OSPAR Science Agenda Knowledge Gap Portal

Knowledge gap description: There are large knowledge gaps and heterogeneity of data related to impacts of hazardous substances (i.e., conclusion that small toothed cetaceans are at risk of toxicity from legacy pollutants such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)) that prevented integration of this information into the overall assessment of marine mammals.

Knowledge gap description: There is an urgent need for structural and harmonised protocols for PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyl) data acquisition. This includes the list of congeners and the tissue matrix analysed, as well as integration on a spatial scale to allow geographical comparison. Future scientific efforts should focus on filling the existing gaps and homogenize the information at OSPAR scale.

Knowledge gap description: Impact of human activities such as shipping, underwater noise, entanglement and contaminants on species

Knowledge gap description: Effects of diseases and infections and the effects of hazardous substances.

Knowledge gap description: Measuring the impact of contaminants on marine turtles, satellite tagging studies would help to increase knowledge on the movements.

Knowledge gap description: Measuring the impact of contaminants on marine turtles,

Knowledge gap description: Reference levels and targets need to be set to quantify the natural background inputs of mercury, cadmium and lead and to improve harmonisation with the EU Water Framework Directive.

Knowledge gap description: Modelling uses the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) (land based and less representative over the sea surface) or OSPAR CAMP (coastal stations and more representative of marine deposition but with lower monitoring frequency). Additional sampling stations or frequency of sampling is required.

Knowledge gap description: There is a mismatch between the requirements of the European Union Water Framework Directive to measure metal concentrations in the dissolved fraction and the OSPAR Agreement 2014-04 to quantify total heavy metal inputs. Harmonisation between these two instruments is needed, or clarification is need on which requirements should be prioritised.

Knowledge gap description: Better access to source-apportionment information, covering the inputs especially for all problem areas, is needed to understand effectiveness of measures and where to allocated new measures. This information should be collected in a harmonised or comparable way to enhance future assessments.

Knowledge gap description: Impacts of climate change on nutrient inputs to the sea and resulting ecological effects are uncertain. Predictability of drought conditions (because this may impact agriculture) may become an important factor in minimising future nutrient inputs. Changes in crops or irrigation techniques may mitigate some shortages while technological development may reduce industrial water use. On the other hand, episodic events such as flooding are expected to increase suspended sediment and nutrient inputs. Whether this cancels any general decrease in run-off is unclear. Furthermore, more investigation is needed in order to understand the ecological effects of the greater variability in nutrient inputs and how to monitor and assess such increasingly prevalent events for the purposes of future eutrophication assessments.

Knowledge gap description: Uncertainties of anthropogenic emission data: Lead, cadmium, and mercury may have uncertainties of national total emissions of tens or hundreds of percents. This leads to over or under predictions of observed concentrations or wet depositions by the model.

Knowledge gap description: Uncertainties of anthropogenic emission data: There are uncertainties of the model parameterisations and other input data for modelling. Some parameters related to emissions are not reported or partly reported by countries, which can contribute to uncertainty in model results.

Knowledge gap description: Uncertainties of anthropogenic emission data: Most calculations based on anthropogenic emissions result in underestimation of observed concentrations so secondary (natural/legacy) sources need to be considered. However, there are high uncertainties associated with estimates of secondary emissions.

Knowledge gap description: Uncertainties of the model parameterizations and input data are also a source of discrepancies between model results and observations.

Knowledge gap description: Uncertainties of measurement data: Interpretation of the model evaluation results can also be affected by uncertainties of measurement data. Lead and cadmium monitoring data is examined via interlaboratory intercomparison tests, which only include the analytical component of the uncertainties of measurement data. Other sources of uncertainties, such as sampling, storing, and shipping, are unaccounted

Knowledge gap description: Discrepancies exist between OSPAR CAMP monitoring programme observations and modelled air concentrations and wet deposition of lead and cadmium (agreement within a factor of two). The model tends to underestimate lead and cadmium wet deposition fluxes. There are discrepancies for wet deposition fluxes of mercury as well (±40%). Uncertainties of measurements likely caused higher discrepancies between modelled and observed lead, cadmium and mercury values for 1990-2000.

Knowledge gap description: Time series for each year are often incomplete because of gaps caused by missing or incorrect measurements or by filtering out of outliers.

Knowledge gap description: Improved understanding of the fundamental links between changes in the physical and chemical ocean climate, the marine ecosystem, and human activities in the marine environment. Causal links between these changes and other OSPAR receptors (species, habitats, hazardous substances, marine litter, eutrophication, radioactive substances) are unknown, including the complex interactions between these.

Knowledge gap description: Aquaculture: Knowledge gaps remain in measures to mitigate environmental impacts, including modelling approaches. More understanding is needed of: pressures from open ocean installations; measures to reduce the impact of escapes; the impact of substances such as therapeutants; and various aspects of shellfish aquaculture. More understanding/management of pressures (e.g., effluents containing dissolved nutrients) is also needed for any expansion of recirculating aquaculture systems. Further OSPAR guidance may be needed if gaps in guidance are identified.

Knowledge gap description: Aquaculture: increase understanding of potential impacts of future growth in aquaculture, including risks of a spread of non-indigenous species or parasites, or of contamination of the marine environment with hazardous substances, therapeutants, or nutrients. Engage with ICES on significant knowledge gaps. Include implications of new/expanded forms of aquaculture including offshore aquaculture, growth in cultivation of new or currently minor species (such as seaweeds), and recirculating aquaculture systems.

Knowledge gap description: OSPAR should increase its understanding of the potential impacts of future growth in aquaculture production in the OSPAR Maritime Area, including development of offshore and large-scale aquaculture (e.g., in relation to spatial planning, the risk of spread of non-indigenous species or parasites, or contamination of water with hazardous substances, pharmaceuticals, or nutrients).

Knowledge gap description: Lack of ecotoxicological data for developing new assessment criteria based on the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) or OSPAR Environmental Assessment Criteria (EAC) principles, to replace the current Effects Range-Low (ERL) criteria. Thresholds for trace metals in sediments, fish and shellfish should be developed or updated.

Knowledge gap description: A better understanding is needed of why concentrations of metals in fish and shellfish are increasing, despite perceived decreasing inputs to the marine environment, and decreasing trends in sediments. Links between metal concentrations and confounding factors like the size of shellfish and fish, the condition of the species analysed, trophic level and dry weight/lipid concentrations should be investigated further.

Knowledge gap description: Lack of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) monitoring data, particularly for sediment in Arctic Waters