The Marine Organic Carbon Atlas Living Lab (MOCA) will advance our ability to consistently and regularly map and assess changes in carbon stocks and fluxes due to biological (organic) processes across a number of EOVs in the pelagic and benthic realms. Focusing on the Arctic Ocean, we will integrate historical and new data from many observing and modelling approaches into a standard format co-designed with relevant stakeholder groups to support regional and global assessments.

The Marine Organic Carbon Atlas Living Lab will contribute to the following project objectives:

• help better understand links between biodiversity, biogeochemistry and climate;
• enable development, initialization and validation of ecosystem forecasts and biogeochemical models.

In the MOCA Living Lab we will undertake significant local and regional data rescue efforts related to several EOVs, initiate a new organic carbon data product based on decades-long pelagic and benthic ecosystem monitoring in the Arctic..

The MOCA Living Lab will conduct data rescue efforts to unlock unprecedented amounts of historical data collected in the Arctic using standardised (Darwin Core) metadata and data records. The demo product for the Arctic will be co-created with international modelling communities to ensure direct applicability for biogeochemical and ecosystem models. MOCA will deliver a roadmap towards a novel data product building on the state-of-the-art biological and biogeochemical data, and publish pilot datasets from the Arctic region. Development of the Arctic pilot of MOCA, including its visual formats, will be consulted with specific needs of local (Svalbard, Greenland) authorities and other stakeholders with specific interest in blue carbon and biodiversity monitoring and resource management.

Main EOVs studied in the Living Lab:

(Click on the EOV name to access the corresponding GOOS EOV Specification Sheet if available)

 Phytoplankton biomass and diversity

 Zooplankton biomass and diversity

Invertebrate abundance and distribution (EOV Specification Sheet under development)

 Seagrass cover and composition

Macroalgae canopy cover and composition

Photo: NASA Earth Observatory Changes in Ocean Production. Source: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service