The Deep-Sea & Sub-Seafloor Frontiers Conference, March 11-14, 2012, Sitges (Barcelona) Spain
The Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers project (DS3F) is a EU-funded Coordination Action, which is developing sub-seafloor sampling and observing strategies for enhanced understanding of deep-sea and sub-seafloor processes by connecting marine research in life and geosciences, climate and environmental change with socio-economic issues and policy building. A long-term research approach will be established covering: (i) sustainable ocean management, particularly in the deep sea, in view of its enhanced exploitation (fisheries, hydrocarbon exploration and other seafloor and sub-seafloor uses), (ii) the necessity to unravel the deep-seated geological processes that drive seafloor ecosystems, and (iii) release of the potential of seabed archives for paleo-environmental reconstructions and improved prediction of future climate change.
After a series of successful ad hocworkshops at the Work Package level, the Conference in Sitges aims at opening the discussion by gathering key players and top level researchers in the fields of deep-sea research to (i) bring in new scientific, strategic and policy insights, (ii) to disseminate the achievements of DS3F to date, and (iii) to condense the intellectual outcome of the individual workshops towards an EU white paper in the field. We hence encourage participation from European as well as non-European researchers to contribute to this important task; young researchers, who will hopefully directly benefit from the DS3F roadmap document to be submitted to the European Commission by mid-2012, are particularly encouraged since financial support could be provided.