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The perception of ocean areas by policy-makers or by people, living or not on the coast, has significantly varied over centuries. Due to its vastness and complexity, the sea has been studied within distinct academic disciplines. However, the current issues related to the sea, such as climate change, marine pollution or coastal tourism, require an integrated vision of the assets and drawbacks in order to meet the challenges arising from human activities both at sea and onshore. In this study, a group of foresight officers from the French network of public research institutes decided to cross-check and compare several science approaches (biology, sociology, economics, etc) about oceans. Thus, 11 sectors of maritime activity (transportation, fisheries, energy, etc.) were cross-tabulated with 9 basic social functions (providing food, housing, learning, etc.). In this matrix, the main challenges and issues projected for 2030 were sought, in the frame of a baseline scenario. Results were clustered through 4 criteria, leading to 9 major challenges, each of them broken down into two important issues for research. The outcomes were used to create a survey, allowing the ranking of the research priorities. Most of the 9 challenges tally with the research and development objectives of great maritime states, except for governance and monitoring, which remain underscored. As a result, maritime powers still show more interest on securing national resources rather than on promoting international cooperation for secure trade and sustainable exploitation of marine resources. But foresight in this field could help changing the mentalities notably because oceans show clearly now to be a vital common good for mankind.

Broadband acoustic signals around 1 kHz propagate through shallow water oceanic waveguides of ~100 m in depth and ~2 km in range as multiple ray-like wavefronts. These acoustic arrivals can be characterized by the following observables: travel-time (TT), direction-of-arrival (DOA) and direction-of-departure (DOD). By applying double-beamforming on the point-to-point signals recorded between two source-receiver arrays, the acoustic contribution of each arrival can be separated from the multi-reverberated data and the TT, DOA and DOD observable variations are accurately measured. This study deals with the use of time-angle sensitivity kernels (TASK) to estimate the observable variations induced by sound speed perturbations in the waveguide. This approach is based on the first order Born approximation and takes into account the finite-frequency effects associated with wave propagation. The robustness the TASK approach is analyzed and compared to numerical parabolic equation simulations involving different sound speed perturbations. For example, parameters such as the perturbation location, the value and shape of the perturbation in the waveguide are modified. The combination of several perturbations and the influence of the source-receiver array apertures on the TT, DOA and DOD estimates are also studied.

Free-ocean CO2 enrichment (FOCE) systems are designed to assess the impact of ocean acidification on biological communities in situ for extended periods of time (weeks to months). They overcome some of the drawbacks of laboratory experiments and field observations by enabling (1) precise control of CO2 enrichment by monitoring pH as an offset of ambient pH, (2) consideration of indirect effects such as those mediated through interspecific relationships and food webs, and (3) relatively long experiments with intact communities. Bringing perturbation experiments from the laboratory to the field is, however, extremely challenging. The main goal of this paper is to provide guidelines on the general design, engineering, and sensor options required to conduct FOCE experiments. Another goal is to introduce xFOCE, a community-led initiative to promote awareness, provide resources for in situ perturbation experiments, and build a user community. Present and existing FOCE systems are briefly described and examples of data collected presented. Future developments are also addressed as it is anticipated that the next generation of FOCE systems will include, in addition to pH, options for oxygen and/or temperature control. FOCE systems should become an important experimental approach for projecting the future response of marine ecosystems to environmental change. Refereed 14.3 Inorganic carbon TRL 8 Actual system completed and "mission qualified" through test and demonstration in an operational environment (ground or space) Manual (incl. handbook, guide, cookbook etc)

