Abstract
Coastal marine systems, the interface between the ocean and terrestrial realms, are among the most important systems on the planet both ecologically and economically because of their crucial role in earth system functioning. Although direct impacts of human activities on physical, chemical and biological components of these systems have been widely documented, the potential influence of climate variability is less well known. Here, we used data from Service d'Observation en Milieu Littoral (SOMLIT), a marine monitoring programme that has since 1997 collected samples at 12 sites located along the French coasts from 42° to 51° N. Applying standardised principal compo- nent analysis (PCA), we documented the year-to-year fluctuations in these coastal systems and eval- uated the potential influence of climate variability using data on atmospheric circulation (wind inten- sity and direction), precipitation and temperature. Our study revealed a pronounced sensitivity of these systems to climate variability. As the impact of climate change may become more prominent in the next decades, this study suggests that climate might strongly influence the marine coastal envi- ronment and act in synergism with other anthropogenic pressures to alter the state and functioning of biological and ecological systems and the services they provide.
Highlights
Many studies have shown that climate variability influences marine systems ranging from benthic (Kroncke et al 1998, Warwick et al 2002) to pelagic (Ohman & Hirche 2001) and from oceanic (Hare & Mantua 2000) to coastal (Attrill & Power 2002)
Results suggest that coastal systems of western Europe located in the 42 to 51° N latitude range were affected by climate variability during the period 1997 to 2006
Strong correlations were found between regional climate and changes observed in the coastal environment, suggesting a substantial impact of climate on the coastal systems of western Europe
Summary
Many studies have shown that climate variability influences marine systems ranging from benthic (Kroncke et al 1998, Warwick et al 2002) to pelagic (Ohman & Hirche 2001) and from oceanic (Hare & Mantua 2000) to coastal (Attrill & Power 2002). The impact of climate on marine systems is not limited to a particular biological component but generally extends to all ecosystem functional units (Drinkwater et al 2003). Climate impacts the biodiversity of marine systems and their spatial and temporal fluctuations, modulating the phenology of many organisms (i.e. their rhythm of reproduction, Edwards & Richardson 2004) as well as their response at both year-to-year and decadal scales (Cury et al 2002). Climate influences systems through a number of physical and chemical processes and pathways (Kirby et al 2009).
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