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Currently, the conservation of threatened marine species and the management of exploited species do not take into account the effects of Climate Change (CC). Implementing an integrated system for monitoring CC and its effects on the sea and its resources, through the selection of the main variables to be monitored and their standardisation, allows, on the one hand, to carry out continuous and uniform monitoring of its evolution and, on the other hand, to generate and validate simulation, impact and prediction models. This is key to anticipating the consequences of CC and defining the adaptation criteria to be implemented. The project is therefore linked to the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) and the Basque Climate Change Strategy 2050.

The main objective of OBSERVAMAR is to provide information on future scenarios and trends in certain climate change indicators of the marine environment of the Bay of Biscay, in order to assess possible future impacts and adaptation.

1. Define Climate Change indicators of the marine environment for the Bay of Biscay
2. Monitoring and analysis of trends in specific indicators (ocean-climatological and biological variables) based on long time series of data
3. Develop a catalogue of future scenarios in the marine environment based on the analysis of published data and studies
4. Write a review article integrating the information generated
5. Dissemination of results and awareness of global warming

• Warming of the surface sea of the Bay of Biscay and a deepening of the isotherm of 14ºC since the 1980s, associated with climate change.
• As a result of the warming of the sea on the northeastern Atlantic slope, the laying of the peas analyzed from 1992 to 2019 shows an advance of 8 days and a displacement of 164 km in hot years, compared to the coldest years in the series
• Warming of the surface layers of the Bay of Biscay Sea at a rate of 0.11 ± 0.04 °C per decade in the period 2003-2019, and may warm by more than 2°C by the end of the century with consequences for primary production.
• Increases in phytoplankton surface concentration and total zooplankton biomass over the past two decades, although their relationship with climate change is unconfirmed.
• Preparation of a catalogue of future scenarios in the marine environment based on the analysis of published data and studies that indicate a progressive warming of the Bay of Biscay, together with a decrease in salinity and primary production.