The world is changing rapidly; climate change, land use change, pollution and natural resource exploitation are creating a global crisis for biodiversity whose magnitude and dynamics are hard to quantify. Decision makers at all levels need uptodate information from which to evaluate policy options. For this reason rapid, reliable, repeatable monitoring of biodiversity data is needed at all scales from local to global. Only by leveraging large volumes of data, advanced modelling techniques and powerful computing tools can we hope to synthesize these data within timescales that are relevant to policy. Data on biodiversity come from a diverse range of sources, citizen scientists, museums, herbaria and researchers are all major contributors, but increasingly new technologies are being deployed, such as automatic sensors, camera traps, eDNA and satellite tracking. Integrating these data is a major challenge, but is necessary if we are to create dependable information on biodiversity change. B3 will use the concept of data cubes to simplify and standardize access to biodiversity data using the Essential Biodiversity Variables framework. These cubes will be used, in conjunction with other environmental data and scenarios, as the basis for models and indicators of past, current and future biodiversity. The overarching goal of the project is to provide easy access to tools in a cloud computing environment, in real-time and on-demand, with state of the art prediction models of biodiversity, that will output models and indicators of biodiversity status and change. The project envisages a future where primary biodiversity data are seamlessly integrated into monitoring and forecasting such that policy and management can proactively respond to problems while at the same time reduce the costs of monitoring and management, and the negative impacts of biodiversity change.

MISSION ATLANTIC develops and systematically applies Atlantic Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs). IEAs enable identification of ecosystem components most at risk from natural hazards and the consequences of human activities. The project employs all available information on those sources, the pressures they impose and the ecosystem components are affected, to identify the most important risk factors influencing sustainable development. IEAs are developed at basin and regional scales, using a nested approach with key case study (CS) areas including sub-Arctic and Tropical regions in the Atlantic Ocean. To support IEAs we map, model and assess Atlantic Ocean ecosystems including resilience and responses to cumulative pressures. Regional indicators are provided for both pelagic and benthic components, using existing and new data from monitoring programs, including information from new glider technology. Coupled end-to-end physical-biological models are developed and validated at the basin scale to simulate ecosystem dynamics, defining new biogeographical regions and resolving connectivity between CSs. Ecosystem state indicators are then evaluated under four future climate projections of the models, to identify future risks of crossing identified tipping points into undesirable ecosystem states. In support of the Bélem Statement, the project brings together scientists, managers and stakeholders from Brazil, S.Africa and the EU as well as US & Canada. Regional stakeholder platforms are established to support the IEAs and the interactions between researchers, industries, policy makers and authorities across the Atlantic. The platforms are delivered via partners with recognized experience in “science to governance” interfacing. Training and professional development opportunities across the Atlantic are provided via mobility, PhD and MsC programmes building around IEA theory and using an adaptive e-learning platform and examples to ensure program legacy.