The Mediterranean, Marmara, and Black Seas - collectively referred to here as the Southern European Seas, are experiencing rapid climate-driven transformations. Recent trends reveal accelerating sea surface warming, intense marine heatwaves, intermediate and deep-water salinization, sea-level rise, and expanding deoxygenation. Given their semi-enclosed nature, strong interbasin connectivity, densely populated coasts, and vulnerability to climate change, understanding the physical and biogeochemical drivers behind these trends is critical.
Recent years have seen significant progress in deciphering basin-scale circulation, strait exchange dynamics, wave dynamics and extremes, sea-level variability, and land-coast-ocean interactions - spanning high-frequency meteo-oceanographic extremes to long-term climate projections. Crucial to this progress are sustained and innovative observing systems (especially in regions where in-situ observations remain sparse or have recently declined, as is the case in the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean), citizen science integration, high-resolution numerical modelling and reanalyses including data assimilation, validation and intercomparison frameworks, and advanced data-driven or AI/ML approaches complementing operational ocean and wave forecasting systems.
This session welcomes multidisciplinary contributions on physical and biogeochemical processes across the Mediterranean, Marmara, and Black Seas. We invite submissions addressing:
Novel Monitoring Strategies: Basin-scale to coastal observing systems, autonomous platforms, remote sensing, innovative measurement approaches, and citizen science, addressing in-situ observational gaps and long-term observing capacity.
Process Understanding: Short-to long-term variability, basin circulation and interbasin connectivity, strait dynamics, land-sea interfaces, wave dynamics and extremes, biogeochemical dynamics and deoxygenation, and extreme event impacts.
Modeling & AI Advancements: Numerical models, data-driven ML//AI frameworks and approaches, including methods for data-sparce regions (such as the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean), validation frameworks and data assimilation.
Operational Oceanography & Climate services: Forecasting systems, downstream applications, digital twins, coastal and marine hazards, climate indicators and tools to support climate adaptation and coastal resilience.