NECCTON has produced a remarkable volume of high-quality scientific advances. A selection of key achievements published over the past year includes:
1. A novel global classification of micronekton distribution was developed based on biophysical ocean provinces, advancing our capacity to model mid-trophic levels in ecosystem simulations (Albernhe et al., 2024).
2. State-of-the-art machine learning (denoising diffusion models) was successfully applied to reconstruct missing satellite chlorophyll-a data, significantly improving ocean color data continuity in the Black Sea (Barth et al., 2024).
3. A hybrid covariance method was introduced to enhance resolution in ocean data assimilation, bridging gaps between high-resolution models and available observations (Barthélémy et al., 2024).
4. An innovative network-based prioritization approach identified critical gaps in the protection of Mediterranean seagrass habitats, contributing to spatial planning and biodiversity conservation (Baldan et al., 2024).
5. A new one-dimensional testbed (EAT v1.0.0) was developed for benchmarking data assimilation techniques in physical–biogeochemical models, fostering reproducibility and cross-model comparison (Bruggeman et al., 2024).
6. Empirical evidence was provided on the partial recovery of benthic macrofauna in the Black Sea, offering insight into long-term ecosystem responses to reduced eutrophication (Chevalier et al., 2024).
7. A systematic analysis demonstrated how biogeochemical observations constrain the accuracy of simulated marine ecosystem indicators, enhancing the design of observation-model systems (Ciavatta et al., 2025).
8. The ecological role of squid as key species in marine food webs was quantitatively analyzed, highlighting their influence on energy transfer and ecosystem metabolism (Denéchère et al., 2024).
9. A novel open-source toolset ("plasticparcels") was developed for simulating marine plastic dispersion, enabling reproducible parameterization and scenario testing (Denes and van Sebille, 2024).
10. A new method was established for deriving ocean biogeochemical properties from radiometric data via inversion of a three-stream irradiance model, improving remote sensing-based monitoring (Lazzari et al., 2024).
11. A modeling framework for rare, high-impact oil spills was created, supporting risk assessment and contingency planning in the Mediterranean Sea (Liubartseva et al., 2024).
12. The dual role of Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows as both sinks and vectors of microplastics was demonstrated, revealing implications for benthic ecosystems (Rigatou et al., 2025).
13. Aquatic deoxygenation was proposed as a critical planetary boundary, reframing its role in global Earth system stability and ecosystem regulation (Rose et al., 2024).
14. A novel method for estimating fishing exploitation rates was applied at global scale, enabling dynamic simulations of fish catches and biomass for both pelagic and demersal species (van Denderen et al., 2024).
15. Historical ecosystem modeling linked commercial whaling to seabird population shifts in the Arctic, providing insight into long-term trophic restructuring (Thepault et al., 2024).
16. The FEISTY Fortran library and R package were released to facilitate coupling between fish population dynamics and ocean biogeochemistry, significantly advancing model interoperability (Zhao et al., 2025).
