The ESA Sea State Climate Change Initiative (CCI) project has produced global multi-sensor time-series of along-track satellite altimeter significant wave height data (referred to as Level 2P (L2P) data) with a particular focus for use in climate studies. This dataset contains the Version 3 Remote Sensing Significant Wave Height product, which provides along-track data at approximately 6 km spatial resolution, separated per satellite and pass, including all measurements with flags, corrections and extra parameters from other sources. These are expert products with rich content and no data loss. The altimeter data used in the Sea State CCI dataset v3 come from multiple satellite missions spanning from 2002 to 2022021 (Envisat, CryoSat-2, Jason-1, Jason-2, Jason-3, SARAL, Sentinel-3A), therefore spanning over a shorter time range than version 1.1. Unlike version 1.1, this version 3 involved a complete and consistent retracking of all the included altimeters. Many altimeters are bi-frequency (Ku-C or Ku-S) and only measurements in Ku band were used, for consistency reasons, being available on each altimeter but SARAL (Ka band).

In order to better characterize the genetic diversity of Cetaceans and especially the common Dolphin from the Bay of Biscay, sequences from the mitochondrial Cytochrome B region were obtained from water samples acquired close to groups of dolphins.

The ESA Sea State Climate Change Initiative (CCI) project has produced global multi-sensor time-series of along-track satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) integrated sea state parameters (ISSP) data from ENVISAT (referred to as SAR Wave Mode onboard ENVISAT Level 2P (L2P) ISSP data) with a particular focus for use in climate studies. This dataset contains the ENVISAT Remote Sensing Integrated Sea State Parameter product (version 1.1), which forms part of the ESA Sea State CCI version 3.0 release. This product provides along-track significant wave height (SWH) measurements at 5km resolution every 100km, processed using the Li et al., 2020 empirical model, separated per satellite and pass, including all measurements with flags and uncertainty estimates. These are expert products with rich content and no data loss. The SAR Wave Mode data used in the Sea State CCI SAR WV onboard ENVISAT Level 2P (L2P) ISSP v3 dataset come from the ENVISAT satellite mission spanning from 2002 to 2012.

The French Atlantic coast hosts numerous macrotidal and turbid estuaries that flow into the Bay of Biscay that are natural corridors for migratory fishes. The two best known are those of the Gironde and the Loire. However, there are also a dozen estuaries set geographically among them, of a smaller scale. The physico-chemical quality of estuarine waters is a necessary support element for biological life and determines the distribution of species, on which many ecosystem services (e.g. professional or recreational fishing) depend. With rising temperatures and water levels, declining precipitation and population growth projected for the New Aquitaine region by 2030, the question of how the quality and ecological status of estuarine waters will evolve becomes increasingly critical. The MAGEST (Mesures Automatisées pour l’observation et la Gestion des ESTuaires nord aquitains) high-frequency monitoring of key physico-chemical parameters was first developed in the Gironde estuary in 2004 ; the Seudre and Charente estuaries were instrumented late 2020. First based on real-time automated systems, MAGEST is now equipped by autonomous multiparameter sensors. Depending of the stations, an optode is also deployed to secure dissolved oxygen measurement. By the end of 2020, MAGEST had 12 instrumented sites. Portets is a measuring station located in the upper Gironde estuary (Garonne subestuary, about 20 km upstream of the Bordeaux metropolis.

The ClimateFish database collates abundance data of 15 fish species proposed as candidate indicators of climate change in the Mediterranean Sea. An initial group of eight Mediterranean indigenous species (Epinephelus marginatus, Thalassoma pavo, Sparisoma cretense, Coris julis, Sarpa salpa, Serranus scriba, Serranus cabrilla and Caranx crysos) with wide distribution, responsiveness to temperature conditions and easy identification were selected by a network of Mediterranean scientists joined under the CIESM programme ‘Tropical Signals’ (https://www.ciesm.org/marine/programs/tropicalization.htm; Azzurro et al. 2010). Soon after, and thanks to the discussion with other expert groups and projects, C. crysos was no longer considered, and Lessepsian fishes (Red Sea species entering the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal) were included, namely: Fistularia commersonii, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Pterois miles, Stephanolopis diaspros, Parupeneus forskali, Pempheris rhomboidea and Torquigener flavimaculosus. Considering the trend of increase of these species in the Mediterranean Sea (Golani et al. 2021) and their projected distribution according to climate change scenarios (D’Amen and Azzurro, 2020), more data on these tropical invaders are expected to come in the future implementation of the study. Data were collected according to a simplified visual census methodology (Garrabou et al. 2019) along standard transects of five minutes performed at a constant speed of 10m/min, corresponding approximately to an area of 50x5m. Four different depth layers were surveyed:  0-3m, 5-10 m, 11-20 m, 21-30 m. So far, the ClimateFish database includes fish counts collected along 3142 transects carried out in seven Mediterranean countries between 2009 and 2021, for a total number of 101'771 observed individuals belonging to the 15 fish species. Data were collected by a large team of researchers which joined in a common monitoring strategy supported by different international projects, which are acknowledged below. This database, when associated with climate data, offers new opportunities to investigate spatio-temporal effects of climate change in the Mediterranean Sea and test the effectiveness of each species as a possible climate change indicator.   Contacts: ernesto.azzurro(at)cnr.it   References: Azzurro E., Maynou F., Moschella P. (2010). A simplified visual census methodology to detect variability trends of coastal mediterranean fishes under climate change scenarios. Rapp. Comm. int. Mer Médit., 39. D’Amen, M. and Azzurro, E. (2020). Lessepsian fish invasion in Mediterranean marine protected areas: a risk assessment under climate change scenarios. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 77(1), pp.388-397. Garrabou, J., Bensoussan, N., Azzurro, E. (2019). Monitoring climate-related responses in Mediterranean marine protected areas and beyond: five standard protocols. Golani D.,  Azzurro E.,  Dulčić J.,  Massutí E., Orsi-Relini L.  (2021).  Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea.  2nd edition  [F. Briand, Ed.]  365 pages.  CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco. ISBN number  978-92-990003-5-9   

