The over-arching aim of the European Training Network SLATE is (i) to understand key factors triggering submarine landslides, the subsequent motion and evolution of failed material, as well as ensuing geohazards eg tsunamis; and (ii) to integrate an innovative broad range of scientific disciplines and private sector needs into a novel training-through-research and co-supervision of 15 ESRs. SLATE focus on investigating submarine landslides and associated geohazards as important natural risks that threaten offshore infrastructures and coastal regions in Europe. Submarine landslides can be far larger than any terrestrial landslide and can produce tsunami whose far reaching effects can rival those produced by earthquake-tsunamis, and which threaten increasingly populated European coastlines. Even small landslides can damage very expensive and critically important seafloor installations. For example, pipelines used for oil and gas recovery, or telecommunication cables that now carry over 95% of global data. The largest and most dangerous submarine landslides occur on low gradients of < 2° that are almost always stable on land. However, fundamental differences between slope failure on land and the seafloor are as yet poorly understood and remain a grand challenge.

The BLUEMED initiative offers a shared strategic framework for working towards a healthy, productive and resilient Mediterranean Sea that is better known and valued. It is designed to tap the full potential of the marine and maritime sectors, structuring transnational cooperation to create new ‘blue’ jobs and to promote and improve social wellbeing, sustainable prosperity and the environmental status of the region and its surroundings.

The FAUCES project addresses the study of marine geological hazards, with special emphasis on sedimentary instabilities associated with the heads of three submarine canyons located on the Mediterranean continental margins of southern Iberia. The working hypothesis of FAUCES project is that the Almanzora-Alías-Garrucha canyon head on the continental margin of Palomares, and the La Linea and Guadiaro canyon heads on the Alboran margin, represent a potential threat, because of their proximity to the coastline with their shallow locations and active morfosedimentary configurations. The FAUCES project is conceived as a two sub-projects coordinated project, involving 30 researchers, and aims to reinforce an already established national and international scientific cooperation framework that focuses its efforts on marine geological hazards. Subprojects 1 (coordinator) and 2, are designed to combine different scientific researcher profiles with an extensive experience in different disciplines that can be reasonable applied to marine geological hazards. To achieve the project FAUCES a multi-disciplinary approach is planned and integrates geological and geotechnical data of the three study areas through the acquisition of different data sets (acoustic, seismic, sedimentological, geotechnical and in-situ measurements).This approach is organized into three specific objectives: 1) to determine the geomorphology and geological evolution of the canyon heads, during the Quaternary, their processes and controlling factors; 2) to analyze the slope-stability of canyon heads by means of sedimentary and geotechnical characterizations, as well as modeling; and 3) to establish the key elements and geological processes that can represent a potential hazard. The FAUCES project has the support of several companies and entities: Telefónica Spain, la Agencia Pública de Puertos de Andalucía, la Demarcación de Costas de Andalucía Atlántico (MAGRAMA) and Lyra engineering. It is noteworthy the collaboration of Igeotest which will allow us to obtain in-situ measurements (CPTU) representing a high-level innovation progress in the approach to the study of marine geological hazards.

The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) consists of more than 160 organisations that together work on assembling, harmonising and making marine data, products and metadata more available to public and private users. This Data Ingestion portal facilitates additional data managers to ingest their marine datasets for further processing, publishing as open data and contributing to applications for society. The EMODnet members are national and regional marine and oceanographic data repositories and data management experts from Europe. They have arrangements and infrastructures in place at national, international and European level for providing long term stewardship and access to marine and oceanographic data as collected by research, monitoring and survey programmes from more than a thousand data originators from public, research and private sectors. The speed and the ease with which users can identify, locate, access, exchange and use data and information about the oceans and seas are the keys to the success of community marine research projects and to effective support of marine economic and marine management activities. The EMODnet Data Ingestion portal seeks to identify and to reach out to other potential providers in order to make their data sets also part of the total offer. It aims at streamlining the data ingestion process so that data holders from public and private sectors that are not yet connected to the existing marine data management infrastructures can easily release their data for safekeeping and subsequent distribution through EMODnet. This will enrich the total offer for all types of users and conform to the EMODnet motto 'collect data once and use it many times'.

