María Gómez Ballesteros

• Instituto Español de Oceanografia

This document reports the results of a survey promoted by the Technical Expert Group (TEG) on Data for MSP to gather information on how the national MSP processes have taken into account the national MSFD implementation and, specifically, the dataset collected and produced under MSFD. The results of the survey indicate a medium level of coherence (...

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography has realized nineteen oceanographic cruises in order to monitor the geomorphological changes during the submarine eruption of the Tagoro volcano and later evolution. The major geomorphological features were achieved fundamentally by the use of Multibeam EM710 echosounder data. Eruption was characterized by two...

The shallow Tagoro submarine volcano monitoring represents a unique opportunity not only for improving our sparse understanding of submarine volcanic processes in specific scientific fields as physical and chemical oceanography or marine geology but also its interactions over the marine biology in one of the richest marine ecosystems in Europe. Thi...

Active volcanoes are key laboratories to carry out detailed research -and monitoring- about the history of magmas before, during and after eruptions. Tagoro, the submarine active volcano at El Hierro Island (Canary archipelago), is a highly favorable case to assess and monitor its daily ongoing behaviour, as well as to study the links between the p...

The aim of this study was to describe the epibenthic and demersal communities of the Avilés Canyon System (ACS) in relation to the environmental variables that characterize their biotope. ACS (Cantabrian Sea, NE Atlantic) was recently included in the Natura 2000 network as a Site of Community Importance (SCI). Data of faunal biomass derived from 6...

The Capbreton Canyon System is an area currently under study for its proposal as a Site of Community Importance under the EU Habitats Directive in the context of the LIFE IP Intemares project. Identifying and mapping benthic Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) plays a key role in this process. Although obtaining information on species distribution...

Various studies have been carried out to the declaration of new marine protected areas for their importance for habitats, according to the Natura 2000 Network. One of these sites is a sector of the Capbreton Submarine Canyon System, located in front of the Basque Country coast, in the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic). During the Intemares_CapBreton 0...

This work focuses on the study of habitats and communities of a high structural complexity area at different levels and scales. This gives us a better understanding of an area from an ecological point of view and at the same time provides us with tools that will facilitate management measures. It was developed in a complex circalittoral rocky platf...

Carbonate mounds clustering in three fields were characterized on the upper continental slope of the northern Alboran Sea by means of a detailed analysis of the morphosedimentary and structural features using high-resolution bathymetry and parametric profiles. The contemporary and past benthic and demersal species were studied using ROV underwater...

Human activities exert significant impacts on marine ecosystems, which entails the need for management measures to ensure the conservation and restoration of ocean biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. One of the most effective management measures is the declaration of marine protected areas. The main objective of the LIFE IP INTEMA...

In 2003, 2006–2009, 2014 and 2015, seven oceanographic cruises were carried out on board the Spanish R/V Hespérides in the Cantabrian Margin and the adjacent abyssal plains, covering an area of 219,124 km2. Based on the combined analysis and interpretation of the bathymetric and reflectivity data obtained with multibeam echosounders (SIMRADEM12, EM...

Located in the southeastern Bay of Biscay, the eastern Cantabrian Sea is characterized by the presence of the Capbreton Canyon and a highly diverse and complex geomorphology. The sedimentary seafloor is dominant and biota inhabiting it has been widely studied. The objective of the present research is to contribute to the knowledge of the spatial va...

The INTEMARES-CapBreton 0619 and 0620 surveys have been developed for fifteen days of June 2019 and 2020, on board the research vessel R/V Ramón Margalef. These oceanographic expeditions were carried out in the context of the LIFE-IP- INTEMARES project "Integrated, innovative and participatory management of the Natura 2000 Network in the Spanish ma...

Maritime Spatial Planning processes are already being implemented in many parts of the world being Europe one of the hot spots due to the approval of the Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning, which oblige every coastal Member State to have approved...

Within the framework of several projects a total of 68 soft-bottom samples were acquired in front of the Basque coast (south-eastern Bay of Biscay) at 97-1476 m water depth. Sediment samples were taken with a 0.1 m2 Smith-McIntyre grab and sieved through a 1 mm mesh. This study is focused on increasing the regional knowledge of the spatial variabil...

The seafloor of the Alboran Sea reflects its complex tectonic, sedimentary, and oceanography dynamics as a consequence of the geological context, involving interaction between the Eurasian and African plates, and oceanographic context, as it is where the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters meet. Their physiography has a semi-enclosed configuration ch...

The seafloor of the Alboran Sea reflects its complex tectonic, sedimentary, and oceanography dynamics as a consequence of the geological context, involving interaction between the Eurasian and African plates, and oceanographic context, as it is where the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters meet. Their physiography has a semi-enclosed configuration ch...

