Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2022

DOI

10.3389/fmars.2021.767443

Publication Title

Frontiers in Marine Science

Volume

8

Pages

767443 (1-11)

Abstract

In this article, we present Bio-GO-SHIP, a new ocean observing program that will incorporate sustained and consistent global biological ocean observations into the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP). The goal of Bio-GO-SHIP is to produce systematic and consistent biological observations during global ocean repeat hydrographic surveys, with a particular focus on the planktonic ecosystem. Ocean plankton are an essential component of the earth climate system, form the base of the oceanic food web and thereby play an important role in influencing food security and contributing to the Blue Economy. Despite its importance, ocean biology is largely under-sampled in time and space compared to physical and chemical properties. This lack of information hampers our ability to understand the role of plankton in regulating biogeochemical processes and fueling higher trophic levels, now and in future ocean conditions. Traditionally, many of the methods used to quantify biological and ecosystem essential ocean variables (EOVs), measures that provide valuable information on the ecosystem, have been expensive and labor- and time-intensive, limiting their large-scale deployment. In the last two decades, new technologies have been developed and matured, making it possible to greatly expand our biological ocean observing capacity. These technologies, including cell imaging, bio-optical sensors and 'omic tools, can be combined to provide overlapping measurements of key biological and ecosystem EOVs. New developments in data management and open sharing can facilitate meaningful synthesis and integration with concurrent physical and chemical data. Here we outline how Bio-GO-SHIP leverages these technological advances to greatly expand our knowledge and understanding of the constituents and function of the global ocean plankton ecosystem.

Rights

© 2022 Clayton, Alexander, Graff, Poulton, Thompson, Benway, Boss and Martiny.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Data Availability

Article states: "The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s."

Corresponding author(s): Sophie Clayton (ORCiD: 0000-0001-7473-4873); Harriet Alexander

Original Publication Citation

Clayton, S., Alexander, H., Graff, J. R., Poulton, N. J., Thompson, L. R., Benway, H., Boss, E., & Martiny, A. (2022). Bio-GO-SHIP: The time is right to establish global repeat sections of ocean biology. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 1-11, Article 767443. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.767443

ORCID

0000-0001-7473-4873 (Clayton)

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