A significant decrease of dissolved iron (DFe) concentration has been observed after dust addition into mesocosms during the DUst experiment in a low Nutrient low chlorophyll Ecosystem (DUNE), carried out in the summer of 2008. Due to low biological productivity at the experiment site, biological consumption of iron can not explain the magnitude of DFe decrease. To understand processes regulating the observed DFe variation, we simulated the experiment using a one-dimensional model of the Fe biogeochemical cycle, coupled with a simple ecosystem model. Different size classes of particles and particle aggregation are taken into account to describe the particle dynamics. DFe concentration is regulated in the model by dissolution from dust particles and adsorption onto particle surfaces, biological uptake, and photochemical mobilisation of particulate iron. The model reproduces the observed DFe decrease after dust addition well. This is essentially explained by particle adsorption and particle aggregation that produces a high export within the first 24 h. The estimated particle adsorption rates range between the measured adsorption rates of soluble iron and those of colloidal iron, indicating both processes controlling the DFe removal during the experiment. A dissolution timescale of 3 days is used in the model, instead of an instantaneous dissolution, underlining the importance of dissolution kinetics on the short-term impact of dust deposition on seawater DFe. Sensitivity studies reveal that initial DFe concentration before dust addition was crucial for the net impact of dust addition on DFe during the DUNE experiment. Based on the balance between abiotic sinks and sources of DFe, a critical DFe concentration has been defined, above which dust deposition acts as a net sink of DFe, rather than a source. Taking into account the role of excess iron binding ligands and biotic processes, the critical DFe concentration might be applied to explain the short-term variability of DFe after natural dust deposition in various different ocean regions.

The weathering of mantle peridotite tectonically exposed to the atmosphere leads commonly to natural carbonation processes. Extensive cryptocrystalline magnesite veins and stock-work are widespread in the serpentinite sole of the New Caledonia ophiolite. Silica is systematically associated with magnesite. It is commonly admitted that Mg and Si are released during the laterization of overlying peridotites. Thus, the occurrence of these veins is generally attributed to a per descensum mechanism that involves the infiltration of meteoric waters enriched in dissolved atmospheric CO2. In this study, we investigate serpentinite carbonation processes, and related silicification, based on a detailed petrographic and crystal chemical study of serpentinites. The relationships between serpentine and alteration products are described using an original method for the analysis of micro-X-ray fluorescence images performed at the centimeter scale. Our investigations highlight a carbonation mechanism, together with precipitation of amorphous silica and sepiolite, based on a dissolution- precipitation process. In contrast with the per descensum Mg/Si-enrichment model that is mainly concentrated in rock fractures, dissolution-precipitation process is much more pervasive. Thus, although the texture of rocks remains relatively preserved, this process extends more widely into the rock and may represent a major part of total carbonation of the ophiolite.

Rivers are major pathways of plastics from lands into the Ocean. However, there is still a huge lack of knowledge on how riverine litter, including macroplastics, is transferred into the Ocean. Quantitative measurements of macroplastic emissions in rivers even suggest that a small fraction (0.001 to 3%) of the Mismanaged Plastic Waste (MPW) generated within a river basin finally reach the sea. Instead, macroplastics may remain within the catchment and on coastlines because of complex transport dynamics that delay the transfer of plastic debris. In order to better understand those dynamics, we performed tracking of riverine litter over time. First, hundreds of date-prints items were collected on riverbanks in the Seine estuary. The distribution of their Use-By-Dates suggest that riverine litter may remain stored on riverbanks for decades. Second, we performed real time tracking of floating and sub-floating bottles using GPS-trackers. Between March 2018 and April 2019, 39 trajectories were recorded in the estuary under tidal influence and 11 trajectories upriver, covering a wide range of hydrometeorological conditions. Results show a succession of stranding/remobilization episodes in combination with alternating upstream and downstream transport in the estuary related to tides. In the end, tracked bottles systematically stranded somewhere, for hours to weeks, from one to several times on different sites. The overall picture shows that different hydrometeorological phenomena interact with various time scales ranging from hours/days (high/low tides) to weeks/months (spring/neap tides and highest tides) and years (seasonal river flow, vegetation and geomorphological aspects). Thus, the fate of plastic debris is highly unpredictable with a chaotic-like transfer of plastic debris into the Ocean. The residence time of these debris is much longer than the transit time of water. This offers the opportunity to collect them before they get fragmented and/or reach the Sea.

For shallow-water waveguides and mid-frequency broadband acoustic signals, ocean acoustic tomography (OAT) is based on the multi-path aspect of wave propagation. Using arrays in emission and reception and advanced array processing, every acoustic arrival can be isolated and matched to an eigenray that is defined not only by its travel time but also by its launch and reception angles. Classically, OAT uses travel-time variations to retrieve sound-speed perturbations; this assumes very accurate source-to-receiver clock synchronization. This letter uses numerical simulations to demonstrate that launch-and-reception-angle tomography gives similar results to travel-time tomography without the same requirement for high-precision synchronization.