCs) have been reported but that are still poorly known, and which may act as essential “stepping stones” connecting fauna of seamounts in the Mediterranean with those of the continental shelf of Portugal, the Azores and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. One of this target areas is the Ormonde seamount; where four ROV videos transects (D) were conducted between 660 and 1960 m depth to explore the deep-sea macrobenthic communities. Here we presented the identification catalogue for this area.

Objective: to explore seamounts of the Azorean archipelago to better understand the distribution patterns of VMEs and commercial fish species. A special interest was placed in exploring deep-sea areas along the Mid Atlantic Ridge and close to islands of the central group. The device used in this survey corresponds to the low-cost drift-cam video platform designed and developed at IMAR. Vessel: N/I Arquipélago Chief scientist: Telmo Morato Scientific team: Telmo Morato, Carlos Dominguez-Carrió, Sérgio Gomes, Gerald H. Taranto, Jordi Blasco, Manuela Ramos, Laurence Fauconnet, Cristina G. Zárate, Marina Carreiro-Silva Main achievements: Successfully tested the new design of the low-cost drift-cam system developed at IMAR Exploration of over 80 km of seabed down to 750 m depth in 8 different areas for which little or no information of its benthic communities was available Discovery of new sites that host diverse coral gardens and sponge grounds that were unknown to science New data on the distribution of VMEs in the seamounts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Objectives: to explore deep-sea areas of the Azores EEZ to better understand the distribution patterns of large VME species and commercial fishes. Specifically, OKEANOS/IMAR/ATLAS/MapGES/iAtlantic objectives in the cruise were to (i) characterize benthic communities inhabiting seamounts in the Azores, such as the São Jorge de Fora seamount, (ii) identify new areas that fit the FAO vulnerable marine ecosystems criteria; and (iii) to contribute with additional data to address patterns and drivers of the distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores region. It will also provide valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and provide new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. The information gathered in this cruise was obtained by means of the Hopper tow-cam system, an HD video platform specially designed to be operated onboard the R/V Pelagia. Vessel: NIOZ R/V Pelagia Summary: During the 64PE456 cruise, we performed 8 hopper dives in total, 4 in deep sandy bottom areas known to be important foraging grounds for marine mammals and 4 in the São Jorge de Fora seamount, a poorly known seamount south of Terceira Island. In total we collected 7:40 hours of video covering 4.5km of mostly sandy bottom in the abyssal plain and about 5:20 hours, covering 3.6km of the seamount seafloor.

The MEDWAVES (MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS) cruise targeted areas under the potential influence of the MOW within the Mediterranean and Atlantic realms. These include seamounts where Cold-water corals (CWCs) have been reported but that are still poorly known, and which may act as essential “stepping stones” connecting fauna of seamounts in the Mediterranean with those of the continental shelf of Portugal, the Azores and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. One of this target areas is the guyot named El Seco de los Olivos (Chella Bank); where six ROV videos transects were conducted between 282 and 793 m depth to explore the deep-sea macrobenthic communities. Here we present the identification catalogue for deep-sea fauna.

Master Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master degree of Coastal Marine Biology and Ecology. Abstratc: In today’s marine research, a knowledge gap still remains in understanding deep-sea habitats and those animals that live in them. The occurrence and distribution of benthic organisms were investigated by assessing the Gazul Mud Volcano (GMV) ecosystems at ~ 400 - 500 m depth, in the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic, Spain). Scientific research still remains limited at this specific mud volcano, with regards to understanding the various types of it’s deep-sea communities and quantifying the structuring species. Our study aims to fill these gaps and better understand the Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) located at Gazul. A total of 745 colonies / individuals were counted including 7 phyla and 46 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) along a video transect recorded by a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). Important VME indicator organisms such as scleractinian CWCs Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa (0.033 ind · m-2 combining both species), the alcyonacean Acanthogorgia spp. (0.096 ind · m- 2) and hexactinellid sponge Asconema setubalense (0.020 ind · m-2 were observed at considerable densities. Certain commercially important species showed to be frequent (e.g. E. cirrhosa and Scyliorhinus canicular) and three different locations of fishing impacts were observed (e.g. trawling nets, fishing lines, debris). The distribution of CWCs and deep-sea sponges formed dense aggregations into four main clusters along the transect, which were dominated by different substrate and community composition. This study identifies different VMEs and/or VME indicator organisms at the GMV and provides detailed information that might help to implement future protection and conservation plans in the overlooked area.

There are 2 parts to 'Atlantic Adventures with ATLAS'. 1. PowerPoint file with embedded videos 2. PDF file which contains an explanation of the show, a kit list, script and video transcript. This show was developed to explain the ATLAS project and the work of people involved in it. It starts with a brief introduction to how and why oceans are important, then moves on to how scientists and engineers work at sea. There are discussions around the technology used for exploration of the deep-sea and the challenges posed by deep water. It also features an introduction to cold-water corals, how they feed and how bottom trawling for fish damages them. The show finishes with information about marine protected areas and a compilation video from various ATLAS cruises (expeditions at sea).

