The increase demand of oil, associated with the depletion of easily exploitable oil deposits is leading the oil industry to intensify the search for new oil areas and exploit deposits previously considered as economically unprofitable. These new oil research areas are mostly located in Arctic waters and in the "offshore" areas in deep waters. However, very few studies have investigated the biological impacts of oil contamination in these very specific areas. Practically, the research actions will estimate the potential synergistic effect of oil, warming and hypoxia on a key Arctic species, polar cod Boreogadus saida (Work package 1, WP1).The project will then will focus on the impacts of the soluble fraction of oil on the metabolism of deep benthic species, in particular Lophelia pertusa and Eurythenes gryllus (WP 2). WP3 will consist of an applied study in order to validate two experimental set-ups which could make possible the assessment of the impact of oil in deep-sea environments. Finally, WP4 will be devoted to provide recommendations to perform a relevant NEBA in Arctic and deep-sea areas. The complementarities between the applicant and the supervisors profiles, associated with partner organizations skills ensure the realization of this innovative project and the dissemination and exploitation of the different results.

EUROPAM is a research project that proposes comparative spatio-temporal acoustic survey of megafauna biodiversity, and its management at a European scale. EUROPAM is based on innovative scientific instrumentation and algorithms, the Bombyx sonobuoys, to increase the knowledge of anthropogenic impacts on marine life, on a wide scale that allows comparison between locations and type of disturbances, and also between some population segments. It is composed of researchers from many different fields, making the project federative and multi-disciplinary. The ultimate objectives of real-time, high-quality acoustic observations are the efficient management and the generation of long-term statistics. EUROPAM will: (1) develop comparative continuous passive acoustic monitoring in the Mediterranean Sea, the Azores and off-shore Norway; (2) compare marine soundscapes considering quiet marine protected areas vs. areas under strong human pressure; (3) describe marine soundscapes and their natural patterns and dynamics (daily and seasonal) and feed marine soundscape data into repositories; (4) develop protocols to calibrate measurements and provide comparable data across a large range of temporal and spatial scales; and (5) support whale-ship collision risk mitigation procedures. EUROPAM is considering biotic and abiotic ocean soundscapes, and oceanic parameters. In the biotic soundscape. The objective is to quantify anthropogenic noise sources, identify and track marine mammals, while in the abiotic soundscape, the objective is to monitor acoustic features driven by local climate and meteorological events. EUROPAM will identify conservation areas and seasonality of species diversity, compare noisy with quiet areas, and measure noise level changes in relation to wind farm construction and to new offshore industrial activities. The project will monitor sea regions which are expected to be highly impacted by climate change, by industrial development and by increasing marine traffic. It addresses the topics highlighted in Theme 1 of this call, by establishing a comprehensive understanding of effective and resilient ecological networks, while contributing to enhanced species-based protection using state-of-the-art methodology. Also, it will lead to better knowledge of the megafauna in the international marine mammal sanctuary PELAGOS, in Azores and along the Norwegian coast. EUROPAM will bring new types of observatories for marine mammal survey and protection and will participate in novel whale-ship anti-collision mitigation in high trafficked areas like between Italy and France. Thus, it will also assess the costs of biodiversity loss and conservation outcomes in the context of vessel traffic management, highlighted in Themes 2 + 3. It will help to regulate fishery and whale-watching interactions with sea mammals. In the waters of the European Union, it also considers acoustic pollution according to the descriptor 11 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

POMP will advance the scientific understanding of how climate change impacts biodiversity and carbon sequestration potential in emerging and rapidly changing polar marine ecosystems, and, through these impacts, the project will evaluate how resilience and adaptation potential in the polar regions are being altered. The aim is to provide new quantitative knowledge of the mitigation potential of blue carbon in emerging coastal and oceanic habitats and to assess the scope for their inclusion in carbon accounting at national and international levels. Our approach is to study each step in the biological carbon flow from CO2-capture by primary producers, through transformations and intermediate storage, to long-term sequestration. We will do this by combining analyses of new and existing data at several Arctic and Antarctic Learning Sites and use this to develop and validate new ecosystem models and remote sensing algorithms. These will then be used to provide large-scale assessments of changes in blue carbon habitat distributions and their CO2 capture and sequestration potential, both now and in the future. The new knowledge generated will be presented to the scientific community and to decision makers and managers as policy briefs to guide the designation of marine protected areas that recognize both diversity and blue carbon potential. The POMP consortium is highly qualified to meet this task with world-leading experts on blue carbon and climate change impacts in the polar regions, and partners that bring together scientific expertise, extensive unpublished data, polar infrastructure, and unique sampling opportunities as well as experience and resources from several national and EU projects directly related to this call. Participation of three Canadian partners eligible for national funding assures excellent opportunities for cross Atlantic collaboration with a pan-Arctic focus.

Observing the oceans in coastal and deep offshore zones nowadays relies on coordinated deployments of multiple types of platforms equipped with multiple types of sensors. The ‘multiplatform’ approach is now recognized as the most relevant and cost-effective way to fully describe spatial and temporal oceanic variability for the needs of marine research, ocean observing systems (OOSs) and for the blue economy. Observing and monitoring biological communities (from plankton to fish) is still very challenging, but it is essential to unveil complex ecological processes and ultimately allow adequate marine environmental protection measures and a sustainable exploitation of the ocean. Underwater gliders equipped with novel optical and acoustic imaging sensors have a significant potential to collect and deliver ecosystem data, in particular in extreme environments like the Arctic ocean. Most of the technological building blocks to meet this challenge are available: extremely low power sensors, gliders and software for control and analyses, such as artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, have been integrated and operated in coordination with other observing platforms, and open new perspectives for comprehensive observations in coastal and deep seas. BIOGLIDER addresses this scientific and technological challenge with an innovative and unique 'bio glider' integrated solution. Three smart devices, a vision profiler, a scientific echosounder and an acoustic modem will be integrated on commerciallyavailable gliders to provide a ‘smart’ service for zooplankton and fish ecology applications. It will be tested in Nordic seas and the Arctic ocean, meeting the needs of a wide range of customers, from research to the energy and fishery sectors. BIOGLIDER will develop this innovative marine technology expertise in Europe through a strong, organized public-private collaboration, leading to the only commercialized solution for a glider-based ecosystem payload available worldwide.