AtlantEco

The ambition of the Horizon 2020 “AtlantECO” project (September 2020 - August 2024) is to develop and apply a novel, unifying framework for providing knowledge-based resources to design policies, support decision making and engage with citizens to encourage responsible behaviour to manage the Atlantic system and protect its provision of Ecosystem Services. The project aims to determine the structure and function of Atlantic microbiome in the context of ocean circulation and presence of pollutants, e.g., plastics, to assess its role in driving the dynamics of Atlantic ecosystems at basin and regional scales; its potential of being used as a sensor of ecosystem state and the mechanisms by which it drives the provision of 5 ecosystem services. This is key to improve predictions on future provision of Ecosystem Services in the basin and to favour the establishment of a sustainable Blue Growth strategy for an All-Atlantic community.

Seascape Belgium contributes to  Work Package 10 on Data management, dissemination and exploitation of results, including implementing solutions for open source web-based geospatial data sharing within the project, with a focus on model outputs, contributing its expertise to develop a web-based GIS platform (GEONODE) that will be used to display research data generated through the project, offering discovery and download services to facilitate outreach and ensuring the long-term legacy of the project. Selected maps will also be presented to DG MARE for display on the European Atlas of the Seas.

For more information, please see atlanteco.eu.