• Energy Research
• 11. Sustainability close
• European Marine Science close

The marine environment has been in the spotlight of economic development due to the growing demand for areas to promote activities associated with the concept of Blue Economy. This is the case of the renewable energy and aquaculture sectors, whose expansion towards offshore is determined by the increase global demand for energy and food, and by exceeding of the carrying capacity of coastal and terrestrial systems. In this context, the multi-use strategy can be an alternative to minimize conflicts between activities and impacts on the surrounding social-ecological environment. This contribution presents a preliminary approach to identify opportunities for individual exploitation and the possibilities of multi-use between wind energy, wave energy and aquaculture in Brazil?s Exclusive Economic Zone. Technical, operational, and biological aspects were evaluated, through a Suitability Index validated in previous works, to identify zones with favorable conditions for energy exploitation and farming of six fish species. Additionally, overlaps between conservation areas and multi-use zones were considered to analyze possible spatial conflicts. Zones with multi-use possibilities with different combinations between these sectors were identified: i) wave energy and aquaculture presented the largest areas for multi-use, distributed in the south, southeast and northeast; ii) possibility of combining wind energy and aquaculture was identified in the northeast; and iii) multi-use possibilities in the south for marine energies. Zones with multi-use possibilities were identified in protection and conservation areas, such as the combination of wave exploitation and Greater Amberjack farming, with 63% overlap. Therefore, this case study is a guide for future local studies in the marine region of Brazil, mainly in the selection of sites for analysis. The present contribution represents a starting point for the discussion about multi-use in the country C.V.C. Weiss is grateful to the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for the PDJ (Pós-doutorado Junior) fellowship granted (151228/2020–5), and the financial support from the Universidad de Cantabria (UC) through the Agusto González de Linares and Margarita Salas Grants (POS-UC-2019-06 and RMS-04, respectively). J. Bonetti is a Research Fellow of CNPq (Grant 306633/2019–1). Raúl Guanche acknowledges the Grant RYC-2017-23260 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ESF Investing in your future”. This work is framed in the project “ACUFLOT”, supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge Ministry of Spain and the IHCantabria - Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria

The biotechnological development has traditionally focused on the compliance with regulatory demands rather than optimising the processes or analysing their sustainability. This work proposes the combination of available tools for the comprehensive sustainability assessment of a blue biotechnology process based on the cultivation of the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis. The work aims to include environmental, economic and social dimensions to measure the sustainability of the production of a carotenoid with potential applications in food, nutraceutical, cosmetics and eventually pharmaceutical industries. Electricity for cultivation was identified as the major contributor to the environmental impacts, which depended significantly on the production scale. Social benefits were mainly related to workers and consumers, while the economic assessment suggested a profitable process with a relatively short period to recover the initial investment.

Rivers are significant sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs; e.g., CH4 and CO2); however, our understanding of the large-scale longitudinal patterns of GHG emissions from rivers remains incomplete, representing a major challenge in upscaling. Local hotspots and moderate heterogeneities may be overlooked by conventional sampling schemes. In August 2020 and for the first time, we performed continuous (once per minute) CH4 measurements of surface water during a 584-km-long river cruise along the German Elbe to explore heterogeneities in CH4 concentration at different spatial scales and identify CH4 hotspots along the river. The median concentration of dissolved CH4 in the Elbe was 112 nmol L−1, ranging from 40 to 1,456 nmol L−1 The highest CH4 concentrations were recorded at known potential hotspots, such as weirs and harbors. These hotspots were also notable in terms of atmospheric CH4 concentrations, indicating that measurements in the atmosphere above the water are useful for hotspot detection. The median atmospheric CH4 concentration was 2,033 ppb, ranging from 1,821 to 2,796 ppb. We observed only moderate changes and fluctuations in values along the river. Tributaries did not obviously affect CH4 concentrations in the main river. The median CH4 emission was 251 μmol m−2 d−1, resulting in a total of 28,640 mol d−1 from the entire German Elbe. Similar numbers were obtained using a conventional sampling approach, indicating that continuous measurements are not essential for a large-scale budget. However, we observed considerable lateral heterogeneity, with significantly higher concentrations near the shore only in reaches with groins. Sedimentation and organic matter mineralization in groin fields evidently increase CH4 concentrations in the river, leading to considerable lateral heterogeneity. Thus, river morphology and structures determine the variability of dissolved CH4 in large rivers, resulting in smooth concentrations at the beginning of the Elbe versus a strong variability in its lower parts. In conclusion, groin construction is an additional anthropogenic modification following dam building that can significantly increase GHG emissions from rivers.

