Bilat - Observation and Assessment of the Sea with In situ Systems

Several monitoring techniques exist to assess the status of the marine environment. The use of DNA probe assays to accomplish that goal is novel, but most of the techniques require the return of discrete samples to the laboratory for analysis. This approa ch is cumbersome when synoptic sampling and extended presence at sea is required to investigate marine processes or monitor changes in the ocean. MBARI's ESP was designed to address these challenges. It can be deployed over long periods and programmed to carry out water sample collection and real-time environmental diagnostics based on DNA/antibody probe technology. The ESP has been successfully used to detect in situ different species of bacteria, toxic algae and invertebrate larval species. The current ESP has also recently been developed into a deep-sea version and will be integrated into a cabled deep-sea observatory for in situ investigations. The aim of this project will be to adapt the existing ESP for the monitoring of coastal/offshore Norwegian m arine areas. First, the project should clearly identify the scientific/industrial/regulatory drivers for the ESP. The ESP is a configurable engineered platform that can be tailored to user specifications; one key issue is deciding what targets (spp or sub stances) to seek and if the instrument supports the associated detection requirements i.e. sufficient sensitivity. MBARI is currently working on a PCR module for the instrument improving considerably the detection; another important issue is the data vali dation of the ESP with other laboratory-based techniques e.g. chemistry, biomarkers and omics, all currently monitoring tools or promising techniques used in a regulatory and water management context. The ESP represents a novel way of doing marine environ mental research ahead of the future direction in marine research. This project will contribute to ascertain how this advanced technology can be transferred to current marine environmental issues in Norwegian seas.