Join EMODnet at the EMD 2025 in Cork, Ireland, from 21-23 May 2025 where EMODnet and EU DTO will be exhibiting, together with other key actors in the European marine and maritime landscape, engaging also in stakeholder workshops and plenary sessions, including continuing the Oceans and Fisheries dialogues that are shaping the European Ocean Pact. Apply now to secure your spot: https://maritime-forum.ec.europa.eu/theme/governance/european-maritime-day_en

Many EMODnet experts attended the International Ocean Data Conference (IODC III), held on 10–11 March 2025 in Santa Marta, Colombia, co-organised by IODE of IOC-UNESCO and INVEMAR in the context of the UN Ocean Decade. This event brought together global marine data actors to advance open, FAIR, and interoperable ocean data systems with thematic session on marine biodiversity data, capacity building and the global ocean data ecosystem. Check out the EMODnet posters, presentations and highlights on the IODC III website and EMODnet Portal!

From 11 to 13 March 2025, the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics-OGS, which coordinates EMODnet Chemistry, was in Monaco to represent the consortium at the workshop on Harmonization of Monitoring and Assessment of Plastic Pollution of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) Community of Practise (CoP). At the meeting, participants faced the challenging task of considering and bringing together different communities concerned with plastics in the economy and/or the environment, for example, as well as their best practices and terminologies.

On 25–27 March 2025, over 400 people joined the EMODnet Open Sea Lab 4.0 online, bringing together marine data users, data scientists, developers, and innovators from across Europe and beyond. Their mission: to co-create solutions to real-world ocean and coastal challenges using the EMODnet service and other open-source data. For this edition, participants were also given exclusive access to the full EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service data collections via the European Digital Twin Ocean cloud-based service, which also offers state-of-the-art analytical tools and modelling capabilities. The two top winning teams will pitch their solutions at European Maritime Day 2025 in Cork, Ireland! This flagship event ended a bumper Marine Knowledge Month following EU Ocean Days 2025 (see news articles below for more information).

The “International Ocean Data Conference – III” is currently accepting abstracts for its upcoming event, scheduled for 10–11 March 2025 in Santa Marta, Colombia. Abstracts should align with the themes listed on the conference website and adhere to the provided submission guidelines. All content must be in English. Presenters will be required to submit a prerecorded video and participate in the Q&A session associated with their presentation, either in person or virtually. Limited financial support is available for presenters from developing countries with accepted papers; individuals should indicate any funding needs during the abstract submission process. All abstracts must be submitted electronically by 24 January 2025 (midnight CET). Additional details can be found at: https://oceandataconference.org

What do you get if you combine the EMODnet marine data service and the European Digital Twin Ocean (EDITO) platform in a Hackathon? A world-first opportunity to ideate and innovate using Europe’s most comprehensive  in situ  marine data and data products, on the cloud! From 25–27 March 2024, the fourth edition of the EMODnet Open Sea Lab (OSL 4.0) Hackathon will offer exactly that. And, as a free, online event, this hackathon is truly open to all. Registration is now open, just in time for the festive season! Don’t miss this chance to join a community of ocean innovators—register now and turn your data-driven vision into action! Winning teams will receive a variety of prizes. Terms and conditions apply.

Mark your calendars for the 4th edition of the EMODnet Open Sea Lab (OSL) Hackathon, happening online from 25 to 27 March 2025. The hackathon builds on the last 3 successful editions, with one key difference: In addition to using EMODnet services, participants will be given unparalleled access to the EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service offer via the European Digital Twin Ocean infrastructure (EDITO). This is a very exciting time for marine digital services, and we invite all interested stakeholders, from data scientists to IT specialists and from policy makers to researchers, students and the private sector to join EMODnet in this unique hackathon - Stay tuned for more details, coming soon!

In July 2024 EMODnet launched a 2-month public consultation for the EMODnet Vision 2035. The consultation is open to all EMODnet stakeholders and the broader community, both in Europe and globally. Whether you are responding as an individual, organization, network, project, or initiative, your input is valuable. Have your say before 11 September 2024 Midnight CEST!

Your Feedback Matters! EMODnet continues to evolve to better serve your needs. Our survey is designed to gather your valuable feedback on our services. Whether you have spotted a technical bug, or you visited to search for the latest data products or use cases, we want to hear from you! Your input is crucial in enhancing our website's user-friendliness and usability. Share your thoughts and help us improve your EMODnet experience by filling out our survey. 

