NANO-DOAP: Update on project’s activities

Subrata Sarker¹, A.N.M. Samiul Huda², Lilian Krug³

¹NANO-DOAP Coordinator; Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh Alumnus profile: h�ps://nf-pogo-alumni.org/profile/ssarker/ ²NANO-DOAP Fellow; Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh ³Scien�fic Coordinator; POGO, Portugal Alumnus profile: h�ps://nf-pogo-alumni.org/profile/Lica+Krug/

Ocean monitoring is fundamental to characterize and understand marine ecosystems dynamics and vulnerabili�es to climate change and human ac�vi�es. Established in 2017, the NANO-DOAP project (A global study of coastal deoxygena�on, ocean acidifica�on and produc�vity at selected sites) aims to promote in situ and remotely sensed observa�ons of essen�al oceanographic variables in Africa, La�n America and Asia, by suppor�ng already established, or helping create new, coastal monitoring sta�ons in selected sites, coordinated and managed by NANO members in their home countries. In addi�on to providing an opportunity for par�cipants to strengthen their Essen�al Ocean Variables (EOVs) monitoring efforts, NANO-DOAP organises ac�vi�es so par�cipants can share experiences and best prac�ces, as well as opportuni�es for NANO members and the general public to learn more on ocean observa�ons. You can learn more about the NANO-DOAP project at its webpage. The 5th year of NANO-DOAP (April 2021 - March 2021) has as objec�ves i) con�nuity of on-going monthly to bimonthly sampling in par�cipa�ng sites; ii) compila�on and analysis of in situ and remote sensing data collected by par�cipants; iii) expansion of the NANO-DOAP monitoring network; iv) con�nuity of the NANO Webinar Series; and v) organisa�on of virtual mee�ngs and workshops for NANO-DOAP par�cipants. Here, we present a summary of ac�vi�es during the first quarter of this year’s project (April - June 2021).

Sampling during first quarter of 2021 – 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic situa�on nega�vely impacted field and outreach ac�vi�es of NANO-DOAP for most of the last year. This quarter, 11 out of 14 ac�ve sampling sites (SS, red points in Figure 1) were able to conduct fieldwork. Eight of them were able to sample and process the required EOVs (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a concentra�on, dissolved oxygen and pH).

Figure 1 - Loca�on of NANO-DOAP sampling sites, including nine new sites (in green).

Field data and intersta�on analysis

An overview of data sampled at NANO-DOAP sta�ons between April and June 2021 is shown in Figure 2. Some sta�ons sample profiles whereas others only collect at surface. In NANO-DOAP, we focus on surface (0 - 10 m) variability, as this layers is sampled in all NANO-DOAP sites. Surface temperature varied between 24�C (Brazil) and 28.5�C (Kenya). These sites also presented the maximum (6.85 mg/l) and minimum (4.92 mg/l) surface DO levels, respec�vely. Argen�na (El Veril sta�on) presented minimum surface pH (6.77) and Chl-a (0.26 mg/m³) values among the sta�ons, whereas the highest Chl-a (8.80 mg/m³) was deteced in the Densu Delta

Estuary, in Ghana.

Our aim is to use the NANO-DOAP dataset in studies of coastal acidifica�on, deoxygena�on and produc�vity. However, to perform proper intersta�on analysis Figure 2 - Temperature, DO, pH and and explore drivers of variability in the SS, Chlorophyll-a concentra�on sampled at rigorous sta�s�cal analyses are required. NANO-DOAP sta�ons during the first quarter of this year’s project (April to June 2021).