El proyecto de investigación consiste en el estudio de los procesos sedimentarios actuales asociados a la actividad de pesca de arrastre en los fondos marinos profundos. La presión ejercida por esta modalidad de pesca en estos ambientes se considera muy elevada debido a su alta intensidad, recurrencia y extensión geográfica. Aunque los efectos de la pesca de arrastre en los procesos sedimentaros de ambientes costeros se han estudiado en el pasado, existe muy poca información sobre ambientes más profundos del talud continental, donde la dinámica sedimentaria es menos energética y los ecosistemas bentónicos son más vulnerables y tienen menor capacidad de recuperación. Así pues, el objetivo principal de este proyecto consiste en mejorar el conocimiento de los mecanismos actuales de erosión, transporte y acumulación de sedimento provocados por esta modalidad de pesca en el talud continental, con la finalidad de identificar los impactos causados en los fondos marinos y llegar a promover medidas correctoras para garantizar una pesquería sostenible. Para ello, se registrarán series temporales de corrientes y concentración de sedimento en suspensión mediante el fondeo de anclajes instrumentados en las inmediaciones de caladeros de pesca. A la vez, se realizarán periódicamente perfiles hidrográficos para la identificación de capas nefeloides en la columna de agua y se obtendrán sedimentos superficiales durante campañas oceanográficas. El muestreo se realizará tanto en ambientes de talud abierto como en el interior de cañones submarinos, siguiendo una estrategia basada en la huella del esfuerzo pesquero durante los últimos 10 años. Asimismo, se realizará un estudio detallado de los hábitats y de la morfología submarina con la finalidad de evaluar el estado (o nivel de integridad) del fondo marino. El área de estudio se centrará en el margen continental del Mediterráneo noroccidental, donde la pesca de arrastre se ha practicado durante varias décadas y donde se conoce con detalle la distribución del esfuerzo pesquero. Los objetivos específicos que se pretenden conseguir son: 1) monitorizar los procesos de transporte de sedimento en el interior de cañones submarinos e identificar la contribución de la resuspensión por pesca de arrastre a los flujos sedimentarios; 2) identificar la estructura hidrográfica y la evolución temporal de la distribución de capas nefeloides en la columna de agua como indicadoras de procesos de resuspensión por pesca de arrastre; 3) evaluar la erosión provocada por la pesca de arrastre en los sedimentos superficiales del talud continental y establecer patrones sedimentarios basados en la presencia o ausencia de caladeros de pesca; 4) determinar los ritmos de sedimentación en el interior de cañones submarinos y evaluar la formación potencial de zonas preferentes de acumulación sedimentaria de origen antrópico; 5) cuantificar el papel de la pesca de arrastre en la alteración del contenido de carbono orgánico en el registro sedimentario; 6) determinar mediante observaciones visuales directas los cambios morfológicos de pequeña escala y las alteraciones sobre el hábitat y los ecosistemas bentónicos profundos producidos por la pesca de arrastre; y 7) identificar cambios morfológicos de gran escala en zonas de caladeros de pesca de la zona de estudio mediante la realización de batimetrías detalladas, así como en otras zonas de pesca de arrastre intensiva del margen Español a partir del uso de información batimétrica ya existente.

The nature and spatial distribution of geological domains across rifted continental margins are used to infer the processes that governed the formation of the system. Current conventional wisdom states that continental rifted margins formed away from the influence of hot-spots are systematically characterized by a spatial distribution of domains that implies a temporal sequence of geological events. The current paradigm proposes that extension of continental lithosphere causes thinning and break up of the crust leading to exhumation of the underlying mantle, followed by enough melting of the asthenosphere to form a spreading center. This widely accepted conceptual model is greatly influenced by past work in the West Iberia Margin, that is the model example of magma-poor rifted margins. However, the interpretation of the characteristics of the geological domains of the West Iberia Margin, including their nature (continental crust, synrift magmatism, oceanic crust etc), spatial distribution (e.g. width) and geometrical relationships (e.g. which occurred first) are for most of the region constrained by a few profiles of old-vintage, low-resolution geophysical data and locally restricted ground-truthing information. Based on our recent work, we propose that a considerable body of knowledge of the structure of the West Iberia continental margin needs to be updated with modern higher-resolution geophysical data, and the use of state-of-art methodologies to produce accurate quantifiable observations. Our recent work in the Gulf-of-Cadiz segment of the West Iberia Margin has shown that existing vintage data there provide ambiguous information, that cannot realistically constrain basement nature. Further, our work in the Tyrrhenian basin using several transects of modern seismic data has shown that the sequence of events accepted for the formation of rifted margins does not always apply, because there magmatic crust was formed before mantle exhumation. Therefore, a first main objective of this proposal is to collect, process, model with leading-edge methods and interpret several transects of geophysical data in key areas of the West Iberia Margin resulting from the separation of America from Iberia and African plates. Using those highly improved observation we aim at updating the characteristics of the geological domains of the rifted margin and refining existing conceptual models. As the second main objective of this proposal, we aim at analyzing the lithospheric-scale structures defined by the contacts among geological domains in the current kinematic framework of the region, where Africa and Iberian (Eurasian) plates are starting to collide. The Gulf-of-Cadiz segment of the West Iberia Margin is currently possibly entering into a new part of the Wilson cycle, in which structures formed by lithospheric deformation during basin opening are being re-activated with a different slip vector. The >100 Ma lithosphere is thick and lithospheric-scale faulting poses a major (albeit poorly studied and understood) hazard in the region. We aim at expanding our previous pilot work identifying and characterizing major lithospheric-scale boundaries, currently active and potentially capable of generating great seismic event of a magnitude similar to the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake and associated tsunami.

