Plastic pollution monitoring programs use a wide array of methods, protocols, and analytical approaches, making it difficult for researchers and practitioners to determine which techniques to apply, where, and how. This lack of harmonisation across environmental compartments and plastic size classes has led to inconsistent data and limited comparability across studies. To address this, a systematic review of monitoring methods from 1960 to 2021 was conducted, encompassing both peer-reviewed and grey literature. Techniques were categorised into Reproducible Analytical Pipelines (RAPs), each comprising six core steps: survey design, sample collection, sample preparation, analytical detection, quantification, and data reporting. Each RAP was assessed using Technological Readiness Levels (TRLs) to evaluate maturity and suitability for standardised monitoring. The review revealed that while robust and repeatable methods exist, they are inconsistently applied. At the time of this review, atmospheric plastics was underrepresented, highlighting a critical gap in monitoring efforts. The findings underscore the urgent need for a global, objective framework to guide the selection and implementation of plastic pollution monitoring methodologies. This paper lays the foundation for such a framework by presenting a methodology to identify mature, reproducible methods and prioritise areas for further development. Future work should focus on harmonising protocols across compartments and size classes, improving transparency in data reporting, and building consensus around standardised practices to enable global comparability and policy relevance.
Restoration of degraded marine and coastal areas is a priority set by European policy makers, as exemplified by the recent adoption of the European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) in June 2024. This legislation-driven approach is expected to expand the European marine restoration community rapidly as the amount of funding and projects grows to meet the targets outlined by the NRL However, it is difficult to assess the success of restoration activities which is vital to ensure the viability of upscaling. Furthermore, best practices are not well established in the marine realm and scientific networks are still in their early stages of development. Here, we outline our development of a digital, online toolbox for marine restoration in collaboration with the European restoration community. The toolbox aims to go beyond simply making data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) through the creation of science-based digital services that allow for use of information for decision-making for marine restoration. The toolbox is constructed in a modular way to fulfil the needs of a diverse range of users across Europe and includes a centralized space to find methodological approaches, relevant networks, funding opportunities, and resources. The digital tools under development will be openly accessible through the Blue-Cloud 2026 platform within the thematic virtual research environment for marine restoration, which allows for the scalable use and reuse of data and code by any interested user. The toolbox aims to provide restoration community members science-based methods from which they can leverage and accelerate their restoration projects. In the pursuit to democratize access to best practices and knowledge, we go beyond providing code or data in static repositories. Based on our experience, we encourage others that are developing toolboxes or knowledge bases for diverse user groups to consider taking advantage of publicly funded infrastructure to promote their work according to open science practices.
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are intensifying with climate change, endangering ecosystems such as coral reefs. Yet their regional characteristics and drivers remain poorly understood in many parts of the Pacific. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of MHWs in the central South Pacific and across the five archipelagos of French Polynesia (FP; representing more than 5 million km2 of maritime area, a region as vast as Europe), using sea surface temperature observations and an ocean reanalysis to investigate underlying mechanisms. MHW characteristics vary widely across the region: its northern and southern parts (the Marquesas and Austral archipelagos, respectively) experience the highest number of MHW days and the strongest cumulative intensities, especially during the warm season (November–April). In contrast, its central part (the Society, Tuamotu, and Gambier Islands) exhibits more moderate MHW characteristics. Heat budget analyses highlight the seasonally and regionally diverse mechanisms shaping MHWs. In central FP during the warm season (austral summer), most MHWs are driven by air–sea heat fluxes, while in the northern part, those driven by oceanic horizontal advection dominate. During the cold season (austral winter), more MHWs driven by horizontal advection are observed in the whole region since the thicker seasonal mixed layer reduces the proportion of MHWs driven by air–sea fluxes. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) strongly modulates MHW occurrences: El Niño favors MHW occurrences in northeastern FP, while La Niña increases MHW occurrence in the southwest with different spatial extent depending on ENSO flavors (Central or Eastern Pacific ENSO events). This modulation arises from reduced wind-evaporation cooling with reduced wind speed, shoaled mixed layers, and enhanced horizontal heat advection, occurring primarily to the northeast of French Polynesia during El Niño and to the southwest during La Niña. These results greatly improve our understanding of MHW characteristics, dynamics and variability in this ecologically-fragile region.
Coastal areas in Europe are of immense value - not only to their residents but also to communities further inland. At the same time, they are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The current pace of coastal climate adaptation remains slow, constrained by underfunding and the fragmented, sectoral nature of many initiatives. This calls for radically new yet practical approaches. In this perspective, a group of European researchers from diverse disciplines explores what cross-sectoral transformation could mean in the context of coastal climate adaptation. Drawing on expertise in environmental science, spatial planning, law, ecology, health, and tourism, we propose four directions for interdisciplinary research to enable such transformation: (1) developing dynamic and holistic understandings of climate impacts and adaptation responses; (2) establishing shared adaptation objectives and priorities across sectors; (3) promoting ecosystem-based development; and (4) adapting legal and institutional systems to support integration and flexibility. We invite scholars and practitioners to engage with these interdependent directions to advance adaptation efforts for European coasts.
In the Bay of Biscay (BoB), the common sole (Solea solea) population supports a major commercial fishery. However, a decline in recruitment has been observed since the late 2000 s, despite management measures that have lowered fishing mortality. This study investigates the decline in sole juvenile abundance in the BoB coastal and estuarine nursery grounds and compares recruitment trends among sole stocks across the Northeast Atlantic. The analysis of stock assessment products revealed that recruitment decline preceded and drove the subsequent decrease in the coming spawning stock biomass, with a two-year lag. Time series of juvenile abundance, estimated using habitat suitability models based on young fish survey data, showed a decreasing trend since the 2000 s in four of the six main BoB nursery grounds, for juveniles at ages 0 and 1 year, in both spring and autumn. This decline in sole juvenile abundance shortly after metamorphosis indicates reduced settlement success in nursery habitats. Because this decline was observed across several nursery grounds from early juvenile stage, it suggests that changes in pelagic conditions may have impaired sole larval survival. Across the Northeast Atlantic, recruitment trends among sole stocks displayed no consistent latitudinal or spatial pattern, indicating population-specific responses to local factors.
