ESONET - European Sea Floor Observatory Network

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2006

An assessment of the present European operational marine monitoring and forecasting systems shows how observations, atmospheric forcing fields and ocean models combine to make useful oceanographic products possible. T he Marine Environment and Security for the European Area (MERSEA) Strand-1 Project was established in January 2003 to conduct an 18-month preparatory study of the key issues in setting up the marine elements of the joint European Commission (EC) and European Space Agency (ESA) initiative on Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). MERSEA Strand-1 examined individually the capabilities and requirements for in situ observations, satellite ocean measurements, and ocean models able to analyze and assimilate satellite and in situ data. As such, it consolidated the European contribution to the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) (www.usgodae. org/). Most importantly the project evaluated the capacity in Europe for creating an integrated ocean monitoring system, following the operational concept of the so-called GMES diamond

reporting_documents * integration and tests are already ongoing and the ship-time is not defined yet. Critical points, comments and suggestions for the next DM development period The coordination (WP6) in this report was not documented. The coordination has to be more visible and effective toward the partners to improve the integration of some activities which otherwise could appear as independent. Attention to the Deliverables issue has to be paid as some of them are in delay. The WP leaders should give more visibility to the contribution of the partners involved in the WP. A general impression on the report relates to the not sufficiently clear separation between 'work done' and 'work to be done'. This ambiguity has to be removed. The status of the bio-acoustic system for the Iberian Site is not reported. Some Deliverables will be delayed to the IV period because of the ongoing development of tests for the platforms to be deployed offshore Sicily. According to the Implementation Plan WP2 is aimed at implementing international accepted standard methods in data acquisition and management and at establishing of a sensor inventory. It is not sufficiently clear what are practically the progresses of this WP.

2011 IEEE Symposium on Underwater Technology and Workshop on Scientific Use of Submarine Cables and Related Technologies, 2011

SAFE has successfully implemented its final 2day Conference entitled "Participate in FP7 Research for the Environment" on the 9th and 10 th of January 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey. The SAFE Conference focused on the Environment Theme of the 7 th Framework's Cooperation Specific Programme. The two main aims of the SAFE Conference were:

Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022

The oceans are a fundamental source for climate balance, sustainability of resources and life on Earth, therefore society has a strong and pressing interest in maintaining and, where possible, restoring the health of the marine ecosystems. Effective, integrated ocean observation is key to suggesting actions to reduce anthropogenic impact from coastal to deep-sea environments and address the main challenges of the 21st century, which are summarized in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Blue Growth strategies. The European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory (EMSO), is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), with the aim of providing long-term observations via fixed-point ocean observatories in key environmental locations across European seas from the Arctic to the Black Sea. These may be supported by ship-based observations and autonomous systems such as gliders. In this paper, we present the EMSO Generic Instrument Module (EGIM), a deployment ...

2018

JERICO, the European research infrastructure of coastal observatories (JERICORI) is an ocean observing system of systems, designed to provide high-quality data that are supporting knowledge development on the complex and often coupled physical, chemical and biological processes characterizing the coastal waters of Europe. JERICO-RI integrates several observing platform types i.e. fixed buoys, piles, moorings, drifters, Ferrybox, gliders, HF radars, coastal cable observatories and the associated technologies dedicated to the observation and monitoring of the European coastal seas. The RI is to serve both the implementation of European marine policies and the elucidation of contemporary and future key scientific questions. It therefore includes observations of the physical, chemical and biological compartments and aims at a better integration of marine biology with physical and chemical oceanology. The first phase of the implementation of the JERICO-RI encompassed setting up, integrat...

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2006

An assessment of the present European operational marine monitoring and forecasting systems shows how observations, atmospheric forcing fields and ocean models combine to make useful oceanographic products possible. T he Marine Environment and Security for the European Area (MERSEA) Strand-1 Project was established in January 2003 to conduct an 18-month preparatory study of the key issues in setting up the marine elements of the joint European Commission (EC) and European Space Agency (ESA) initiative on Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). MERSEA Strand-1 examined individually the capabilities and requirements for in situ observations, satellite ocean measurements, and ocean models able to analyze and assimilate satellite and in situ data. As such, it consolidated the European contribution to the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) (www.usgodae. org/). Most importantly the project evaluated the capacity in Europe for creating an integrated ocean monitoring system, following the operational concept of the so-called GMES diamond

Progress in Oceanography, 2011

Society's needs for a network of in situ ocean observing systems cross many areas of earth and marine science. Here we review the science themes that benefit from data supplied from ocean observatories. Understanding from existing studies is fragmented to the extent that it lacks the coherent long-term monitoring needed to address questions at the scales essential to understand climate change and improve geo-hazard early warning. Data sets from the deep sea are particularly rare with long-term data available from only a few locations worldwide. These science areas have impacts on societal health and well-being and our awareness of ocean function in a shifting climate. Substantial efforts are underway to realise a network of open-ocean observatories around European Seas that will operate over multiple decades. Some systems are already collecting high-resolution data from surface, water column, seafloor, and sub-seafloor sensors linked to shore by satellite or cable connection in real or near-real time, along with samples and other data collected in a delayed mode. We expect that such observatories will contribute to answering major ocean science questions including: How can monitoring of factors such as seismic activity, pore fluid chemistry and pressure, and gas hydrate stability improve seismic, slope failure, and tsunami warning? What aspects of physical oceanography, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystems will be most sensitive to climatic and anthropogenic change? What are natural versus anthropogenic changes? Most fundamentally, how are marine processes that occur at differing scales related? The development of ocean observatories provides a substantial opportunity for ocean science to evolve in Europe. Here we also describe some basic attributes of network design. Observatory networks provide the means to coordinate and integrate the collection of standardised data capable of bridging measurement scales across a dispersed area in European Seas adding needed certainty to estimates of future oceanic conditions. Observatory data can be analysed along with other data such as those from satellites, drifting floats, autonomous underwater vehicles, model analysis, and the known distribution and abundances of marine fauna in order to address some of the questions posed above. Standardised methods for information management are also becoming established to ensure better accessibility and traceability of these data sets and ultimately to increase their use for societal benefit. The connection of ocean observatory effort into larger frameworks including the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and the Global Monitoring of Environment and Security (GMES) is integral to its success. It is in a greater integrated framework that the full potential of the component systems will be realised. ► Societies increasingly depend on timely information on ecosystems and natural hazards. ► Data is needed to improve climate-related uncertainty and geo-hazard early warning. ► Observatory networks coordinate and integrate the collection of standardised data. ► Ocean observatories provide opportunity for ocean science to evolve.

Journal of Operational Oceanography, 2016

Existing coastal observatories in European waters are complex systems consisting of different observational components, providing crucial operational data for assessment, model validation and assimilation purposes. However, the geographical, structural, functional and operational heterogeneities that characterise them pose an enormous challenge to their efficient exploitation as information providers on a broader, cross-border, regional scale. To address this problem, the European Union (EU) Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) Towards a Joint European Research Infrastructure Network for Coastal Observatories (JERICO) project is creating a shared, pan-European framework for the networking of such observatories, promoting the identification and dissemination of best practices for their design, implementation and maintenance, as well as common data distribution and transnational access protocols to enhance their performance and sustainability. In doing so, the project is also laying down the foundation for the coastal element of the nascent European Ocean Observing System. Please note that this is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available on the publisher Web site.