The main target of the NUREIEVA-MAR-1 campaign is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to establish the geometry and the three-dimensional internal structure of the deposit of mineral discharges submerged in front of the Bay of Portmán and, on the other hand, it intends to verify the data obtained by obtaining witnesses from the deposit. During the campaign, a high resolution multibeam bathymetric cartography and a high density mesh of TOPAS PS18 parametric probe profiles will be carried out, and sediment tokens will be obtained by gravity or piston core grabs of the longest length possible, as well as by means of multicorer, box corer and dredge Van Veen for the upper part of the deposit. In addition, the discharge of dissolved metals from the deposit emerged at sea will be quantified using CTD profiles and sampling with hydrographic bottles. Floating microplastics will also be sampled.

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The objective of the DOS MARES project is twofold. First, we aim at understanding the effects of the atmospheric teleconnections between the Cantabrian Sea and the north-western Mediterranean Sea, and their impacts on the deep ecosystem, both pelagic and benthic. Second, we want to know in which way the transfer of the signal from the external forcings towards the deep ecosystem controls the community structure and the population dynamics. Thus, in March 2012 we deployed 6 mooring lines equipped with sediment traps and currentmeters in the Avilés and Gaviera canyons and the slope. In September 2012 the moorings were successfully recovered and redeployed again, and during this cruise DOSMARES BIOCANT3 they have been finally recovered and the 1-year monitoring effort finalised. In addition, CTD profiling has been performed to characterise the biological and physical structure of the water column (including the acquisition of discrete water samples), multicorers have been obtained to characterise the geochemical properties of surface sediments, and a multinet used to obtain macro- and meso-zooplankton community structure. Overall, data will allow to characterize the external forcings and abiotic conditions in the Cantabrian Sea, and thus establish the links between abiotic conditions, populations and pelagic and benthopelagic resources.

In this cruise the mooring lines deployed in April 2012 have been recovered. In addition communication between acoustic receivers and a deck unit has been tested. This is part of the international program OTN ("Ocean Tracking Network," in Spanish "Red de Seguimiento Oceánico"). This work is preparatory for the deployment of a curtain listening across the Strait of Gibraltar.

Training of students of the Master of Marine Sciences: Oceanography and Marine Environment Management of the University of Barcelona.

The NUREIEV2 cruise targets the main objective of testing the hypothesis that sea storms are the main trigger for the transfer of matter and energy, including pollutants and litter, from the coastal to the deep ocean in the SE of Spain (36º20’N to 37º36’N and 2º40’W to 0º40’W). A dedicated strategy was performed during the NUREIEV2 cruise to achieve the objective including: 1) the collection of sediment cores (multicores) in the vicinity of the mine tailings deposit near the Portman Bay 2) the recovery and redeployment of mooring lines with automated sediment traps and currentmeters to monitor particle fluxes (including pollutants released from the mine tailings deposit) and near bottom oceanographic parameters (current speed and directions, temperature, transmissivity), 3) the profiling of the water column (by means of a CTD) to study physico-chemical characteristics of the water column, 4) the collection of floating debris including microplastics from surface waters 5) and the high resolution swath mapping and TOPAS profiling to investigate seafloor features.

The leg 1 of the NUREIEV 3 oceanographic cruise took place from 22 to 30 April 2016. The area of work has located on the continental margin of the SE of Iberian Peninsula, off the coast of Murcia and Almeria, with reference coordinates from 36º20'N to 37º36'N and 2º40'W to 0º40'W. The tasks performed consisted of: • Bathymetric mapping with multibeam echosounder for seabed mapping, from inner shelf to upper slope (50 to 1500 m depth). • Geophysical works with TOPAS, very high resolution seismic profiles, to characterize the sedimentary cover of the study area. • Recovery of 5 mooring lines, instrumented for the continuous monitoring of the hydrological (water masses) and sediment (particle fluxes) dynamics from the last cruise in September 2015. Each mooring line is composed by one current meter for measuring temperature, turbidity, velocity and direction of currents and one sediment trap for sampling sinking particles. In addition, each mooring is equipped with an acoustic release for recovery and with suitable buoyancy. Monitoring with instrumented mooring lines has covered an annual cycle, in two phases of 6 months each one. • CTD profiling and water sampling. Profiles have been made in each of the submarine canyons monitored for measuring physical and chemical variables of water column (temperature, salinity, turbidity, oxygen concentration and chlorophyll) and calibration of instruments of mooring lines. • Performing surface sampling of floating microplastics by neuston net. • Sampling of surface sediments by multicorer.

The NUREIEV1 cruise targets the main objective of testing the hypothesis that sea storms are the main trigger for the transfer of matter and energy, including pollutants and litter, from the coastal to the deep ocean in the SE of Spain (36º20’N to 37º36’N and 2º40’W to 0º40’W). A dedicated strategy was performed during the NUREIEV1 cruise to achieve the objective including: 1) the collection of sediment cores (multicores and gravity cores) in the vicinity of the mine tailings deposit near the Portman Bay 2) the deployment of mooring lines with automated sediment traps and currentmeters to monitor particle fluxes (including pollutants released from the mine tailings deposit) and near bottom oceanographic parameters (current speed and directions, temperature, transmissivity), 3) the profiling of the water column (either from the ship by means of a CTD and from a little boat in the shallower stations) to study physico-chemical characteristics of the water column including dissolved trace elements and radiosotopes 4) the collection of floating debris including microplastics from surface waters 5) and the high resolution swath mapping and TOPAS profiling to investigate seafloor features.