Progetti di ricerca

pH-equilibrated Ocean alkalinization (pHeqOA) is an emerging carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approach thatinvolves increasing the alkalinity of seawater to enhance CO₂ uptake from the atmosphere while counteractingocean acidification. Despite its potential as a climate mitigation strategy, the ecological impacts of… Leggi tutto pHeqOA onmarine ecosystems, especially coastal planktonic communities, remain poorly understood. These communities arevital to ocean food webs and biogeochemical cycles, and even small alterations in seawater chemistry could havecascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem function. The proposed experiment aims to evaluate the short-term ecological responses of coastal plankton communities tocontrolled additions of alkalinized seawater. Using mesocosms we will investigate how different levels of seawateralkalinization affect plankton composition, abundance, productivity, and key biogeochemical parameters such aspH, total alkalinity (TA), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). This study builds upon a limited but growing body of mesocosm-based pHeqOA research, expanding it to atemperate coastal ecosystem characterized by high biological productivity and natural variability. Understandingplanktonic responses in these areas is crucial for assessing the feasibility and safety of deploying pHeqOA atscale. We propose to carry out this work at the ECIMAT Coastal Research Station in Vigo (Spain), which offers a uniquemesocosm facility with direct access to a dynamic coastal environment in the Ría de Vigo. This facility is ideallysuited for our experimental goals, providing robust infrastructure for the manipulation of seawater chemistry,continuous environmental monitoring, and the controlled exposure of natural plankton assemblages toexperimental conditions. The station's proximity to research support and its long-standing expertise in coastalecology make it an optimal site for this type of investigation. The outcomes of this research are of high interest to the international scientific community engaged in ocean-based CDR, climate intervention strategies, and marine ecosystem dynamics. The findings will contribute toenvironmental risk assessments of pHeqOA and inform future modeling efforts and regulatory frameworks. Inparticular, we expect this study to clarify how pHeqOA might influence trophic interactions, primary production, andmicrobial processes in productive coastal waters, offering a more comprehensive understanding of its ecologicaltrade-offs.

Le rivage de la Corse s’étire sur plus de 1000 km, ce qui représente plus de la moitié du littoral français de Méditerranée, et 14 % des côtes hexagonales (O.E.C., 2000). La Corse est bordée de plateformes peu étendues (plus de 10… Leggi tutto km), les secteurs les plus larges se situent au Nord et au Sud de l’île. La plateforme orientale, et celle de la Balagne et des Agriates ont une largeur intermédiaire (environ 5 à 10 km), tandis que le reste de la marge est, le long du Cap Corse et de la façade occidentale, extrêmement étroite. Une spécificité du rivage insulaire est la forte proportion de côtes rocheuses (71 %), le littoral sableux se concentrant essentiellement sur la façade maritime orientale de l’île (Pluquet, 2006). Le littoral sableux, et plus globalement les fonds meubles du circalittoral (à partir de -40 m), ont fait l’objet de peu d’études comparativement aux côtes rocheuses et aux fonds durs alors même qu’ils sont la cible du chalutage, une technique de pêche à l’impact physique direct sur les fonds marins (Jones, 1992; Pauly et al., 2002). Parmi ces fonds meubles du circalittoral, on retrouve pourtant dans les « sables » la « Biocénose du détritique côtier (DC) » qui contient des habitats de grand intérêt d’un point de vue biodiversité comme « l’Association du maërl sur DC » et « l’Association à rhodolithes sur DC ».