Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report, Issue 4

Presentation

The Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report is a Reference Report of the European Union. It provides a comprehensive and state-of-the art assessment of the state of the global ocean and European regional seas for the ocean scientific community as well as for policy and decision-makers. The Ocean State Report draws on expert analysis and provides a 4-D view (reanalysis systems), from above (through remote sensing data) and directly from the interior (in situ measurements) of the blue (e.g. hydrography, currents), white (e.g. sea ice) and green (e.g. Chlorophyll) global ocean and the European regional seas. It has been conceived and intended as a reference EU report meant to contribute to reporting tasks and activities of EU policy makers, of environmental agencies in the EU (e.g. EEA) , of Regional Sea Conventions, of EU Member States’ decision makers and authorities concerned, of EU Peripheral Maritime Regions and of international organizations (e.g. IPCC, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14, OECD, etc.). In addition, the report aims at increasing general public awareness about the status of, and changes in, the marine environment.

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction and the European Environment policy framework

1.1 Introduction and main outcomes

1.2 The EU environment policies and the European Green Deal

Chapter 2: State, variability and change in the ocean

2.1 Diatom dynamics in the North Atlantic

2.2 Primary production

2.3 Barrier layer thickness in the Pacific Ocean

2.4 Interannual variability in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Overturning Index

2.5 Spatio-temporal variability of the Black Sea Cold Intermediate Layer properties derived from in situ data

2.6 Ocean heat content in the Black Sea

2.7 Monitoring of wave sea state in the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland regional seas

2.8 A Lagrangian approach to monitor local particle retention conditions in coastal areas

2.9 Global sea surface temperature anomalies in 2018 and historical changes since 1993

2.10 Ocean acidification

Chapter 3: Case studies

3.1 Evidence of the TOPEX-A Altimeter Instrumental Anomaly and Acceleration of the Global Mean Sea Level

3.2 Using CMEMS satellite and model data to help assess eutrophication status in Northwest European Shelf Seas

3.3 The value of carbon sink ecosystem services in the MediterraneanSea

3.4 IBISAR service for real-time data ranking in the IBI area for emergency responders and SAR operators

3.5 Surface picture of the Levantine Basin as derived by drifter and satellite data

Chapter 4: Specific events 2018

4.1 A most unusual winter sea-ice opening north ofGreenland

4.2 Geographical and seasonal coverage of sea ice in the Baltic Sea

4.3 The resurgence of the North Pacific marine heatwave in 2018

4.4 Anomalous surface warming in the Baltic Sea in summer 2018 and mechanism analysis

4.5 Space-based observations of surface signatures in the wakes of the 2018 Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones

4.6 Record wave storm in the Gulf of Cadiz over the past 20 years and its impact on harbours

4.7 Predictability of large wave heights in the western Black Sea during the 2018 winter storms

4.8 Small scale ocean weather during an extreme wind event in the Ligurian Sea

4.9 Drifter observations and Lagrangian tracking of the 2018 easterly wind event in the North Sea

4.10 Coastal ocean variability related to the most extreme Ebro River discharge over the last 15 years