From event detection to climate change: new SOCIB “Sub-regional Mediterranean Sea Indicators” tool

SOCIB researchers provide a society-aligned ocean indicators tool that can contribute to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in the framework of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability (2021-2030).

Researchers at the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB) have developed a comprehensive set of ocean indicators in the Mediterranean Sea and around the Balearic Islands, key environments that are strongly affected by climate change and human pressure. This tool, recently described in a paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science, provides continuous information about the sub-regional ocean state and variability from daily (events) to interannual/decadal (climate) scales. User-friendly diagnostics (2D map and time series) are provided at various temporal scales (daily, monthly, annual and interannual/decadal). “We provide an interface for the scientific community, educators in marine science, policymakers and environmental agencies, among others, to implement specific actions to address environmental challenges. This tool can thereby contribute to support and guide the implementation of the SDGs, in the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability (2021-2030),” says Mélanie Juza, researcher at SOCIB and first author of the study.

Image: Bathymetry (in m) in the Mediterranean Sea with the sub-regions (black boxes) & sections (red lines) used for the indicators: eastern & western Mediterranean (EMED & WMED), north-western Mediterranean (NWMED), Balearic Islands region (including the Cabrera Island National Park), Algerian sub-basin, Alboran Sea, Ibiza & Mallorca Channels (IC & MC).

Bathymetry (in m) in the Mediterranean Sea with the sub-regions (black boxes) & sections (red lines) used for the indicators: eastern & western Mediterranean (EMED & WMED), north-western Mediterranean (NWMED), Balearic Islands region (including the Cabrera Island National Park), Algerian sub-basin, Alboran Sea, Ibiza & Mallorca Channels (IC & MC).

According to the researchers, the sub-regional ocean indicators tool integrates Essential Ocean Variables and/or derived variables, such as sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration or sea level from Copernicus Marine Service Near-Real Time and also from historical satellite products, among others. “These indicators allow us to detect specific events in real-time, such as marine heatwaves, atmospheric storms, extreme river discharges, mesoscale eddies, and deep convections, among others, all of them being oceanic phenomena that directly impact the ocean circulation and marine ecosystems,” explains Joaquín Tintoré, director of the SOCIB and coauthor of the study. Furthermore, “long-term variations, in response to climate change, are also addressed highlighting and quantifying trends in physical and biogeochemical components of the ocean as well as sub-regional differences,” he adds.

Overall, this tool responds, at the regional level, to the increasing science and society requests for ocean monitoring from global to regional and local scales, the need for integration and convergence into a globally consistent ocean observing system as well as the need for improvement of access to information that are internationally recognized goals to progress toward the sustainable management of a healthy ocean, as highlighted by the researchers. Therefore, it contributes to supporting society to implement specific actions to address worldwide environmental challenges.

  • Reference article

Juza, M., & Tintoré, J. (2021). Multivariate sub-regional ocean indicators in the Mediterranean Sea: from event detection to climate change estimations. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.610589.