Collaborative Studies of Two Resource Ecosystems in Shelf, Slope and Oceanic Regions of the Norwegian and South-China Seas

Informations

Funding country

Norway

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

1/1/2019

End date

12/31/2022

Budget

614,754 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

The waters off Lofoten, Vesterålen and Troms and the heavily populated Guandong region, with several big cities, are characterized as high-productive marine areas on the shelf and continental slopes that lead down to the deep sea. Both areas have traditional fisheries with great importance for the local population and the regions, and large local, regional and international maritime traffic. The South China Sea and the waters outside Northern Norway are affected by climate change and potential pollution and noise from maritime traffic, fisheries and harvesting on several trophic levels, petroleum activity, and in addition, shelf areas outside China are affected by pollution from the big cities. Meso-scale eddies outside Lofoten were described in the Carta Marina as early as 1693, and are well known by local fishermen. These eddie structures are typical of the marine systems both in the South China Sea and in the waters outside Northern Norway. Both areas have a typical bloom system of phytoplankton and an effective lipid-based (marine fat) transport of energy through the ecosystem via herbivorous zooplankton (Calanus and krill) to fish, mammals and seabirds. In this project we study the physical conditions in the ocean and how the eddy formation affects the distribution of nutrients, the biological processes associated with phytoplankton dynamics, shoals and swarm formation of small crustaceans (structure of zooplankton) and the energy transfer in the ecosystem. All of these processes are related to natural and anthropogenic stressors. During the successful field period in May 2019 we used both a research vessel with the most modern equipment and autonomous platforms (gliders) equipped with newly developed echosounders to stud eddy formation and zooplankton and fish larvae in the upper water layers. In addition we used a Seaglider that descended from the surface to 1000 m with instruments to study ocean current, temperature and salinity of the eddies. For 2023 we plan a similar field period in the South China Sea, if the virus situation permits.