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Presentation
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The Operational Observatory of the Catalan Sea (OOCS) at Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes, assess marine environment changes by using in situ and remote observations, along with numerical and statistical modelling (Bahamon et al., 2011). The Observatory operates since March 2009, when a fixed observation station was set at a 200 m depth location 2.7 miles far from the coast at the head of the Blanes submarine canyon. Since then fortnightly sampling has been conducted aboard the research vessel "Dolores". Additionally, an oceanographic buoy was moored at the station by September 15, 2009. Since then, the buoy operates autonomously and every 30 min it records data of meteorological and oceanographic conditions. The data and images collected by the buoy are transmitted via 2G and 3G mobile communication to a land station at CEAB's premises, where data are processed and published in near-real time. The station is located in an area of great ecological and economic interest due to its high biological production linked to the exploitation of marine resources. Also, because of its proximity to coastal touristic zones (Blanes, Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar), the area is frequented visited by recreational boats and vessels. A number of numerical models have been implemented to study the dynamics of the pelagic system in the area. A three-dimensional model of the western Mediterranean Sea (Bernardello et al., 2012) coupling hydrodynamic and biogeochemical characteristics of the marine environment, allows estimating matter and energy flows. Another numerical model (Ahumada-Sempoal et al, 2013; 2015) simulates the hydrodynamic conditions of the Blanes canyon and explains its capacity to retain particles that favour biological productivity. Finally, a one-dimensional model (Bahamon and Cruzado, 2003; Gaborit, 2014) simulates the biogeochemical conditions, at hourly basis, of the entire water column above the continental shelf. The Observatory generates relevant information of the marine environment that contributes to understanding the dynamics of biological production not only in the pelagic zone, but also over seabed areas (eg Aguzzi et al., 2013). All the information generated by the Observatory is distributed through European networks (MyOcean, EMODnet, MONGOOS), in turn linked to global marine and ocean observing systems.
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