Large earthquakes, submarine landslides and the tsunami they might originate are geohazards of great societal concern because they may impact world economies and struck coastal populations. Dramatic examples of such events include the 2004 northern Sumatra and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes and respective tsunamis. However, earthquakes of magnitude > 7.0 in areas of relatively slow tectonic deformation and with long recurrence intervals, such as the external part of the Gulf of Cadiz, might also have a significant impact. A well known case is the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, related submarine landslides and resulting destructive tsunami. The occurrence of faults and landslides capable of triggering such catastrophic tsunami implies that the Gulf of Cadiz is one of the highest geohazard zones in Europe. Migration of sub-seafloor fluids has also been widely documented in the Gulf of Cadiz and such fluids are strongly related to the earthquake cycle and to the occurrence of submarine landslides. However, we currently lack appropriate understanding of both the rupture areas and stress-state of the faults and sediments in which such catastrophic events originated. The relatively great water depths, poor accuracy on the location of moderate-to-high magnitude earthquakes, lack of understanding of subsurface hydrology and the few constraints on ages of the sedimentary sequences hinder an appropriate understanding of location and characteristics of earthquake ruptures and associated submarine landslides in the Gulf of Cadiz. Our working hypothesis is that such understanding can only be developed by using ultra-high resolution (UHR) tools capable of providing 3D characterization of faults, submarine landslides and fluid escape structures, while being able to work in deep waters such as those of the external Gulf of Cadiz. INSIGHT tackles this problem by using state-of-the-art UHR techniques such as microbathymetry and UHR sub-bottom profiles obtained from Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, 3D seismic data, visual groundtruthing using Robotic Underwater Vehicles and sampling using extra-long Calypso piston cores. We aim at 1) Map in detail the active faults with largest seismogenic potential, 2) Accurately determine the seismic parameters of these faults, 3) Characterize associated submarine landslides, 4) Assess the likelihood of recent submarine landslides activation, 5) Determine the presence of active fluid seepage and its relationship with the occurrence of geohazards and, finally, 6) Evaluate the seismogenic and tsunamigenic potential of the largest tectonic sources. After project completion, we will have the tools, information and knowledge to better address geohazards in this area of SW Iberia, and an improved processes-understanding of the mechanisms resulting in such geohazards.

The Mediterranean realm has favored the birth and growth of many successful civilizations because it contains numerous natural resources, and it is currently highly populated. However, the region is also threatened by numerous geo-hazards that have destroyed even entire communities in the historically recent past. In most regions, the geological processes that govern the occurrence, location, magnitude, recurrence and inter-relations of different geo-hazards are poorly known. To advance in their understanding is therefore of upmost scientific interest. This Coordinated Project proposes a basic-research investigation of the relationships among tectonics, magmatism, and sediment dynamics, and their influence on geo- hazards in the most tectonically active areas of the Mediterranean: the Aegean basin. The project integrates two Subprojects that collectively aim at investigating the entire geological system. The goal of one subproject is to study the large-scale structure and physical properties of subducting slab, mantle wedge, overriding lithosphere, and the seismic activity across the system. Those observations will help to analyze their role on stress distribution, mantle melting, arc volcanism and tectonics. The other subproject will focus on a higher-resolution, shallower-depth study of crustal-scale tectonics and sediment dynamics, including fault style and structure, long-term activity of fault systems, fault slip rates, marine paleo-seismology, and seismically-induced sediment dynamics. The coordinated goal of the project is to integrate the approaches of both Subprojects to obtain a holistic understanding of how those phenomena, operating at different time and space scales, inter- relate to modulate geo-hazards in the region. We selected the Aegean basin as natural laboratory because it is geodynamically very active, with active volcanism and the highest seismicity in the Mediterranean realm. Here, geo-hazards occur at a comparatively higher rate, and conceivably can be studied in a relatively short-duration project. Within the Aegean we selected a region that is feasible to survey and investigate during the project duration. The region has active crustal faulting and volcanism, and has been struck by historically documented earthquakes and tsunamis. The largest earthquake in Greece in the past 100 years occurred here in a normal fault loosely identified offshore, and caused a 20-m-high tsunami wave. We propose the acquisition of geophysical and geological data to address the project objectives. Multichannel seismic reflection and wide-angle seismic data, sub-bottom profiler, multi-beam bathymetry, sediment coring, marine and land electromagnetic data, and a seismological network will provide the multidisciplinary observations needed to study active geological processes and related geo-hazards. The results of the project will not only be scientifically sound and of societal relevance, but will also provide a data base that may be used by EMSO, the EU initiative to implement long-term submarine observatories within European waters to address, among other topics, geo-hazards. This Coordinated Project will establish the tectonic setting in an area that EMSO will possibly be monitoring. The Hellenic sea, particulalry the Aegean region to be studied in this project is proposed for the installion of several seafloor observatories (www.emso-eu.org/). The project results will be integrated within a broader perspective using ongoing studies of Mediterranean basins carried by the project members and international collaborators. In this respect the project will also be relevant to improve our knowledge of the Spanish Mediterranean basins, which share a similar geodynamic setting with the Aegean Sea.