This data set is related to the article "Improving the robustness of dissipation rate estimates from microstructure shear data processing in ocean turbulence" (submitted to JTech, AMS). It provides the raw data files (with extension .p) from a vertical microstructure profiler VMP-6000 used for the published study. Raw data files are provided since the study precisely report on the data processing of raw microstructure horizontal velocity shear data to get dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy using the manufacturer software. The software (ODAS) can be downloaded from the manufacturer website at: https://rocklandscientific.com. The profiles were collected in the Mediterranean Sea in 2013 (French VAD cruise) and 2014 (Italian MEDOCC cruise), and in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2021 (MoMAR cruise). More details on the profiles are given in the related publication.

Wave impact is the primary cause of coastal structure failure. While wave impact is widely studied in controlled environments, in situ measurements of wave impact pressure are rare. The results of a campaign to measure wave impact pressure in situ are summarised here. Data were collected from 2016 to 2019 from anchored pressure gauges on the wall of the Artha breakwater in southwestern France. The acquisition frequency is 10 kHz and 10-minute bursts are recorded every hour. Two databases are published, one by burst and one by impact. The burst database summarises the main parameters describing the 10-minute record, while the impact database contains a list of parameters describing each impact.

The SARWAVE project is developing a new sea state processor from SAR images to be applied over open ocean, sea ice, and coastal areas, and exploring potential synergy with other microwave and optical EO products.

Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a single genotype to produce multiple phenotypes, is important for survival when species are faced with novel conditions. Theory predicts that range-edge populations will have greater phenotypic plasticity than core populations, but empirical examples from the wild are rare. The honeycomb worm, Sabellaria alveolata (L.), constructs the largest biogenic reefs in Europe, which support high biodiversity and numerous ecological functions. In order to assess the presence, causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in developmental plasticity and thermal adaptation in the honeycomb worm, we carried out common-garden experiments using the larvae of individuals sampled from along a latitudinal gradient covering the entire range of the species. We exposed larvae to three temperature treatments and measured phenotypic traits throughout development. We found phenotypic plasticity in larval growth rate but local adaptation in terms of larval period. The northern and southern range-edge populations of S. alveolata showed phenotypic plasticity for growth rate: growth rate increased as temperature treatment increased. In contrast, the core range populations showed no evidence of phenotypic plasticity. We present a rare case of range-edge plasticity at both the northern and southern range limit of species, likely caused by evolution of phenotypic plasticity during range expansion and its maintenance in highly heterogeneous environments. This dataset presents the raw image data collected for larval stages of Sabellaria alveolata from 5 populations across Europe and Northern Africa, exposed to 15, 20 and 25 C. Included are also opercular crown measurements used to estimate de size classes of individuals present in each population.  All measurements made with the images collected are presented in an Excel spreadsheet, also available here.

The Mediterranean Sea is generally described as an oligotrophic area where primary productivity is limited to a few coastal environments with nutrient-enriched fluvial input. However, several studies have revealed that the hydrology of the western Mediterranean has major seasonal productive patterns linked either to significant riverine input or to seasonal upwelling cells. This study aims to: i) discuss organic microfossils (i.e. pollen and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, as well as other non-pollen palynomorphs) from two different productive areas of the western Mediterranean Sea, and ii) examine the importance of the interconnections between marine and continental influences responsible for modern palynomorph distributions. Based on 25 samples from the Gulf of Lion (GoL) and Algerian Margin, this study key findings are: i) that GoL marine productivity is driven by the combination of discharges from the Rhône River and seasonal upwelling mechanisms, ii) that the strong productive pattern of the northern African coast is driven by water density front mixings and related upwellings. These two patterns are discussed in the light of major links that provide a better understanding of the signatures of marine and continental bio-indicators. The dinocyst Lingulodinium machaerophorum can be considered as a tracer of Rhône River plume influence in the GoL. Brigantedinium taxa are shown to be upwelling-sensitive in both studied areas. Typical differences in vegetation across the north–south climate gradient in the western Mediterranean Basin are highlighted by the larger ratio of Euro-Siberian to Mediterranean pollen taxa in the northern sector. Synoptic maps also illustrate the complex interactions of environmental drivers determining the distributions of continental and marine palynomorphs in the western Mediterranean Sea.