Project update | 25 February 2022
BOOMS project kicks-off
February marked the launch of the Biodiversity in the Open Ocean: Mapping, Monitoring and Modelling (BOOMS) project led by Plymouth Marine Laboratory and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). The kick-off meeting brought together experts from Plymouth Marine Laboratory, AZTI tecnalia and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens as well as ESA project officers, Early adopters and the Scientific Advisory Council for the project.
The two-year project is one of several projects funded as part of the EC-ESA Earth System Science initiative 'Ocean Health' initial Flagship Action.
Increasing pressures due to anthropogenic drivers is leading to a reduction of global biodiversity, in the last 50 years these drivers have accelerated and are predicted to continue, therefore it is vital that "fit-for-purpose" observation tools are developed to assess and monitor biodiversity loss. BOOMS aims to provide the best characterisation of oceanic seascapes (habitats defined by physical, chemical or biological characteristics), and its relationship to Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) globally.
The project will deliver a number of work packages which characterise seascapes and produce data to better understand the biodiversity of the open ocean (open ocean is defined as seafloor depth greater than 200m).
BOOMS will focus on several Ocean Health Science Case Studies, for different trophic levels: phyoplankton, zooplankton and fish.
The project will utilize results from the scientific case studies and datasets to focus on a number of Ocean Health Impact Assessment Use Cases, these will aim to transfer science in to solutions for society, working with scientific, agency, polict and commercial early adopters. These studies focus on the following topics:
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Application to improvement of understanding of dynamic models
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North Atlantic, Tropical and South Atlantic fisheries and human impacts
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Dynamic seascapes and top predators
The results of the project will be available through the BOOMS website and data will be openly available for future projects to utilise.
Related information and links
Work package structure
BOOMS team
The European Space Agency (ESA)