Growing pressures from human activities (e.g., pollution, habitat alteration, and climate change) threaten marine ecosystems. To assess ocean environmental quality, large datasets from global observing systems and networks (e.g., GOOS, EMODnet) require observations across multiple spatial and temporal scales. These observations can be complemented by scalable and cost-effective technologies and integrated monitoring systems, particularly in coastal and highly dynamic environments, essential to improve data coverage and continuity, supporting integrated analyses of marine ecosystem processes. Citizen Science initiatives can further expand observations in space and time, while raising awareness and strengthening the connection between society and marine research.
This session, whose objectives are in line with UN 2030 Agenda Goal 14 and with the UN-launched “Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”, focuses on the effects of anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems and on observational approaches to detect, quantify, and monitor their impacts. Special attention will be given to innovative, scalable and cost-effective technologies, integrated monitoring approaches, and methods that can be replicated across different marine environments. Multidisciplinary contributions combining in-situ observations, remote sensing, autonomous and emerging technologies, modelling, data integration, and citizen science are encouraged to support biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem restoration, environmental assessment, and the sustainable use of marine resources.
Topics include the effect of natural and anthropogenic pollution; impacts of global change on marine ecosystems; assessment of cumulative anthropogenic pressures; scalable and cost-effective marine observations and innovative monitoring technologies; marine citizen science; advanced methods for data collection, integration, processing, and analysis; benthic and pelagic community dynamics; and ecosystem services evaluation.