The Mediterranean realm has favored the birth and growth of many successful civilizations because it contains numerous natural resources, and it is currently highly populated. However, the region is also threaten by numerous geo-hazards that have destroyed even entire communities in the historically recent past. In most regions, the geological processes that govern the occurrence, location, magnitude, recurrence and inter-relations of different geo-hazards are poorly known. To advance in their understanding is therefore of upmost scientific interest. This Coordinated Project proposes a basic-research investigation of the relationships among tectonics, magmatism, and sediment dynamics, and their influence on geo- hazards in the most tectonically active areas of the Mediterranean: the Aegean basin. The project integrates two Subprojects that collectively aim at investigating the entire geological system. The goal of one subproject is to study the large-scale structure and physical properties of subducting slab, mantle wedge, overriding lithosphere, and the seismic activity across the system. Those observations will help to analyze their role on stress distribution, mantle melting, arc volcanism and tectonics. The other subproject will focus on a higher-resolution, shallower-depth study of crustal-scale tectonics and sediment dynamics, including fault style and structure, long-term activity of fault systems, fault slip rates, marine paleo-seismology, and seismically-induced sediment dynamics. The coordinated goal of the project is to integrate the approaches of both Subprojects to obtain a holistic understanding of how those phenomena, operating at different time and space scales, inter- relate to modulate geo-hazards in the region. We selected the Aegean basin as natural laboratory because it is geodynamically very active, with active volcanism and the highest seismicity in the Mediterranean realm. Here, geo-hazards occur at a comparatively higher rate, and conceivably can be studied in a relatively short-duration project. Within the Aegean we selected a region that is feasible to survey and investigate during the project duration. The region has active crustal faulting and volcanism, and has been struck by historically documented earthquakes and tsunamis. The largest earthquake in Greece in the past 100 years occurred here in a normal fault loosely identified offshore, and caused a 20-m-high tsunami wave. We propose the acquisition of geophysical and geological data to address the project objectives. Multichannel seismic reflection and wide-angle seismic data, sub-bottom profiler, multi-beam bathymetry, sediment coring, marine and land electromagnetic data, and a seismological network will provide the multidisciplinary observations needed to study active geological processes and related geo-hazards. The results of the project will not only be scientifically sound and of societal relevance, but will also provide a data base that may be used by EMSO, the EU initiative to implement long-term submarine observatories within European waters to address, among other topics, geo-hazards. This Coordinated Project will establish the tectonic setting in an area that EMSO will possibly be monitoring. The Hellenic sea, particulalry the Aegean region to be studied in this project is proposed for the installion of several seafloor observatories (www.emso-eu.org/). The project results will be integrated within a broader perspective using ongoing studies of Mediterranean basins carried by the project members and international collaborators. In this respect the project will also be relevant to improve our knowledge of the Spanish Mediterranean basins, which share a similar geodynamic setting with the Aegean Sea.

The study of past earthquakes is essential in modern seismic hazard assessment. Paleoseismology determines the seismic potential of seismogenic faults based on the interpretation of the geological record. Its strength is that it covers much longer periods than the instrumental or historical catalogues. The paleoseismological concepts are being increasingly exported to the marine environment, enlarging its potential use as highly populated coasts are threatened by earthquakes and tsunamis produced by offshore faults. The SHAKE project is a coordinated project between the Universitat de Barcelona (SP1) and the Unitat de Tecnología Marina – CSIC (SP2), which aims to characterize the seismic potential of selected faults in Southern Iberia on land (SP1) and at sea (SP2), with special emphasis on their slip-rate, with increased precision than so far achieved. In the marine part, we propose to use a combination of new cutting-edge techniques in marine paleoseismology, and to integrating onshore and offshore results and methods in a unique interpretation: 1) Systematically measuring vertical and horizontal displacements from closely-spaced grids (pseudo 3D) of recently acquired high-resolution MCS data in selected faults of the Alboran Sea and Gulf of Cadiz. This will allow obtaining seismic parameters and robust cumulative slip-rates, and 2) To use a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in selected areas of the studied faults to carry out micro—bathymetries, 3D photomosaicing (OTUS) and sub-bottom profiling, and video observations/measurements and in situ sampling. This will make possible to identify young earthquake ruptures, to recognize and date individual event horizons and to obtain vertical and strike-slip components per specific events (i.e. coseismic slip). Along the active fault scarps, fluid seepage may occur and physical and biological characterization of the specific associated benthic habitats will be carried out. We expect the scientific results of SHAKE to have a high impact in the international and national paleoseismological communities. Marine and terrestrial paleoseismological data have been normally analyzed separately and our integrated results in southern Iberia will contribute to obtain more realistic seismic and tsunami hazard models. In addition, SHAKE will represent a step further by introducing and adapting new techniques, such as LIDAR or ROV, in paleoseismology. A fundamental benefit of the project will be the training of researchers in these advanced technologies.

Pelagic-benthic coupling in the Antarctic climate modulator: ecological reactions to climate change in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica (ECOWED). The Weddell Sea (WS) in Antarctica plays an important role as a world climate regulator and at the same time, climate variation determines several marine processes taking place there. Under the frame of this tight relationship, the WS presents along its coastline different reactions to climate change, from drastic changes developing in few days (e.g., ice sheets collapses at the Antarctic Peninsula) to almost imperceptible variations throughout decades (e.g., iceberg calving from the southeastern coast). This intensity gradient produces different effects on the local benthos, which hosts communities as diverse and high in biomass as those found in the coral reefs at tropical latitudes. The ECOWED project proposes to study the pelagic-benthic coupling in the WS to improve our knowledge on the way ongoing climate change, developing at un-preceded pace, affects benthic coomunities and which is their response to it. The wide gradient of changes and its velocity demand a rapid scientific action. ECOWED plans two expeditions, in the Austral summers of 2013 and 2014, to three different regions of the WS apparently affected with different intensity by climate change. From West to East, the region of the Larsen A, B and C ice sheets (one of the most sensitive regions in the world to climate change), the Filchner Depression and Austasen (where very small positive temperature anomalies has been observed). This gradient will provide a rather complete spatial coverage, that due to its difficult access conditions is rather hard to accomplish. Based on this, the proposal also represents a unique opportunity to work in all these regions under the frame of the same project. The main ECOWED objectives are: 1. To analyze relationships between anthropogenic climate change (ACC), pelagic-benthic coupling and biogeochemical cycles based on the regional differences of the WS. 2. To analyze how pelagic-benthic coupling determines the structure and composition of local benthic communities. 3. To analyze benthic system reactions to environmental changes in regions with different ACC pressure within the WS. 4. To study biodiversity of benthic communities in the WS with special interest on sponges and cnidaria as structural species.