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is gaining importance as a new process for the governance of seas and oceans, as maritime nations exercise greater management over their territorial waters and, in many cases, over exclusive economic zones that span a larger area. The purpose of this planning is to reverse the environmental degradation of the seas an...

Deception Island (South Shetland Islands) is one of the most active volcanoes in Antarctica, with more than 20 explosive eruptive events registered over the past two centuries. Recent eruptions (1967, 1969, and 1970) and volcanic unrest episodes (1992, 1999, and 2014–2015) demonstrate that volcanic activity is likely occurring in the future. This i...

Deception Island is amongst the most active volcanoes in the Southern Ocean, with over 20 explosive eruptions in the last ca. 200 years. The eruption that formed the caldera at Deception Island occurred 3980 ± 125 calendar years Before Present, and it is the largest eruptive event documented in Antarctica during Holocene. Since then, post-caldera v...

In the present work we focus on the distribution of two species of sponges. One of these is Asconema setubalense, a sponge found in rocky substrate that was sampled with a photogrammetric vehicle through georeferenced images. The other is Pheronema carpenteri, which inhabits soft bottoms and was sampled by beam trawl. For the spatial distribution m...

This article offers an overview of the main sedimentary systems defining the geomorphology of deep sea environments from low to high latitudes. Mass-transport deposits, turbidite systems, contourites, volcaniclastic aprons, glacial trough mouth systems, carbonate mounds and other bathyal systems, such as pelagites, hemipelagites, mid-ocean channels...

Analysis of high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry, 2D multi-channel seismic, and high-resolution seismic sub-bottom profiles revealed the presence of widespread fluid escape features in the middle slope of the Patagonian Continental Margin. On the sea-bottom, these features correspond to pockmarks and mud volcanoes, whereas in the sub-surface they...

Tagoro, the shallow submarine volcano that erupted south of El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain) in October 2011, has been intensely monitored for over 7 years, from the early eruptive stage to the current degassing stage characterized by moderate hydrothermal activity. Here, we present a detailed study of the emissions of inorganic macronutrients (NO...

This work uses seismic records to document and classify contourite features around the Iberian continental margin to determine their implications for depositional systems and petroleum exploration. Contourites include depositional features (separated, sheeted, plastered and confined drifts), erosional features (abraded surfaces, channels, furrows a...

Located in the Cantabrian Sea (NE Atlantic), 30 nm off the Asturian coast, “El Cachucho” was the first off-shore Marine Protected Area (MPA) to be declared in Spain. The area includes Le Danois Bank and its intraslope basin. It joined the OSPAR Network of MPAs in 2009 and, thereafter, was included in the Natura 2000 Network in 2011. The main reason...

3D reconstruction and virtual reality (VR) technology provide many opportunities for the documentation and dissemination of underwater cultural heritage. Advances in the development of underwater exploration technology have allowed for the first time to accurately reconstruct a complete 3D model of the cargo Río Miera in the Cantabrian Sea. Sunk on...

This report is the output of one of the case studies of the SIMNORAT project, shared by Portugal and Spain. All background information presented in this document supports a conceptual methodology to create and manage a cross-border Marine Protected Area (MPA) between both countries. In order to achieve this, the case study focused on the existing S...

This report presents the work carried out as part of Task Cl.3.2. Spatial demands and future trends for maritime sectors and marine conservation of the SIMNORAT project. The specific objective of this component is to investigate current and future demands of maritime sectors, with reference to cross-border issues. This work was led by CEREMA and mo...

Recommended Citation : Bliard F., Dalleau C., Quemmerais-Amice F., Gimard A., Alloncle N., Campillos-Llanos M., Cervera-Núñez, C., Gómez-Ballesteros M., Grassa JM., Lloret A., Murciano C., Punzón A. (2019). Bay of Biscay case study - Mapping exposure risk of marine megafauna to concomitant pressures. EU Project Grant No.: EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/03...

The acoustic facies analyses have provided an important basis for sedimentary processes in the deep-sea environments. The echo-character mapping, through the interpretation and correlation of very high-resolution seismic profiles, is a very useful tool for the characterization of the recent sedimentary processes and their distribution. This work pr...

The northern margin of Hispaniola records the oblique collision/underthrusting of the Bahamas Carbonate Province with the island-arc. Due to the collision, northern Hispaniola has suffered several natural disasters caused by major earthquakes and tsunamis, such as the historic earthquake of 1842, the tsunami caused by earthquake-driven slumping in...

