Structure of DS³F

The Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers project, DS3F, represents the continuation of the DSF roadmap towards the sustainable management of oceanic resources on a European scale. It will develop strategies for sub-seafloor sampling to contribute to a better understanding of deep-sea and sub-seafloor processes by connecting marine research in life and geosciences, climate and environmental change, as well as socio-economic issues and policy building. We propose to establish a long-lived research approach that considers (i) the need for a sustainable management of the ocean, and particularly the deep sea with enhanced activity (fishery, hydrocarbon exploration), (ii) the necessity to unravel deep-seated geological processes that drive seafloor ecosystems, and (iii) the value of seabed archives for the reconstruction of paleo-environmental conditions and the improved prediction of future climate change.

In order to identify the emerging research questions and societal needs, DS3F is divided into six work packages tackling predominantly biological (WPs 1-3) and geological (WPs 4-6) processes. These are bracketed two work packages concerned with technological requirements and research infrastructures (WPs 7-8). All work packages are overarched by WP9 for management and science-policy interfacing to link scientific strategies with societal needs. The relationship between the working groups is illustrated in the Pert Chart, also underpinning cause-effect links between geoprocesses, their effect on ecosystems of various kinds, and their repercussions for mankind (indicated by arrows).