Environmental Studies

Work Plan

Environmental Studies are organized into six interplaying work packages WP1, WP2, WP3, WP4, WP5, WP6:

Water quality (WP1)

>> Location: PAER and surrounding areas (Figueira da Foz and Leixões)

Aims:

  • Assessment of the chemical oceanographic characteristics of the water column.

Datasets:

Historical oceanography data:

  • Temperature
  • Salinity
  • O2
  • pH
  • PO4
  • SiO2
  • NO3
  • NO3+NO2
  • NH4
  • Chlorophyll-a
Distribution of temperature (T) and salinity (S) at the surface in the northern coastal zone of mainland Portugal, where OWF areas of Figueira da Foz and Leixões are located.

Data sources:

  • World Ocean Database (WOD);
  • European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet);
  • Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP);
  • Hydrographic Programme of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE).

Upwelling and current patterns (WP2)

>> Location: Portuguese continental coast, with focus on PAER areas

Aims:

  • Characterize the spatial structure and temporal variability of the wind field and its rotational
  • Characterize the surface currents and circulation, local upwelling/downwelling, temperature, and salinity patterns
  • Identification of mesoscale stationary structures

Datasets and Methods

  • European ReAnalysis ERA5 and simulations with the regional atmospheric model Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), used to characterize the wind patterns
  • Simulation with the CROCO regional ocean model (IBv2.0 configuration) between 2002 and 2018, forced by atmospheric forcings from the base simulation performed with the WRF atmospheric model, used to characterize oceanographic parameters
Average fields of Sea Surface Temperature (SST)

Primary productivity and planktonic communities (WP3)

>> Location: Portuguese continental coast, with focus on PAER areas

Aims:

  • Characterize the temporal variability and spatial distribution of phytoplankton biomass
  • Characterize the mesozooplankton community and quantify its relative abundance
  • Characterize the biodiversity, abundance, and biomass of planktonic communities using biophysical models

Datasets and Methods

  • Daily remote sensing maps of ocean colour, using data from Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI; V6 1km 2003–2022)
  • Samples from previous campaigns (PT-DEPM19-HOM and PT-DEPM22-HOM) collected in the study areas were used for:
    • Characterize the mesozooplankton community with FlowCam
    • DNA extraction, high-throughput sequencing (metabarcoding), bioinformatic processing
  •  Lagrangian dispersal simulations were conducted using a compilation of basic biological data from diverse literature sources as input
Average chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration along the coast (map on the left) and along the year on the PAER areas (graph on the right), in 2004

Habitats and nektonic communities (WP4)

>> Location: Portuguese continental coast, with focus on PAER areas

Aims:

  • Characterize the ecological communities, focusing on:
    • Benthic fauna
    • Demersal and pelagic fish
    • Large pelagic migrant species
    • Seabirds, marine mammals, and reptile communities
  • Compile available information on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME)
  • Characterize the food web of the Portuguese continental shelf, analysing the isotopic composition (δ15N and δ13C) of the most abundant or relevant organisms in the food chain

Datasets:

  • Data/samples from oceanographic surveys (PNAB/DCF CRUSTACEOS, DEMERSAL, PELAGO), including historical data
  • Historical data from seabird census (European Seabirds At Sea, Seabird and Marine Monitoring Network, and during PELAGO campaigns)
  • Georeferenced data available for the region of interest
  • Electronic logbooks and data from on-board observers for surface longlines
  • Documentation and other resources from various sources (e.g., DGRM, IH, EMODNET).

Methods:

  • Biodiversity indices
  • Data modelling
  • Isotope analysis using continuous flow isotope mass spectrometry
Hotspot and coldspot persistence of beta diversity of demersal fish (Jaccard Dissimilarity) in the northern coastal zone of mainland Portugal.

Fishing activity (WP5)

>> Location: Portuguese continental coast, with focus on PAER areas

Aims:

  • Spatial assessment of fishing intensity, catch and revenue
  • Quantify potential fishing-related changes in future exclusion zones

Datasets and Methods:

  • Compilation of historical logbook data, IPMA observer data, and first sale fish auction values data for commercial fishing off the Portuguese coast
  • Estimation of overlap of the fisheries with the offshore wind areas based on fishing effort and catches
 Distribution of fishing activity inside and outside Leixões and Figueira da Foz areas in the period 2015-2023

Data integration on the SOMOSATLÂNTICO platform (WP6)

Aims:

  • Ingestion and storage of data from the environmental characterization study on the SOMOSATLÂNTICO platform
  • Construction of a GIS dedicated to the project
  • Development of  spatio-temporal models for the description, synthesis, and prediction of environmental variables.

Datasets and Methods:

  • Data collected in all tasks
  • Processment and standardization of data
  • Development of open-source Python scripts and creation of metadata in accordance with the INSPIRE Directive

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