This issue of Oceanography mainly describes results from the HERMES project, which comes to a close in spring 2009. Building on the success of HERMES, the European Commission has funded a new project that will begin as HERMES ends. This project, entitled HERMIONE (Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man’s Impact on European Seas), will have a greater focus on human impacts in the deep-sea environment and will place more emphasis on the translation of information into policy. It will have a wider public outreach program and will include new areas of research, such as seamounts and hydrothermal vents. The HERMIONE project will address issues raised in the EC foresight document, The Deep-Sea Frontier: Science Challenges for a Sustainable Future (Cochonat et al., 2007), and will focus on four key objectives. These follow a logical progression, from investigating the physical dimensions of ecosystems, to understanding how they function and interconnect, to studying how they are impacted by human activity, to ensuring that this project can contribute to their sustainable management and protection. The HERMIONE consortium comprises 38 partners, including four small businesses, from 13 countries across Europe.

Weaver, P.P.E., A. Boetius, R. Danovaro, A. Freiwald, V. Gunn, S. Heussner, T. Morato, I. Schewe, and S. van den Hove. 2009. The future of integrated deep-sea research in Europe: The HERMIONE project. Oceanography 22(1):178–191, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.18.

Billett, D.S.M., B.J. Bett, A.L. Rice, M.H. Thurston, J. Galéron, M. Sibuet, and G.A. Wolff. 2001. Long-term change in the megabenthos of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (NE Atlantic). Progress In Oceanography 50:325–348.

Boetius, A., K. Ravenschlag, C.J. Schubert, D. Rickert, F. Widdel, A. Gieseke, R. Amann, B.B. Jørgensen, U. Witte, and O. Pfannkuche. 2000. A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane. Nature 407:623–626.

Canals, M., P. Puig, X. Durrieu de Madron, S. Heussner, A. Palanques, and J. Fabres. 2006. Flushing submarine canyons. Nature 444:354–357.

Clark, M.R., D. Tittensor, A.D. Rogers, P. Brewin, T. Schlacher, A. Rowden, K. Stocks, and M. Consalvey. 2006. Seamounts, deep-sea corals and fisheries: Vulnerability of deep-sea corals to fishing on seamounts beyond areas of national jurisdiction. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK.

Cochonat, P., S. Dürr, V. Gunn, P. Herzig, C. Mevel, J. Mienert, R. Schneider, P. Weaver, and A. Winkler. 2007. The Deep-Sea Frontier: Science Challenges for a Sustainable Future. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 53 pp.

Company, J.B., P. Puig, F. Sardà, A. Palanques, M. Latasa, and R. Scharek. 2008. Climate influence on deep sea populations. PLoS ONE 3(1):e1431, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001431

Danovaro, R., A. Dell’Anno, M. Fabiano, A. Pusceddu, and A. Tselepides. 2001. Deep-sea ecosystem response to climate change: The eastern Mediterranean case study. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16(9):511–516.

Danovaro, R., A. Dell’Anno, and A. Pusceddu. 2004. Biodiversity response to climate change in a warm deep sea. Ecology Letters 7:821–828.

Danovaro, R., A. Dell’Anno, C. Corinaldesi, M. Magagnini, R. Noble, C. Tamburini, and M. Weinbauer. 2008a. Major viral impact on the functioning of benthic deep-sea ecosystems. Nature 454:1,084–1,087.

Danovaro, R., C. Gambi, A. Dell’Anno, C. Corinaldesi, S. Fraschetti, A. Vanreusel, M. Vincx, and A.J. Gooday. 2008b. Exponential decline of deep-sea ecosystem functioning linked to benthic biodiversity loss. Current Biology 18:1–8.

Desbruyères, D., M. Biscoito, J.-C. Caprais, T. Comtet, A. Colaço, P. Crassous, Y. Fouquet, A. Khripounoff, N. Le Bris, K. Olu, and others. 2001. Variations in deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities on the mid-Atlantic Ridge when approaching the Azores Plateau. Deep-Sea Research Part I 48(5):1,325–1,346.

Dupré, S., J. Woodside, J.-P. Foucher, G. de Lange, J. Mascle, A. Boetius, V. Mastalerz, A. Stadnitskaia, H. Ondreas, C. Huguen, and others. 2007. Seafloor geological studies above active gas chimneys off Egypt (Central Nile Deep Sea Fan). Deep Sea Research Part I 54:11–46.

EC (European Commission). 2007. An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2007) 575 final, 16 pp. Available online at http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/subpage_en.html (accessed January 12, 2009).

