Pioneering deep-sea project helps chart future course for the Atlantic Ocean A landmark project to study the Atlantic Ocean’s vast depths has laid the foundations for efforts to safeguard the ocean for future generations. The most in-depth assessment of deep-sea ecosystems to date has led to the discovery of new species, offered greater insights into biodiversity and improved understanding of the damaging impacts of climate change. Climate Change and Environment Food and Natural Resources Fundamental Research © ATLAS The ATLAS project (www.eu-atlas.org/) – which involved more than 80 researchers from countries bordering the North Atlantic – has provided governments and industry with tools to help ensure the ocean’s resources are used more sustainably. Over the past four years, ATLAS scientists have led/participated on 45 research expeditions making a step change in knowledge on North Atlantic deep-sea ecosystems. Deep-sea ecosystems, however, are under high risk. ATLAS showed that large-scale Atlantic Ocean circulation, i.e. the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, has slowed down exceptionally over the last 150 years due to climate change. Findings also suggest that ocean warming, acidification, and decreased food supply could drastically alter the availability and location of suitable habitats for habitat-forming cold-water corals and commercially important deep-sea fish by 2100. ATLAS research has led to the discovery/description of 30+ seabed communities and the description of at least 12 new species including Myonera atlasiana named after ATLAS. The project also assessed the economic and social value of the deep sea and found that there was strong support among the public for more sustainable ocean management strategies. The “ATLAS Media Pack” (www.dropbox.com/sh/5rsvop9fvacptt4/AADHHJDb_HkRoSNZy-23YaRTa?dl=0) explains ATLAS key achievements accompanied by stunning footage and gives the opportunity to journalists and public to have an insight in the deep North Atlantic. Professor J Murray Roberts, from the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences, and co-ordinator of the ATLAS project, said: “Everyone knows how important it is to look after tropical rainforests and other precious habitats on land, but few realise there are just as many, if not more, special places in the ocean. In ATLAS we’ve studied most vulnerable ecosystems in the deep Atlantic and we now understand how important, interconnected and fragile they really are. We also discovered that people across the Atlantic want to see healthy deep-sea ecosystems for their children and grandchildren. The challenge for the next decade will be taking this new scientific and social understanding and using it to create better plans and policies for truly sustainable human activities in the ocean.” Dr Jake Rice, of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Chair of the ATLAS Advisory Board, said: “When invited to Chair the ATLAS Advisory Board, I was attracted by the scope of the challenge being taken on, the breadth of disciplines comprising ATLAS, the depth of the expertise of the researchers, and the opportunities this mix presented. It is a highlight of my career to have been able to play even a small role in the achievements of ATLAS and share in its legacy.” ATLAS was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and involved collaboration between the European Union, Canada and the US. The €10 million iAtlantic project (https://www.iatlantic.eu/) – which began in 2019 – is building on the pioneering work of ATLAS by using the latest technologies to assess the ocean’s health, and helping governments create policies to better protect it. Notes to Editors ATLAS (“A Trans-Atlantic Assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management for Europe”) is a research and innovation action funded under the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020, Grant No 678760. It is the largest integrated study of deep Atlantic ecosystems ever undertaken. The four-year project was launched in May 2016 and has a total budget of €9.4 million. Led by the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, UK) ATLAS brings together 25 partners (and one linked third party) from 10 European countries, the USA and Canada. For more information on the ATLAS project, please visit www.eu-atlas.org Keywords Atlantic Ocean, Deep sea, New species, ATLAS, Deepwater corals, Atlantic Ocean Circulation
