Description

MEECE was a European FP7 project which used predictive models to explore the impacts of both climate drivers, such as acidification and temperature, and human induced drivers like fishing, invasive species and pollution on marine ecosystems. The marine environment is complex to understand and until now modelling studies have generally focused on a single or limited range of variables rather than looking at the combined range of pressures facing the marine environment.

The MEECE project increased the predictive capacity of ecosystem modelling, furthering knowledge of marine ecosystem processes, which is vital to effective marine management. The project gathered experts to develop and create model based tools to support understanding of the current state, and likely future evolution, of European marine ecosystems. These tools will also help to assess Good Environmental Status  and facilitate understanding of the implications and, in turn, inform strategies for dealing with the effects of change.

We also co-ordinated and managed the MEECE project here at PML, helping to apply the MEECE model framework to produce a suite of project outputs that will be useful in supporting future decision making and EU policy. MEECE and its associated products, such as the Atlas, have made significant contributions to the development of model systems and bridging the gap between experimental work and end-users.

Areas of research