Abstract
Sustained observations (SOs) have provided invaluable information on the ocean's biology and biogeochemistry for over 50 years. They continue to play a vital role in elucidating the functioning of the marine ecosystem, particularly in the light of ongoing climate change. Repeated, consistent observations have provided the opportunity to resolve temporal and/or spatial variability in ocean biogeochemistry, which has driven exploration of the factors controlling biological parameters and processes. Here, I highlight some of the key breakthroughs in biological oceanography that have been enabled by SOs, which include areas such as trophic dynamics, understanding variability, improved biogeochemical models and the role of ocean biology in the global carbon cycle. In the near future, SOs are poised to make progress on several fronts, including detecting climate change effects on ocean biogeochemistry, high-resolution observations of physical–biological interactions and greater observational capability in both the mesopelagic zone and harsh environments, such as the Arctic. We are now entering a new era for biological SOs, one in which our motivations have evolved from the need to acquire basic understanding of the ocean's state and variability, to a need to understand ocean biogeochemistry in the context of increasing pressure in the form of climate change, overfishing and eutrophication.
Highlights
Sustained observations (SOs) of ocean biogeochemistry have a rich history extending back over 50 years [1,2]
For some periods and locations, predicted oxygen concentration drops below 20 μmol kg−1, which is lethal for most higher marine organisms [15]. These predictions for the response of ocean biology to climate change are based on predictive models, themselves developed from our conceptual understanding of the interactions between atmospheric and oceanic forcing and the marine ecosystem
Fast forward 50 years and the data collected from SOs during the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) era plus the advent of ocean colour satellites spurred on the development of sophisticated biogeochemical models that included representations of phytoplankton community structure, zooplankton grazing, carbon export and remineralization [74]
Summary
Sustained observations (SOs) of ocean biogeochemistry have a rich history extending back over 50 years [1,2]. For some periods and locations, predicted oxygen concentration drops below 20 μmol kg−1, which is lethal for most higher marine organisms [15] These predictions for the response of ocean biology to climate change are based on predictive models, themselves developed from our conceptual understanding of the interactions between atmospheric and oceanic forcing and the marine ecosystem. This understanding owes its existence, in part, to SOs, which provided the multi-year measurements of seasonal and interannual variability necessary to pick apart the roles of forcing and response. Companion papers in this Theme Issue cover the UK and Ireland’s coastal SOs [16] and open-ocean physical oceanography-centred SOs [17]
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