Abstract: We investigated food supply mechanisms to a cold-water coral (CWC) reef at 260 m depth on the Norwegian continental shelf using data from a cabled ocean observatory equipped with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), an echosounder, and sensors for chlorophyll, turbidity and hydrography in the benthic boundary layer (BBL). Tidal currents of up to tens of cm s(-1) dominated BBL hydrodynamics while residual currents were weak (similar to 10 cm s(-1)), emphasizing a supply and high retention of locally produced phytodetritus within the trough. A direct connection between the reefs and surface organic matter (OM) was established by turbulent mixing and passive particle settling, but relative contributions varied seasonally. Fresh OM from a spring-bloom was quickly mixed into the BBL, but temperature stratification in summer reduced the surface-to-bottom connectivity and reduced the phytodetritus supply. A qualitative comparison among acoustic backscatter in the ADCPs (600 kHz, 190 kHz) and echosounder (70 kHz) suggests that vertically migrating zooplankton may present an alternative food source in summer. Nocturnal feeding by zooplankton in the upper water column sustains downward OM transport independent from water column mixing and may dominate as food supply pathway over sedimentation of the phytodetritus, especially during stratified conditions. In addition, it could present a concentrating mechanism for nutritional components as compensation for the deteriorating phytodetritus quality. Overall, the observed patterns suggest seasonal changes in the food supply pathways to the reef communities. The moderating role of temperature stratification in phytodetritus transport suggests stronger dependence of the cold-water corals on zooplankton for their dietary requirements with increased stratification under future climate scenarios. This study demonstrates the added value of permanent ocean observatories to research based on dedicated campaigns and regular monitoring.

Ten innovative EU projects to build ocean observation systems that provide input for evidence-based management of the ocean and the Blue Economy, have joined forces in the strong cluster ‘Nourishing Blue Economy and Sharing Ocean Knowledge’. Under the lead of the EuroSea project, the group published a joint policy brief listing recommendations for sustainable ocean observation and management. The cooperation is supported by the EU Horizon Results Booster and enables the group to achieve a higher societal impact. The policy brief will be presented to the European Commission on 15 October 2021. The ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface and provides us with a diverse set of ecosystem services that we cannot live without or that significantly improve our quality of life. It is the primary controller of our climate, plays a critical role in providing the air we breathe and the fresh water we drink, supplies us with a large range of exploitable resources (from inorganic resources such as sand and minerals to biotic resources such as seafood), allows us to generate renewable energy, is an important pathway for world transport, an important source of income for tourism, etc. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) evaluates the Blue Economy to currently represent 2.5% of the world economic value of goods and services produced, with the potential to further double in size by 2030 (seabed mining, shipping, fishing, tourism, renewable energy systems and aquaculture will intensify). However, the overall consequences of the intensification of human activities on marine ecosystems and their services (such as ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, sea level rise, changing distribution and abundance of fish etc.) are still poorly quantified. In addition, on larger geographic and temporal scales, marine data currently appear fragmented, are inhomogeneous, contain data gaps and are difficult to access. This limits our capacity to understand the ocean variability and sustainably manage the ocean and its resources. Consequently, there is a need to develop a framework for more in-depth understanding of marine ecosystems, that links reliable, timely and fit-for-purpose ocean observations to the design and implementation of evidence-based decisions on the management of the ocean. To adequately serve governments, societies, the sustainable Blue Economy and citizens, ocean data need to be collected and delivered in line with the Value Chain of Ocean Information: 1) identification of required data; 2) deployment and maintenance of instruments that collect the data; 3) delivery of data and derived information products; and 4) impact assessment of services to end users. To provide input to the possible future establishment of such a framework, ten innovative EU projects to build user-focused, interdisciplinary, responsive and sustained ocean information systems and increase the sustainability of the Blue Economy, joined forces in a strong cluster to better address key global marine challenges. Under the lead of the EuroSea project, the group translated its common concerns to recommendations and listed these in the joint policy brief ‘Nourishing Blue Economy and Sharing Ocean Knowledge. Ocean Information for Sustainable Management.’. Following up on these recommendations will strengthen the entire Value Chain of Ocean Information and ensure sound sustainable ocean management. In this way, the 10 projects jointly strive to achieve goals set out in the EU Green Deal, the Paris Agreement (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the United Nations 2021-2030 Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Ocean Development. Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR), EuroSea coordinator: “It was great to collaborate with these other innovative projects and make joint recommendations based on different perspectives and expertise.”