The COCAS project aims to fill a major void in the global system for observing and studying Climate Change and its Impacts (CC&I) on the world's coasts, and thus meeting the expectations of the Green Pact of Europe in terms of infrastructure for advanced observation and monitoring of the climate / environment (Green Deal, Topic 9.1). It brings together scientists from Europe and so-called “Southern” Atlantic and Mediterranean countries, around the most complete and modern platforms currently existing for long-term and high-precision measurements of key physics parameters. , biogeochemistry and marine biology of coastal areas. These measures are not shared internationally, which delays progress on CC&I measurement and forecasting. The COCAS group will dedicate itself to making its data easily accessible internally and externally, to homogenize the sensors and modernize them, to reinforce internal cohesion and share expertise within the network and with the community and public and private end users . Anchored air-sea buoys, CC&I sentinels in coastal marine regions. Compared to the global ocean, the coastal marine space is more productive, responds more intensely to disturbances, and is in direct contact with human populations. This makes it an essential source of resources and services, changes in which under the effect of CC&I are essential to monitor by key quantity measurements, at the air-sea interface and below the surface. The ANR COCAS network will offer Europe leadership on a new infrastructure, made up of Coastal Anchored Buoys (BACs), existing beyond its borders in the coastal areas of less developed countries neighboring Europe. This will complement the transnational networks of LACs from developed, European (ERI JERICO3) and international deep-sea countries in the Atlantic-Pacific tropics (PIRATA and TAO programs). A European infrastructure to monitor the evolution and impacts of climate change in the southern coastal marine environment in the decades to come. In the southern coastal regions, the lack of reliable data requires a multidisciplinary international mobilization, to describe a “zero” state using reference points, dedicated to oceanic and atmospheric parameters, whose knowledge is key to validate forecasts. local and global climatic conditions and assess the impacts. Nineteen BACs have been deployed “to the South”, by the members of the project (Atlantic, Mediterranean and East Pacific basins). The members of the group have started to work together since the beginning of 2017 and the collective has strong technical and basic and applied research. This is the case not only in environmental sciences and human and social sciences. but also in particular for partnerships with local and international companies, the use of substantial financial and human resources, and the development of links with the local industrial and institutional fabric, allowing the dissemination of information to governments and the public about Coastal CC&I. Three structuring objectives. The members of the 16 countries (4 European, 11 in the South and the USA) of the project are committed to working on the three pillars of an EU Infrastructure network: coordination and sharing of expertise internally as well as with the rest of the community, standardization and innovations for quality platforms and data, and easy access for internal and external users. Partnerships are established (see scientific committee) for the integration into the landscape of existing ERIs. To achieve this, the work will consist of animations such as webinars, annual meetings, and bi-monthly videoconferences aimed at creating a common database and coordinating the drafting of the EU Infrastructure project.

Ocean acidification is a direct consequence of the CO2 increase and a threat for marine ecosystems. The Arctic Ocean is the most vulnerable region with the strongest pH decrease compared to other regions of the ocean. However, there are very few direct pH measurements due to the lack of a system for continuous measurements although efforts are being made to develop such a system. As a consequence, long-term trends in surface pH are often calculated using two other measured ocean carbon system parameters. The oceanographic community is currently in need of pH sensor technology that will affordably, accurately and efficiently measure ocean chemistry from its shallowest to its deepest waters. MACAO focuses on the development and testing of accurate pH sensors capable of long-term monitoring of the water column while deployed on different platforms (buoys, profilers, ships). The sensor development effort will implement a novel hybrid approach, utilizing two different and complementary measurement techniques (the colorimetric method and the potentiometric method) to generate temporally dense and highly accurate data. The Arctic is a key area for pH monitoring but very hard to access. Autonomous sensors are particularly needed in this region. For testing the hybrid sensors and generating field data, we will focus on profilers in the Arctic to take advantage of on-going scientific projects such as IAOOS Equipex (http://iaoos.ipev.fr) and MOSAIC (www.mosaicobservatory.org). The IAOOS Equipex platforms are installed on the ice to drift with it. They are equipped with a moving depth profiler and autonomous instruments allowing simultaneous observations of key variables in the ocean, atmosphere and ice. Observations are transmitted in real time via a satellite link. For measurements at depth, the IAOOS platform is equipped with a vertical cable guiding the moving profiler. Current profilers are typically equipped with sensors for depth, temperature, conductivity or salinity, and dissolved oxygen. We will add accurate pH measurement capability to the profilers, to study the dynamics of carbon parameters and acidification in the Arctic Ocean. The team at LOCEAN involves biogeochemists working on the ocean carbon cycle and physical oceanographers working on the physics of the Arctic Ocean. Fluidion (http://fluidion.com) is a high-technology company specializing in cutting-edge products based on patented MEMS and microfluidic technology. Fluidion technology addresses markets as diverse as water quality/environmental monitoring, industrial process water, and oceanography/subsea applications. The work is structured in four work packages (WP). WP1 focuses on the development of the pH sensors, WP2 is related to the tests and field measurements and the raw data collected during the project will be analysed and validated in WP3. A dedicated WP4 will focus on communication, website and public outreach as well as valorisation of the results and data obtained during the project. Fluidion expects to generate IP (patents & know-how) from the work related to this project. The economic and scientific benefits are interrelated: the ocean pH sensor market is dominated by academic institutions and research groups, and therefore external academic validation of sensor performance is key for market penetration. The requested funding for LOCEAN corresponds to small equipment, NKE subcontracting, laboratory measurements, travel expenses, publications, a Ph.-D fellowship and engineer contract. For fluidion, the costs are related to personnel, equipment, IP protection, and outsourcing for mechanical design and manufacturing, two surface hybrid and two profiling hybrid sensors.