Cross-border marine conservation initiatives constitute a real challenge for many European countries taking into account their governmental arrangements and nowadays also their national maritime spatial planning (MSP) objectives. However, they have something in common; the MSP Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive encourage Member S...

The western Iberian margin has a complex morphology controlled by both geological and oceanographic processes. Compared to the submarine canyons in the southern part of this margin (e.g. Nazaré and Setubal), the canyons in the northern part (e.g. Ferrol and A Coruña) have received little attention. This study maps the geomorphological features arou...

Complex multifault earthquake ruptures involving secondary faults emphasize the necessity to characterize their seismogenic potential better and study their relationship with major faults to improve the seismic hazard assessment of a region. High-resolution geophysical data were interpreted to make a detailed characterization of the Averroes Fault...

The purpose of this document is to identify the specific ecological characteristics of the marine management area. It aims at identifying where the particularly sensitive or ecologically important areas are. Identifying where ecologically or biologically significant areas are located is a key step for marine spatial planning. This assessment is cen...

This Initial Assessment of anthropogenic pressures and impacts on ecosystems in OSPAR Region IV provides information on different types of pressures that are assessed under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The main goal of the MSFD is to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of EU waters by 2020. GES is defined as “The environmenta...

Recommended Citation : Dalleau C, Bliard F, Quemmerais-Amice F, Murciano C, Cervera-Núñez C, Campillos-Llanos M, , LLoret A, Punzón P, Grassa JM, Gómez-Ballesteros M, Gimard A, Alloncle N. 2018. "Mapping exposure risk of marine megafauna to cumulative pressures".EU Project Grant No.: EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/02/SI2.742101. Supporting Implementation...

"El Cachucho" Marine Protected Area (MPA), which comprises Le Danois Bank and its intraslope basin, was included during 2008 in the Nature 2000 network mainly because of the presence of the habitat "1170 Reefs" according to the EU Habitat Directive. To review the effectiveness of existing management measures, several activities aimed at characteriz...

Report on the environmental monitoring (geophysics, seabed sampling, physical and chemical characteristics, and planton) made on the submarine volcano of Tagoro (El Hierro Islands) to evaluate the degree of affection and recovery on the marine ecosystem of the last volcanic eruption in the Canary region, making it extendable to other regions of the...

This study presents the results of seafloor habitat identification and mapping of a NE Atlantic deep seamount. An “assemble first, predict later” approach has been followed to identify and map the benthic habitats of the Galicia Bank (NW Iberian). Biotic patterns inferred from the survey data have been used to drive the definition of benthic assemb...

Deep-water corals growing in close proximity to the 2011 submarine eruption at Tagoro (El Hierro Island; Canary Archipielago, Spain) have revealed their ability to record the magmatic helium (³He) signal during a period of months prior to the eruption with magmatic ³He/⁴He ratios of 3.6–5.0 RA This is similar to the range of He isotope values (3–10...

Recently acquired swath bathymetry, high-resolution seismic profiles and bottom sediment samples have revealed the presence of large-scale fine-grained sediment waves over the Gulf of Valencia continental slope. Like many other deep-water sediment waves, these features were previously attributed to gravitational slope failure related to creep-like...

The northern Hispaniola offshore margin records the active collision between the Bahamas Banks and island arc. This collision is associated to the occurrence of numerous earthquakes that caused significant damages in the northern coast of the island. The NORCARIBE cruise carried out in 2013 combined the systematic acquisition of geophysical data in...

New 2D multichannel seismic reflection data recorded in the San Pedro Basin (south-eastern margin of Dominican Republic,) combined with vintage seismic reflection profiles, have allowed a detailed analysis and review of the seismic stratigraphy. New data supply new constraints on the evolution of the basin and suggest at least an Upper Eocene origi...

Habitat identification and habitat mapping are fundamental in determining locations of potential protected areas although both requisites are challenging, especially in the deep sea. This study presents the results on sea floor habitat identification and mapping of a NE Atlantic seamount (Galicia Bank, NW Iberian), the deepest SAC of the Spanish Na...

Between October 2011 and March 2012 a submarine volcanic eruption took place at the offshore of El Hierro Island. The extensive study of the eruption and subsequent degassing process has allowed monitoring the newly generated volcanic edifice. Multibeam bathymetric has enabled building a digital high-resolution bathymetric model (grid 1x1 m). The p...

Seafloor morphotectonic features on the NE Alboran Sea have been analyzed using a mosaic of multibeam bathymetry and a mesh of reflection seismic profiles. A geomorphologic analysis and their relationship with active and Quaternary tectonic structures has been realized. Morphotectonic features are: i) fault scarps; ii) elongated ridges correspondin...