The MUSES project is a 2 year Horizon 2020 funded project under Grant Agreement No. 727451. The MUSES project builds on existing knowledge to explore the real opportunities for Multi-Use (“MU”) in Europe, including the scope for innovation and Blue Growth potential and to present practical solutions on how to overcome existing barriers and minimise risks associated with MU development. The MUSES project encompasses five EU sea basins (Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Eastern Atlantic). The purpose of this document is to provide a half term summary of the work undertaken for the Multi-Use in European Seas (“MUSES”) Project during the first year (1st November 2016 – 31st October 2017).

A “Well-to-Propeller” Life Cycle Assessment of maritime transport was performed with a European geographical focus. Four typical types of vessels with specific operational profiles were assessed: a container vessel and a tanker (both with 2-stroke engines), a passenger roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Pax) and a cruise vessel (both with 4-stroke engines). All main engines were dual fuel operated with Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Alternative onshore and offshore fuel supply chains were considered. Primary energy use and greenhouse gas emissions were assessed. Raw material extraction was found to be the most impactful life cycle stage (~90% of total energy use). Regarding greenhouse gases, liquefaction was the key issue. When transitioning from HFO to LNG, the systems were mainly influenced by a reduction in cargo capacity due to bunkering requirements and methane slip, which depends on the fuel supply chain (onshore has 64% more slip than offshore) and the engine type (4-stroke engines have 20% more slip than 2-stroke engines). The combination of alternative fuel supply chains and specific operational profiles allowed for a complete system assessment. The results demonstrated that multiple opposing drivers affect the environmental performance of maritime transport, a useful insight towards establishing emission abatement strategies.

Seaports are at the forefront of global trade networks, serving as hubs for maritime logistics and the transportation of goods and people. To meet the requirements of such networks, seaport authorities are investing in advanced technologies to enhance the efficiency and reliability of port infrastructures. This can be achieved through the digitalization and automation of core systems, aimed at optimizing the management and handling of both goods and people. Furthermore, a significant effort is being made towards a green energy transition at seaports, which can be supported through marine renewable sources. This promotes energy-mix diversification and autonomy, whilst reducing the noteworthy environmental footprint of seaport activities. By analyzing these pertinent topics under the scope of a review of container-terminal case studies, and these ports’ respective contexts, this paper seeks to identify pioneering smart seaports in the fields of automation, real-time management, connectivity and accessibility control. To foster the sustainable development of seaports, from an energy perspective, the potential integration with marine renewable-energy systems is considered, as well as their capabilities for meeting, even if only partially, the energy demands of seaports. By combining these fields, we attempt to construct a holistic proposal for a “model port” representing the expected evolution towards the seaports of the future.

An integrated understanding of both social and ecological aspects of environmental issues is essential to address pressing sustainability challenges. An integrated social-ecological systems perspective is purported to provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between humans and nature. Despite a threefold increase in the amount of social-ecological research published between 2010 and 2015, it is unclear whether these approaches have been truly integrative. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the conceptual, methodological, disciplinary, and functional aspects of social-ecological integration. In general, we found that overall integration is still lacking in social-ecological research. Some social variables deemed important for addressing sustainability challenges are underrepresented in social-ecological studies, e.g., culture, politics, and power. Disciplines such as ecology, urban studies, and geography are better integrated than others, e.g., sociology, biology, and public administration. In addition to ecology and urban studies, biodiversity conservation plays a key brokerage role in integrating other disciplines into social-ecological research. Studies founded on systems theory have the highest rates of integration. Highly integrative studies combine different types of tools, involve stakeholders at appropriate stages, and tend to deliver practical recommendations. Better social-ecological integration must underpin sustainability science. To achieve this potential, future social-ecological research will require greater attention to the following: the interdisciplinary composition of project teams, strategic stakeholder involvement, application of multiple tools, incorporation of both social and ecological variables, consideration of bidirectional relationships between variables, and identification of implications and articulation of clear policy recommendations.