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Editorial: The Azores Marine Ecosystem: An Open Window Into North Atlantic Open Ocean and Deep-Sea Environments

Lying between continental Europe and North America, the Azores is the most isolated archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its one million square km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) comprises mostly deep seafloor interspersed with shallower portions offered by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, over 100 seamounts, and the slopes of the nine islands. After the seminal expeditions in the late nineteenth century (Porteiro, 2009), extensive scientific research based in the Azores in the last three decades opened a window on the functioning of oceanic, deep-sea and seamount ecosystems, as well as the impacts from human activities. These discoveries helped to raise awareness on the need for protecting a rather fragile marine environment, and resulted in a pioneering role on the implementation of multiple conservations actions within and beyond the EEZ (Santos et al., 1995, 2009). This Research Topic expands our current knowledge on the marine ecosystem of the Azores, and highlights the need for improved, science-based management and conservation. It brings together 12 research papers (nine research articles, one review, one data report, and one perspective article) within four main themes: (1) geological and environmental settings, (2) biodiversity and food web structure of open ocean and deep-sea environments, (3) anthropogenic impacts, and (4) the future of marine science, management, and conservation in the Azores.