Etcheber, H., J.C. Relexans, M. Beliard, O. Weber, R. Buscail, and S. Heussner. 1999. Distribution and quality of sedimentary organic matter on the Aquitanian margin (Bay of Biscay). Deep-Sea Research II 46(10):2,249–2,288.

EU. 2008. Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Pp 19–40 in Official Journal of the European Union OJ L 164, 25.6.2008.

Garcia, R., K.A. Koho, H.C. De Stigter, E. Epping, E. Koning, and L. Thomsen. 2007. Distribution of meiobenthos in the Nazaré Canyon and adjacent slope (western Iberian Margin): Is it related to sedimentary organic carbon? Marine Ecology Progress Series 340:207–220.

Gianni, M. 2004. High Seas Bottom Trawl Fisheries and Their Impacts on the Biodiversity of Vulnerable Deep-Sea Ecosystems. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 90 pp.

Gili, J.M., F. Pagès, J. Bouillon, A. Palanques, P. Puig, S. Heussner, A. Calafat, M. Canals, and A. Monaco. 2000. A multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of hydromedusan populations inhabiting Mediterranean submarine canyons. Deep Sea Research Part I 47(8):1,513–1,533.

Hall-Spencer, J., V. Allain, and J.H. Fossa. 2002. Trawling damage to Northeast Atlantic ancient coral reefs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 269(1490):507–511.

Heussner S., X. Durrieu De Madron, A. Calafat, M. Canals, J. Carbonne, N. Delsaut, and G. Saragoni. 2006. Spatial and temporal variability of downward particle fluxes on a continental slope: Lessons from an 8-yr experiment in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Marine Geology 234:63–92.

Heussner S., X. Durrieu De Madron, O. Radakovitch, L. Beaufort, P.E. Biscaye, J. Carbonne, N. Delsaut, H. Etcheber, and A. Monaco. 1999. Spatial and temporal patterns of downward particle fluxes on the continental slope of the Bay of Biscay (Northeastern Atlantic). Deep-Sea Research Part II 46(10):2,101–2,146.

Huthnance, J.M. 1995. Circulation, exchange and water masses at the ocean margin: The role of physical processes at the shelf edge. Progress In Oceanography 35:353–431.

Jørgensen, B.B., and A. Boetius. 2007. Feast and famine: Microbial life in the deep-sea bed. Nature Microbiology Reviews 5:770–781.

Khripounoff, A., A. Vangriesheim, N. Babonneau, P. Crassous, B. Dennielou, and B. Savoye. 2003. Direct observation of intense turbidity current activity in the Zaire submarine valley at 4000 m water depth. Marine Geology 194:151–158.

Kitchingman, A., S. Lai, T. Morato, and D. Pauly. 2007. How many seamounts are there and where are they located? Pp. 26–40 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

Morato, T., and M.R. Clark. 2007. Seamount fishes: Ecology and life histories. Pp. 170–188 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

Morato, T., W.W.L. Cheung, and T.J. Pitcher. 2006. Vulnerability of seamount fish to fishing: Fuzzy analysis of life history attributes. Journal of Fish Biology 68(1):209–221.

Moura, C.J., D.J. Harris, M.R. Cunha, and A.D. Rogers. 2008. DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity in marine hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from coastal and deep-sea environments. Zoologica Scripta 37:93–108.

Niemann, H., T. Loesekann, D. de Beer, M. Elvert, T. Nadalig, K. Knittel, R. Amann, E.J. Sauter, M. Schlueter, M. Klages, and others. 2006. Novel microbial communities of the Haakon Mosby mud volcano and their role as a methane sink. Nature 443:854–858.

Olu-Le Roy, K., M. Sibuet, A. Fiala-Médioni, S. Gofas, C. Salas, A. Mariotti, J.P. Foucher, and J. Woodside. 2004. Cold seep communities in the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea: Composition, symbiosis and spatial distribution on mud volcanoes. Deep-Sea Research Part I 51:1,915–1,936.

Parkes, R.J., B.A. Cragg, N. Banning, F. Brock, G. Webster, J.C. Fry, E. Hornibrook, R.D. Pancost, S. Kelly, N. Knab, and others. 2007. Biogeochemistry and biodiversity of methane cycling in subsurface marine sediments (Skagerrak, Denmark). Environmental Microbiology 9:1,146–1,161.

Pitcher, T.J., T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M. Clark, N. Haggan, and R. Santos, eds. 2007. Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 527 pp.

Pradillon, F., A. Schmidt, J. Peplies, and N. Dubilier. 2007. Species identification of marine invertebrate early stages by whole larvae in situ hybridization of 18S ribosomal RNA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 333:103–116.

