AquaPLAN and ISOLUME: Advancing research on changing marine lightscapes

The ISOLUME project (IndicatorS Of changing Lightscapes in Underwater Marine Ecosystems) officially launched on 1 July 2025 and is a three year JPI Oceans initiative-funded project bringing together leading European expertise to better understand how marine light environments are changing and what this means for ecosystem health. Light is a fundamental driver of marine ecological processes, influencing everything from photosynthesis and primary production to species behaviour and habitat distribution. However, marine light conditions are increasingly being altered by two key pressures: ocean darkening caused by increased turbidity and runoff, and artificial light at night (ALAN) from coastal development, shipping and offshore infrastructure. ISOLUME addresses these challenges by combining historical data analysis, remote sensing, and modelling approaches to track changes in light intensity, timing, and spectral composition across marine, coastal, and freshwater systems. The project will generate a robust scientific evidence base, develop monitoring frameworks, and contribute to policy tools that support sustainable ocean management and marine spatial planning.

AquaPLAN is strongly connected to ISOLUME through both partner participation and scientific leadership. AquaPLAN partners Thomas Davies (University of Plymouth (UoP)) is ISOLUME’s co-coordinator, while Timothy Smyth (Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)), and Franz Holker (Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (FVB‑IGB)) are actively contributing to the project as partners, supporting research on marine ecology, optical oceanography, and environmental monitoring. Their involvement ensures that insights generated through ISOLUME will also feed into AquaPLAN’s broader mission to support coordinated, science-based approaches to aquatic ecosystem management and policy implementation. AquaPLAN is further connected to ISOLUME through its coordinator, Elena Maggi (University of Pisa (UNIPI)) who has been appointed as an expert member of the ISOLUME Science Advisory and Stakeholder Panel (SASP). In this role, she joins a group of experts guiding the project’s scientific direction and ensuring its relevance for policy and stakeholders. Her participation strengthens the link between AquaPLAN and ISOLUME at a strategic level, ensuring that lessons learned and best practices can be shared between the two initiatives to maximise their collective impact.

A key objective of ISOLUME is to translate scientific findings into actionable guidance for monitoring and policy frameworks, including contributions to initiatives such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and marine spatial planning processes. By developing indicators and assessment frameworks for marine lightscapes, the project aims to support more comprehensive evaluation of ocean health, including aspects that have historically been underrepresented in monitoring programmes.

As ISOLUME progresses, its findings are expected to play a key role in improving our understanding of how light-related changes affect marine ecosystems and in shaping strategies to mitigate their impacts. For AquaPLAN, the strong overlap in partners and expertise presents a valuable opportunity to reinforce its objectives, enhance collaboration across projects and contribute to a more integrated approach to aquatic ecosystem management across Europe.

Learn more about ISOLUME