The proposed research project deals about the characterization of the large-scale bed forms (> 1 m) of the Spanish Mediterranean continental margin based on the analysis of their morphology and the study of contemporary processes involved in their formation and evolution. The multibeam bathymetry provided by the Secretaría de Pesca and other institutions allows a regional classification of bed forms based on their morphometric characteristics.

In parallel, a specific monitoring of hydrodynamics and sediment transport processes in the near-bottom boundary layer and the water column will be carried out to study: 1) wave-current processes potentially associated with dunes in the coastal area (Ebro Delta), 2) internal waves associated with sediment waves of prodelta (the Llobregat prodelta), 3) internal waves as potential generating mechanism of sediment waves on the continental slope (Gulf of Valencia) and 4) to investigate deep bottom currents as potential mechanism to explain the deep sediment waves (North of Menorca). The analysis of the interaction between bed forms and hydrodynamic forcing will be complemented by the application of models of sediment transport and bed form generation as well as flume tests.

Finally, bed forms will be analyzed as specific habitats in the Ebro delta and Cabo de Palos areas, characterized by their communities and benthic habitats. Habitat mapping techniques will be developed integrating physical, geological and biological information, in order to provide a useful tool in managing the marine environment. It is expected that results from the project will provide a regional overview of the bed forms of the Spanish Mediterranean continental margin as well as detailed information of those bed forms with greater uncertainty about the formation processes. The expected results may lead to a change in our perception of what are the dominant mechanisms of formation and evolution of bed forms and their rates of change. The combined use of the excellent available morphological database and field measurements using advanced instrumentation (benthic tripod, thermistor chains, multiparameter equipment, AUV, ROV\'s, etc) offers the opportunity to integrate information from different sources for a better understanding of the processes involved in bed forms formation.

The preparation of an Atlas of bed forms in the Spanish Mediterranean continental margin based on the observed morphologies will provide to both the scientific community and society in general, access to the present-day existing knowledge on this topic.

The MOWER Project is an innovative and coordinated research project promoting a high quality inter and multi-discipline approach. The main aim of the MOWER Project is to identify and study the erosional features (terraces and channels) and associated sedimentary deposits (sandy contourites) generated by the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) around the middle continental slope of Iberia during its Pliocene and Quaternary evolution. This general objective involves the study of alongslope processes (contourites) associated with the MOW and downslope processes (turbidity flows, debris flows, etc..) in the architecture and evolution of the Iberian margin. In addition, the MOWER Project is directly related to the recent Expedition 339 (November 2011 to January 2012) of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). The MOWER Project comprises several activities as:: I.- The analysis and study of data from IODP Expedition-339 in the Gulf of Cadiz; II.- The acquisition and study of new data in two areas on the continental slope margins around Iberia (Gulf of Cadiz and west off Portugal) in different geological contexts but related regionally, and III.- The study of previous data obtained under previous projects or donated by various companies in the Alboran Sea, Galicia and Cantabrian margins. The correlation of these results will provide a new understanding of the evolution of our continental margins with important conceptual and applied implications. The specific objectives are: 1) To characterize the influence and control in a large-scale of the continental margin prior to and during the development of the erosional features and associated sandy contourites, 2) To establish the Pliocene and Quaternary evolution of the erosional features and associated sandy contourites particularly dealing with sedimentological aspects and addressing geohazards deducted from such evolution, and 3) To determine the latest sedimentary, oceanographic and paleoceanographic processes. Consequently, the MOWER Project, although is in part a continuation of a previous project (CONTOURIBER Project), will now provide, for the first time, a specific and innovative research line with scientific objectives related to erosional features and sandy contourites little known until now. The MOWER project meets the objectives of the VI National Research Plan, Development and Technological Innovation (2008-2011), as well as and the Orden ECI/3354/2007 (BOE, 20 Nov., 2007). This research project would not be possible without the participating institutions and researchers which make up a significant critical mass, and represents an effort of integration and collaboration between national research groups of proven experience in Marine Geology research. We propose a scheme for scientific cooperation that will allow to achieve objectives that, undoubtedly, would hardly be addressed with other more narrowly way; this scientific cooperation has important implications such as: a) The consolidation of a research group established around the previous CONTOURIBER Project (2009-2011); b) To promote quality research; c) To internationalize the proposed activities in the context of those to be developed within the IODP Expedition 339; and d) To obtain results with a high potential for scientific impact in the field of marine geology, geophysics, oceanography, paleoceanography and also a clear impact on aspects of economic interest. The background and previous results of the research groups participating in this project tested the effectiveness of such an integrated of multidisciplinary researches, to achieve a common scientific objective. They constitute a research group with a very important scientific production of international level. As for the applicability and transfer of results to be expected, the geological and geophysical infrastructure will be increased to study the little known erosional features and associated sandy deposits, which have been recorded in the recent evolution of the Iberia margins. The conceptual models associated with these features and contouritic deposits are still pending to be proposed, and their scientific implications and economic potential make the MOWER Project an innovative project with leading scientific outcomes associated with active submarine processes, stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleoceanography, paleoclimatology, geological hazards, and economic implications for its potential mineral and energy resources. The close collaboration with various companies that are proposed under this MOWER Project not only supports the applicability of the project but also ensures the transfer of the expected results.