Quaresma, L.S., J. Vitorino, A. Oliveira, and J. da Silva. 2007. Evidence of sediment resuspension by nonlinear internal waves on the western Portuguese mid-shelf. Marine Geology 246:123–143.

Reeburgh, W. 2007. Oceanic methane niochemistry. Chemical Reviews 107(2):486–513.

Rex, M.A., C.R. McClain, N.A. Johnson, R.J. Etter, J.A. Allen, P. Bouchet, and A. Waren. 2005. A source-sink hypothesis for abyssal biodiversity. American Naturalist 165(2):163–178.

Roberts, J.M., A.J. Wheeler, and A. Freiwald. 2006. Reefs of the deep: The biology and geology of cold-water coral ecosystems. Science 312:543–547.

Rogers, A.D., A. Baco, H. Griffiths, T. Hart, and J.M. Hall-Spencer. 2007. Corals on seamounts. Pp. 141–169 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

Sibuet, M., and K. Olu-Le Roy. 2002. Cold seep communities on continental margins: Structure and quantitative distribution relative to geological and fluid venting patterns. Pp. 235–251 in Ocean Margin Systems. G. Wefer, D.S.M. Billett, D. Hebbeln, B.B. Jørgensen, M. Schluter, and T.C.E. Van Weering, eds, Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Stuart, C.T., M.A. Rex, and R.J. Etter. 2003. Large-scale spatial and temporal patterns of deep-sea benthic species diversity. Pp. 295–311 in Ecosystems of the Deep Oceans. P.A. Tyler, ed., Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Tyler, P.A., and E. Ramirez Llodra. 2002. Larval and reproductive strategies on European continental margins. Pp. 339–350 in Ocean Margin Systems. G. Wefer, D.S.M. Billett, D. Hebbeln, B.B. Jørgensen, M. Schluter, and T.C.E. Van Weering, eds, Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Ulses, C., C. Estournel, J. Bonnin, X. Durrieu de Madron, and P. Marsaleix. 2008. Impact of storms and dense water cascading on shelf-slope exchanges in the Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean). Journal of Geophysical Research 113:C02010, doi:10.1029/2006JC003795.

UN 2002. Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August–4 September 2002, A/CONF.199/20*, United Nations, New York, NY, 167 pp. Available online at: http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/6489476.html (accessed January 23, 2009).

UNEP. 2007. Deep-Sea Biodiversity and Ecosystems: A Scoping Report on Their Socio-Economy, Management and Governance. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 184, 84 pp. Available online at: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources/publications/UNEP_WCMC_bio_series/28.aspx (accessed January 19, 2009).

van Weering, T.C.E., and P.P.E. Weaver. 2007. Canyon processes: An introduction. Marine Geology 246:65–67.

Vanneste, M., S.J. Guidard, and J. Mienert. 2005. Arctic gas hydrate provinces along the western Svalbard continental margin. Pp. 271–284 in Onshore-Offshore Relationships on the North Atlantic Margin, 12. B.T.G. Wandås, J.P. Nystuen, E. Eide, and F.M. Gradstein, eds, Norwegian Petroleum Society (NPF), Special Publication, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Vetter, E.W., and P.K. Dayton. 1998. Macrofaunal communities within and adjacent to a detritus-rich submarine canyon system. Deep Sea Research Part II 45:25–54.

Vitorino, J., A. Oliveira, J.M. Jouanneau, and T. Drago. 2002. Winter dynamics on the northern Portuguese shelf. Part 2: Bottom boundary layers and sediment dispersal. Progress In Oceanography 52:155–170.

Wessel, P. 2007. Seamount Characteristics. Pp. 3–25 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Fish and Aquatic Resources Series 12, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

Wheeler, A.J., A. Beyer, A. Freiwald, H. de Haas, V.A.I. Huvenne, M. Kozachenko, K. Olu-Le Roy, and J. Opderbecke. 2007. Morphology and environment of cold-water coral carbonate mounds on the NE European margin. International Journal of Earth Sciences 96:37–57.

White, M., I. Bashmachnikov, J. Arístegui, and A. Martins. 2007. Physical processes and seamount productivity. Pp. 65–84 in Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation. T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, P.J.B. Hart, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, eds, Fish and Aquatic Resources Series, Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

Wigham, B.D., I.R. Hudson, D.S.M. Billett, and G.A. Wolff. 2003. Is long-term change in the abyssal Northeast Atlantic driven by qualitative changes in export flux? Evidence from selective feeding in deep-sea holothurians. Progress In Oceanography 59:409–441.

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.