Our understanding of bottom-currents and associated oceanographic processes (e.g., overflows, barotropic tidal currents) including intermittent processes (e.g., vertical eddies, deep sea storms, horizontal vortices, internal waves and tsunamis) is rapidly evolving. Many deep-water processes remain poorly understood due to limited direct observation...

The Marine Protected Area " El Cachucho " , which comprises Le Danois Bank and its Inner Basin, was included in 2008 on Nature 2000 mainly because of the presence of " 1170 Reefs " habitat. Several activities aimed at the characterization of the more structurally complex seabeds were planned and developed undertaking studies during the ESMAREC surv...

The case study presented here is focused on the Le Danois Bank, el Cacucho Marine Protected Area, located in the Cantabrian Sea -Spain-. The aim of this study is to use two vulnerable benthic invertebrate species: the gorgonian Callogorgia verticllata and the sponge Asconema setubalense to access the use of habitat suitability models to maximise sp...

The Iberian continental margins are mainly passive margins. Nevertheless, the northern sector of the margin was active during some stages of its geological evolution. The southern sector is considered as a transformed margin, which defines the boundary between the Iberian and African plates. This margin was also an active margin in the past. The di...

Seamounts are first-order morphological elements on continental margins and in oceanic domains, which have been extensively researched over recent decades in all branches of oceanography. These features favour the development of several geological processes, and their study gives us a better understanding of their geological and morphological domai...

The highly oblique convergence between the North American and Caribbean plates has yielded that the thickened crust of Bahamas banks impinges into northern Hispaniola developing a narrow band of compressive deformation (northern Hispaniola margin) and a thick foreland basin (Hispaniola-Caicos basin). Approximately 280 km of 2D MCS profiles and 1700...

The complex Avilés Canyon System (ACS) is located in the western area of the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay, NE Atlantic), whose study is currently being carried out by the INDEMARES (LIFE+) project. The aim of this project is to provide the necessary information to establish a network of representative Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the purpose...

La región en donde se encuentra el Sistema de cañones de Avilés (SCA) se localiza en el margen continental del norte de la península Ibérica, frente a la costa occidental de Asturias. Hablando en términos geológicos, es una zona estructuralmente muy compleja en donde la plataforma continental del mar Cantábrico se encuentra profundamente modificada...

The Iberian continental margins are mainly passive margins. Nevertheless, the northern sector of the margin was active during some stages of its geological evolution. The southern sector is considered as a transformed margin, which defines the boundary between the Iberian and African plates. This margin was also an active margin in the past. The di...

The products of bottom current circulation around the Iberian continental margin are characterised by large erosional and depositional features formed under a variety of geological and oceanographic contexts. The Iberian margins are influenced by several water masses that mainly interact along the upper and middle continental slopes, as well as alo...

This Good Practice Guide is the outcome of a project co-funded by the European Commission (DG Mare) called Transboundary Planning in the European Atlantic (TPEA), which ran from December 2012 to May 2014. The aim of the project was to demonstrate approaches to transboundary maritime spatial planning (MSP) in the European Atlantic region. This is on...

The analysis of multibeam bathymetric data and high resolution seismic profiles has allowed us to define the tectonic geomorphology of the Adra margin, northern Alboran Sea. Four geomorphic tectonic-related structures have been analyzed: (i) Longitudinal ridges (N50-70); (ii) Linear scarps (N30, N55, N130, N165, N-S); (iii) Tectonic depressions (N1...

La zona central de la Cuenca de Alborán se caracteriza por presentar los elementos fisiográficos más importantes de Alborán, como son las dorsales de Alborán y Adra que limitan la depresión del Canal de Alborán. Estos elementos morfoestructurales son el resultado de la convergencia de las placas Africana y Euroasiática. El análisis de datos batimét...

Surveys conducted at the complex Avilés Canyon System (southern Bay of Biscay) in order to identify vulnerable habitats and biological communities revealed the presence of noteworthy deep-water coral reefs in one of the tributaries of the system (La Gaviera Canyon). The aim of the present study is to determine why this deep-sea canyon provides suit...

,The Avilés Canyon System (ACS) is a complex, structurally-controlled canyon and valley system constituted by three main canyons of different morphostructural character. They are, from east to west: La Gaviera Canyon, El Corbiro Canyon and Avilés Canyon. In addition to this ACS, a new canyon has been surveyed: Navia Canyon. We present for the first...

The management and protection of potentially vulnerable species and habitats require the availability of detailed spatial data. However, such data are often not readily available in particular areas that are challenging for sampling by traditional sampling techniques, for example seamounts. Within this study habitat modeling techniques were used to...