By the TRIATLAS coordination team
TRIATLAS is one of the six BG-08 sister projects funded by the European Commission under its H2020 program. The BG-08 cluster of projects focuses on the Atlantic Ocean and is part of a coordinated effort to fill the gaps in our understanding of its chemistry, ecology, biodiversity, climate impacts, and the sustainable exploitation of its natural resources.
The TRIATLAS project acronym comes from the long title: Tropical and South Atlantic climate-based marine ecosystem predictions for sustainable management. Its overall objective is to assess the status of the South and Tropical Atlantic marine ecosystems and develop a framework for predicting its future changes, from months to decades. By doing so, TRIATLAS aims to contribute to the sustainable management of human activities in the Atlantic Ocean as a whole. Although a basin-scale understanding of the whole Atlantic is the ultimate goal, the Tropical and Southern Atlantic Ocean are at the heart of TRIATLAS activities. Our signature map (below) emphasizes the fact that TRIATLAS puts the South Atlantic at the top of its agenda, literally and figuratively.
TRIATLAS has six specific objectives that are organized under four core themes and 13 Work Packages. The specific goals are:
- To enhance knowledge of the present state and seasonal dynamics of the marine ecosystem across several trophic levels, by scientifically integrating and extending the physical and biological observing system in key areas of the South and Tropical Atlantic.
- To quantify the drivers at interannual to decadal time scale in the marine ecosystems by using observations and numerical (earth system, ocean, and marine ecosystem) model simulations to examine the interactions between different stressors (climate, fisheries, pollution) and the role of cumulative impacts on ecosystem functioning and associated ecosystem services.
- To combine climate prediction and ecosystem models to improve forecasting capabilities of physical stressors, tipping points, recovery of, and changes in ecosystem states of the South and Tropical Atlantic from months to decades.
- To improve the sustainable exploitation of Atlantic marine resources by developing scenarios combining climate-based ecosystem predictions with Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP), conducting socio-economic vulnerability assessments with stakeholder engagement, and by analyzing new fisheries value chains.
- To enhance capacity in marine ecosystems, oceanography, and climate research in the region to enable responsible management of human activities and sustainable development.
- To ensure that activities are carried out in close cooperation and alignment with relevant programs to upscale cooperation along and across the Atlantic Ocean.
TRIATLAS is delighted to be part of the BG-08 sister projects cluster. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with MISSION ATLANTIC.
Don't forget to visit the TRIATLAS project website at triatlas.eu.