El objetivo de este proyecto es desarrollar y probar un modelo de propagación de oleaje de aguas a aguas someras. El modelo, de pequeñas escala (i.e., resolvedor de la forma de la ola), quiere ser muy eficiente computacionalmente. Las propiedades no lineales del modelo en aguas intermedias mejorarán las habituales en modelos similares, y por tanto las interacciones entre ola y corriente serán mejor capturadas. El modelo incluirá asimismo la capa límite que se desarrolla en el fondo, con el fin de calcular las tensiones transmitidas sobre el lecho y, en consecuencia, el transporte de sedimentos. Un modelo morfológico acoplado al hidrodinámicao debe permitir la explicación, cuanto menos desde una nueva perspectiva, de aspectos morfológicos tan importantes como son el movimiento de barras.

La acción complementaria que se solicita tiene como objetivo contribuir el 10 % de los costes totales asociados a la ejecución de una campaña de perforación en el fondo marino del Mar de Barents utilizando como plataforma el buque de investigación alemán Maria S. Merian y por primera vez en el Ártico, el nuevo sistema de perforación submarino automático MeBo (MARUM, Bremen). La campaña de perforación CORIBAR es producto de la iniciativa IPY NICE STREAMS y se enmarca en el proyecto del Plan Nacional DEGLABAR. La campaña tiene por objetivo reconstruir la cronología de las fases de deshielo del casquete glacial de Svalbard / Mar de Barents.

This coordinated project is proposed to carry out a systematic and comprehensive study of seamounts from different points of view of Marine Geology. These seamounts are characterized by having different origins, volcanic, diapiric and / or structural. The seamounts have been selected on the continental margins of southern Iberia, both in the Alboran Sea and the Gulf of Cadiz, regions in proximity to the plate boundary between Eurasia and Nubia, and therefore the neotectonic activity has had an important role in the current configuration of these mountains. The coordinated project is aware of the processes and mechanisms that generate seamounts with different origin, and that affect their stability and govern the evolution on continental margins. To this end, the project covers three main objectives: 1) the tectonic and morphological characterization of seamounts to be developed by the subproject 1; 2) the stratigraphic and sedimentological characterization of the sedimentary cover of seamounts and adjacent areas during the Neogene Quaternary-to be addressed by the subproject 2; and 3) the establishment of Neogene and Quaternary geological evolutivemodels to be jointly developed by the research team throughout the project coordinated. Achieving these targets will be established through the study, analyses and discussion of the following topics: the determination of the influence of seamounts in the evolution of continental margins and its influence on sediment dynamics, the development of sedimentary systems and the stratigraphic architecture, the role of tectonic processes and / or diapiric reactivation in the formation of the seamount relief , the processes related to erosion and / or weathering/wasting of these mountains, and modeling of future trends, especially the assessment of geological hazards related to landslides or tsunamis based on the development of numerical models. On the other hand, consider two distinct zones of the margins of southern Iberia will provide a vision of such morphological features in connection with intense tectonic activity in the Neogene-Quaternary. Montera project are proposing to use a wide range of geophysical, seismic, acoustic and sedimentological methods to achieve the above mentioned objectives targets. We will work with acquisition, processing and interpretation techniques for the study of seismic profiles of high and very high resolution, multibeam bathymetry, gravimetry, magnetometry, heat flow, samples (rocks) from dredges, sediment cores, and mathematical models. All data and results will be integrated within a geographical information system (GIS) The applicability of the results focuses on the increased geological knowledge of the studied continental margins, and in modeling the evolution of these seamounts, allowing conclusions to be applied directly to action for the prevention of geological hazards and the design of contingency plans. In addition, seamounts are typically areas of high biological productivity, hosting interesting areas of living resources, and / or habitats of particular vulnerability, so the project\'s findings will be basic piece in any valuation of ecosystems is the of fishing or for recognition and definition of marine protected areas.

