AMORE III addresses the dual control of changing human activity and climate on eutrophication in the Belgian coastal zone and the feedback effect on goods (newly-deployed offshore mussel farming) and services (atmospheric CO2 absorption). AMORE III has among others assessed the geographical spreading and the magnitude of Phaeocystis blooms in the EEZ, the impact of Phaeocystis colony spreading on offshore mussel farming. It combined field observations, laboratory-controlled experiments, and mathematical modelling in an iterative way.

The AMORE-II research focused on establishing quantitative and qualitative links between nutrient enrichment, spreading of high-biomass algal blooms (Phaeocystis globosa but also the co-occurrent diatom Guinardia delicatula), presence of gelatinous zooplankton (the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans, the appendicularian Oïkoploira dioica) and impact on ecosystem function.