Creating a safe operating space for the deep and open ocean

OceanSOS begins by assessing emerging threats to some of the most dynamic and productive marine ecosystems on Earth. Oceanic food webs provide vital ecosystem services to humankind including food, nutrient cycling, and climate regulation. However, we understand little about how existing and emerging human activities threaten food web health and integrity. We will address this critical knowledge gap using a threat intelligence lifecycle to better understand emerging threats over short, medium and long timescales. We will generate essential data on the impacts that existing and emerging threats will have on bentho-pelagic coupling, the biological carbon pump and food web energy flow, and how those impacts will be compounded by climate change. Data and insights will be co-developed with experts through regional workshops, state-of-the-art models, and an ambitious programme of fieldwork in key regions where globally significant mesoscale eddy activity drives exceptional biological productivity sustaining hotspots of marine biodiversity. We will investigate ecological stability limits and economic impacts of food web changes while considering public perceptions of risks and benefits from emerging ocean activities. Furthermore, we will downscale the existing Planetary Boundaries Safe Operating Space framework to oceanic areas beyond national jurisdiction. This brings the role that the ocean plays in regulating planetary stability into the SOS framework for the first time. We will create a regional SOS approach for application in European, regional, and global management to provide decision-makers with the threat awareness they need to take precautionary management and improve ocean governance. A new immersive digital planetarium show will be created to share OceanSOS and its discoveries with the public. Our outputs will ensure that the billions of people across generations who rely on a healthy ocean can continue to do so in a safe, just and sustainable way.