El Proyecto CONTOURIBER, es un proyecto coordinado financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, que involucra a un total de 40 investigadores tanto de diferentes grupos nacionales e internacionales como de empresas. Las instituciones nacionales que lideran el proyecto son: el Grupo XM-1 del Dpto. de Geociencias Marinas de la Universidad de Vigo (UVI), cuyo Investigador responsable (IP) del subproyecto es el Dr. F. Javier Hernández-Molina; el Grupo GEOMARCO- del ICMConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, Barcelona) cuyo IP es la Dr. Gemma Ercilla, y el Grupo de Geología Marina del Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME, Madrid) cuyo IP es la Dr. Teresa Medialdea. Además, participan activamente el Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) y la Universidad de Cádiz (UCA). Las instituciones extranjeras que participan son: Heriot Watt University (UK); Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS, Italy); Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG, Portugal); Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Ghent University (Belgium); Research Naval Laboratory (USA); Universidad de Burdeos (Francia); Universidad de La Sapienza (Roma, Italia); Universidad de Rabat (Marruecos) y Universidad Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris, France). También apoyan y colaboran en el Proyecto varias empresas: REPSOL, TGS-NOPEC, SECEG SA (Sociedad Española de Comunicación del Estrecho de Gibraltar) y TELEFÓNICA. El objetivo científico principal de este proyecto es el estudio del efecto generado por las masas de agua mediterráneas alrededor de Iberia, su evolución e implicaciones ambientales. La contribución de dichas masas de agua a la circulación oceánica y al clima es indudablemente de importancia global. Tras la salida al Océano Atlántico a través del Estrecho de Gibraltar, las masas de agua mediterráneas realizan un largo recorrido al fluir hacia el norte, oeste y sur. La rama septentrional circula a lo largo del margen portugués, rodea el Golfo de Vizcaya y continúa hacia el norte hasta alcanzar el Mar de Noruega, mientras que la rama meridional alcanza las islas Canarias. La interacción de las masas de agua con el fondo submarino genera rasgos erosivos y deposicionales muy importantes. A la acumulación sedimentaria generada por la corriente se le llama contornitas. Estos depósitos “contorníticos” pueden ser de grandes dimensiones (centenares de Kilómetros) y espesores sedimentarios (centenares de metros), que contienen un valioso registro de la formación y evolución de nuestros fondos marinos. Su estudio ha constituido una de las líneas activas de investigación en Geología Marina en el ámbito internacional durante la última década por su interés en conocer la historia paleoceanográfica, paleoclimatológica, la estabilidad sedimentaria de los fondos marinos de interés para la ingenieria marina, así como relación directa con yacimientos de hidrocarburos y yacimienos minerales. En este contexto, la Campaña CONTOURIBER pretende evaluar el efecto que tiene en la actualidad y que ha tenido en el pasado la ciculación de las masas de agua en los fondos del Mar de Alboran, Golfo de Cadiz, a la salida del Estrecho de Gibraltar, Margen de Galicia y Mar Cantábrico, en contextos geológicos diferentes, para alcanzar los siguientes objetivos: 1. Caracterizar las estructuras geológicas del margen continental y como influyen (y han influido en el pasado) en la circulación de las masas de agua. 2. Cartografiar, algunos por primera vez, y determinar cómo se construyen los depósitos contorníticos generados por la influencia de las masas de agua mediterráneas . 3. Determinar su evolución en cada una de las zonas para reconstruir las variaciones climáticas y del nivel del mar y cómo éstas influyen en la circulación marina, pasada y presente. 4. Implicaciones de las masas de agua sobre los fondos marinos, tanto en la presencia de recursos minerales, como sobre el desarrollo de geohabitats específicos. Por consiguiente, el proyecto CONTOURIBER es un proyecto multidisciplinar que aborda novedosos objetivos científicos en relación con áreas muy poco conocidas. Las actividades planteadas están relacionadas con la propuesta aceptada para realizar sondeos profundos en el Golfo de Cádiz y oeste de Portugal, dentro del programa internacional Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).

Esta Acción Complementaria se plantea en el marco del proyecto SAGAS financiado por el Plan Nacional. Las deficiencias y problemas técnicos acontecidos durante la campaña SAGAS- adscrita a dicho proyecto y realizada a finales del 2008 a bordo del Bio Hespérides- impidieron la obtención de datos geológicos (acústicos, sísmicos y de sedimentos) en el Mar de Alborán y que son fundamentales para el desarrollo del mencionado proyecto. El propósito de esta Acción Complementaria es la realización de dos campañas geológicas: la campaña 1 tiene como objetivo la adquisición de datos acústicos y de sísmica del fondo marino a bordo del Sarmiento de Gamboa en el 2010 y la campaña 2 tiene como objetivo la adquisición de testigos de sedimento durante el 2011 a bordo del Sarmiento de Gamboa y/o Bio Hespérides así como el tratamiento analítico de los sedimentos.

The HERMIONE-GEO project will study sediment dynamic processes in the Cap the Creus and Palamós (Fonera) submarine canyons to determine cross-margin sediment transport mechanisms and differentiate anthropogenic (e.g. trawling-induced) and natural (i.e. storms and dense shelf water cascading) processes. One of the main objectives will be to assess how sedimentary processes can affect (either positively or negatively) marine ecosystems, from benthic communities (studied in the HERMIONE-BIO project) to megafauna species (studied in the HERMIONE-REC project). To conduct this task, several moored instruments equipped with current meters with turbidity, temperature, conductivity and pressure sensors and sediment traps will be deployed within these canyons, and focused oceanographic cruises will be conducted during mooring turnarounds. Additionally, Hg content will be studied in suspended particles, surfaced sediments, and sediment trap samples to assess the anthropogenic impact (i.e. contamination) associated to sediment transport from shelf-to-submarine canyon environments.