This project, which builds on the results of the ANR COCOA project, aims at improving the representation of turbulent ocean-atmosphere exchanges in climate models by taking into account their modulation by waves using ocean-waves-atmosphere coupled modelling systems. Waves form by absorbing momentum in areas of storms and tropical cyclones, and transmit part of it to the ocean, with an impact on deep mixing and the overall heat balance. This energy absorbed by waves can be transported by swell over very long distances, from energetic areas (Southern Ocean, storms) to the inter-tropical band, for example. In this inter-tropical zone, where much of the heat and moisture exchange that drives atmospheric circulation on climatic scales takes place, conditions are met for swell to impact air-sea fluxes. It is therefore important to take into account the impact of waves in energetic zones, where they are formed and a large part of the energy is transferred to the ocean, and in dissipation zones, where they have an impact on surface fluxes. We plan to: 1) quantify the impact of wave-related processes on atmosphere-wave and wave-ocean exchanges at climate scales, based on existing model representations; 2) develop and validate new parameterizations to take into account, in coupled ocean-wave-atmosphere models at climate scales, processes related to tropical cyclones, the effect of waves on ocean mixing, and swell; 3) to build a coupled system around the wave model, ensuring complete consistency of momentum exchanges by resolving the inconsistencies of most of the current coupled systems used at weather prediction scales. This project should pave the way for state-of-the-art consideration of wave effects in climate models.

In the Southern Ocean, insufficient supplies of nutrients such as iron or silicon can affect the functioning of the biological carbon pump with large consequences on climate. Material of glacial origin (MGO) provided by the melting of ice caps represents one of the sources of these nutrients. But the role of MGO remains poorly studied in the Southern Ocean, both qualitatively (involved processes) and quantitatively (fluxes). Considering the accelerated melting of the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic ice caps, a better understanding of the fate of MGO is critical. MARGO aims to provide new fundamental knowledge on the main processes controlling the fluxes of MGO and their impact in the Southern Ocean by proposing an integrated study along the glacier-ocean continuum. The exceptional multidisciplinary knowledge that exists at Kerguelen and the accessibility of the sites make this region an ideal site for a first integrated study to characterize the origin, fate and impact of MGO in the Southern Ocean. MARGO is based on an ambitious multidisciplinary approach (glaciology, physics, geochemistry, microbiology) combining data acquisition (on land and at sea) and modelling. The modelling of the ice cap melting combined with geochemical measurements will allow to quantify the fluxes of MGO reaching the ocean at different time scales. Process studies dedicated to the determination of the bioavailability of MGO to marine microorganisms will allow to quantify the fraction of MGO that can actually impact the biological activity of the Southern Ocean. A lagrangian transport model will be used to study its transport and dispersion in the ocean and to compare the role of MGO to other sources at different spatial scales.

SOTroC investigate how atmospheric-oceanographic conditions influence the orientation of the southern ocean food webs. To do so, SOTroC will determine whether inter-annual variations in atmosphere-ocean forcing conditions translate into the emergence of contrasted food webs within the Southern Ocean (SO), cascading from phytoplankton to Mid Trophic Levels (MTL) composition and their consequences on foraging performances of an apex marine predator, the southern elephant seal (SES). SOTroC will address three main questions: 1) Are the winter-spring Mixed Layer Depth and stratification properties influence on the emergence of contrasted phytoplankton communities (WP1)? 2) Do the composition and biomass of MTL varies according to different phytoplankton communities (WP2)? 3) Do the foraging success of SES varies according to the composition and biomass of phytoplankton and MTL communities (WP3)? To achieve this we will take advantage of i) existing long-term in-situ physical, biogeochemical and biological data sets, mainly collected by seals as part of the SNO-MEMO, completed by those provided by oceanographic vessels, Argo floats and satellite. SOTroC will also benefit from Marion Dufresne i) echosounding data to assess MTL and ii) flux cytometer data provided by the for in-situ identification of phytoplankton species to validate satellite assessment of the composition of phytoplankton communities. In addition, a new breakthrough biologger designed to assess MTL abundance and composition deployed on SES. The originality and strength of the project relies on a trans- and multi-disciplinary approach associating researchers from four laboratories (LOG, LOCEAN, MIO, CEBC) studying the SO. With new-developed technological advances and numerous sampling platforms in a holistic and global approach, SOTroC will contribute to a better understanding of SO food web and ecosystems processes and therefore to the improvement of future projections in relation to climate change.