An ozone induced augmentation of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and changing ocean acidification due to global climate change are predicted to severely and adversely impact the diversity and functioning of marine ecosystems. Increased UVR is predicted to disrupt aquatic food webs and lead to a reduction in the biological sinking capacity of atmospheric CO2, while ocean acidification, due to carbonic acid formation, has the potential to affect a plethora of marine organisms. Both of these factors will act directly on the chemistry of a range of natural organic compounds and environmental pollutants with potentially hazardous effects on ecosystems worldwide. The experimental design of this project will allow us to test hypotheses using microcosm experiments under a range of controlled environmental conditions. The synergistic effects of UVR, sea water acidification and environmental pollution on sediment benthic communities and ecosystem functioning will be assessed using state of the art ecotoxicological and molecular techniques (metagenomics and metatranscriptomics).

CESAM members on this project

Adelaide Almeida
researcher

Angela Cunha
researcher

Catarina Pires Ribeiro Ramos Marques
researcher

Daniel Cleary
researcher

researcher

Isabel Maria Cunha Antunes Lopes
researcher

Newton Carlos Marcial Gomes
coordinator

Ricardo Jorge Guerra Calado
researcher