Para abordar los objetivos específicos propuestos en el proyecto HERMIONE, se solicitó esta Acción Complementaria para realizar dos campañas de 7 y 2 días de duración previstas para junio y octubre de 2011. La finalidad de estas campañas HERMIONE es estudiar el impacto de la pesca de arrastre en la dinámica sedimentaria y en el ecosistema bentónico del cañón submarino de Palamós y talud adyacente. En la primera campaña se fondearán dos anclajes oceanográficos para registrar la presencia de flujos gravitativos provocados por las artes de arrastre, se obtendrán perfiles hidrográficos para detectar la dispersión del sedimento resuspendido, se realizará una cartografía detallada del lecho del cañón y se tomarán testigos de sedimento. En la segunda campaña se recuperarán los anclajes previamente fondeados.

Ice shelves appear as sensitive indicators of regional climate change since their retreats coincide with a consistent warming trend in mean air temperatures (Vaughan et al., 1996). In 1995 the sections A and B of the Larsen ice shelf at the eastern Antarctic Peninsula collapsed and rapidly disintegrated uncovering thousands of square kilometers of continental shelf (Vaughan et al., 1996; Skvarca et al., 1993, 1998, 1999). Since then, a few expeditions have investigated the area and partially surveyed this recently opened ecosystem (Domack et al., 2005a). First results showed microbial mats of chemoautotrophs and patches of clams near vent openings coexisting with recently deposited ice rafted material of several textures and diatomaceous fluff (Domack et al., 2005a, 2005b). Apparently, this picture is the result of the new conditions at the sea surface over that area favoring the melting of icebergs and flourishing of phytoplankton. Presumably, these conditions will lead to an increment in the flux of ice rafted debris and phytoplankton detritus that may bury the fragile chemotrophic ecosystem in the near future. Further south, Larsen ice shelf C presents evidences of thinning and threatens to collapse as sections A and B, probably sometime in the present century (Sheperd et al., 2003). As air temperature continues to rise and climate changes, unique Antarctic ecosystems dwelling below ice shelves remain under danger of extinction. Based on the idea that climate change forces the environmental characteristics that ultimately modify the ecosystem, here we attempt to determine the actual environmental characteristics of the area formerly covered by the Larsen ice shelves A and B and identify their relationship with the organisms and the new ecosystem under development. To accomplish our task we propose a multidisciplinary study on the pelagic-benthic coupling in the recently opened area. The study will be complemented with a comparison between this “new” environment and the situation at the southeastern Weddell Sea shelf, where typical high-Antarctic open sea conditions host one of the highest benthic biomasses in the Antarctic Ocean constituted by communities with high diversity and complex structures (Gerdes et al. 1992; Gutt and Starmans, 1998; Teixidó et al., 2002). In addition, we want to investigate the fate of benthic shelf communities after long glacial periods, which is one of the key processes scarcely explored in Antarctic research. To investigate the origin and evolution of high Antarctic biota, the opening of this new area represents a unique opportunity to study re-colonization processes through comparisons with the high Antarctic. Several Institutions will assembly an international group with young scientists participating in the analysis of physical, chemical, biological and geological characteristics of the ice, the water column and the seabed during the spring-summer season. The outcome promises to provide insights into the understanding of how Antarctic ecosystems may change under climatic pressure and the origin and evolutionary history of Antarctic shelf ecosystems. This information is particularly interesting in a moment when recent environmental and ecosystem changes at the Antarctic Peninsula presumably still present an early state of development and the threat over the ecosystems under ice shelves grows. The researchers on board will be in close connection with basic, primary and secondary schools through a web page based on an ongoing educational programme hold by schools, foundations and the Catalan Government. This web page is of general access and its contents aim to reach the general public. The page will be accessible for several years (for further details see http://www10.gencat.net/dursi/antartida, http://www.icm.csic.es/icmdivulga). In addition, a new web page with similar purposes is under construction at the University of Sevilla server within the frame of the project “ECOANTHA”.

Este proyecto se propone estudiar, mediante una aproximación multidisciplinar geológica y geofísica, la estructura actual y evolución reciente del sístema del arco de Gibraltar (sag), que incluye las cuencas y márgenes del mar de Alborán y argelino-balear y su entorno, el orógeno bético-rifeño y el prisma de acreción del golfo de Cádiz. El objetivo es llegar a comprender mejor la dinámica de los procesos internos que afectan la litosfera y la corteza terrestre, la dinámica de los procesos externos responsables de la morfología, sedimentación y geoambiente, y la interrelación entre procesos profundos y superficiales. Los objetivos específicos se refieren a procesos y mecanismos que ocurren a diferentes escalas, y por tanto precisan de enfoques, actividades y métodos complementarios. El proyecto incrementaría la infraestructura geológica y geofísisca en el Mediterraneo español y es de interés por permitir actuaciones dirigidas a prevenir y diseñar planes de contingencia de riesgos geológicos y medioambientales en una región en la que se producen considerables terremotos y deslizamientos submarinos.