In Spring 2024 EMODnet launched a technical blog, championed by the EMODnet Technical Coordinator Conor Delaney, to update EMODnet's diverse user community on latest service developments. This latest blog (#2 in the series) focuses on the EMODnet Map viewer, explaining how this key tool can be used to discover EMODnet's diverse offer of marine environmental and human activities data and data products and the latest features and functionalities, from map projections to visualisations. Dive in and discover EMODnet!

2023 was a milestone year for EMODnet with the unification of thematic services, the OSL 3.0 Hackathon, the EMODnet Open Conference 2023 and much more! Learn more in the EMODnet Annual Report 2023, now published. This provides a comprehensive overview of the EMODnet service’s main achievements in 2023, user metrics and key facts and figures, thematic offer updates including new data products, new coverage for the Caribbean Sea and Caspian Sea, EMODnet data ingestion, EMODnet for the European Digital Twin Ocean, wider EU and global partnerships and EMODnet’s key role in the EC communication tool European Atlas of the Seas, etc.

Secure your spot at European Maritime Day 2024, taking place in Svendborg, Denmark, on 30th-31st May 2024. EMODnet will be there with an exhibition booth and co-organising a joint workshop on 2 EC services ‘EMODnet and the Blue Economy Observatory’ to be held on-site on 31st May late morning.  All plenary sessions will be live-streamed, however on-site participation is recommended for full engagement with the hundreds of marine and maritime stakeholders attending. Register by 10th May 2024: Register now for the European Maritime Day 2024!The EC are also hosting the European Blue Forum on 30th May 2024 back-to-back with EMD 2024, with separate registration.

The Thalassa 2024 Marine Sciences Conference, organised by EMODnet Associated Partner the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI), will take place on 28th-29th May 2024 in Larnaca, Cyprus. Registration is open until 15th April here.

The Thalassa 2024 Marine Sciences Conference, organised by EMODnet Associated Partner the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI), will take place on 28th-29th May 2024 in Larnaca, Cyprus. Registration is open until 15th April here.

BLOG #1 (March 2024): EMODnet’s technical state-of-the-art as a unified Portal. The EMODnet EC in situ marine data service is enabled by a large expert community of technical experts in thematic data, data and web services, data ingestion and more. One year on from the launch of EMODnet’s unified Portal, EMODnet launches a technical blog that brings the technical developments and achievements of the EMOD-network to the forefront, championed by EMODnet’s Technical Coordinator, Conor Delaney. The blog is intended for wider stakeholders who use and/or contribute to EMODnet and would like to know more about the latest state-of-the-art in EMODnet services. The technical blog will be released quarterly.

EMODnet was presented at the European Ocean Days 2024, which took place in Brussels between 4th-8th March. EMODnet experts joined multiple events across the week-long activities, including the EU Mission: Restore Our Ocean and Waters Forum and related European Parliament event, the 'Where Next for Europe's Seas' event and BlueInvest Day. EMODnet and the EU Atlas of the Seas were also exhibited at the Ocean Literacy in Action Day, highlighting the power of the EMODnet EC marine data service and EU Atlas EC web mapping communication tool for providing open and free access to marine data, information and knowledge for professional users and society.

Four short months ago, the EMODnet community gathered in Brussels for the EMODnet Open Conference and Jamboree 2023 Re-immerse yourself in the energy and insights of the Conference plenary, panel discussions, townhalls and networking, and get a snapshot of EMODnet’s rich and diverse network and valued stakeholders, all in the newly released EMODnet OC 2023 highlights video!  This video complements the Conference Report that was released earlier this year. The Conference Virtual Exhibition remains open until November 2024.

EMODnet experts from across the network will be in Barcelona for the week-long UN Ocean Decade Conference 2024, 8th-12th April. You will find us in the official Conference exhibition area in a joint booth of EMODnet, Copernicus Marine Service and the Ocean Prediction Decade Coordination Centre, and at numerous side events spanning Digital Twins of the Ocean, Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPS), Ocean Observing, Private sector data sharing, Sea Level Rise and more.

On 26-27 September 2023, EMODnet together with the European Commission, DG MARE, organised an online workshop on ‘’EMODnet Marine Data for Coastal Tourism’’. The main objective of the workshop was to facilitate cross-sectoral dialogue and share experiences from key coastal tourism stakeholders regarding their in situ data needs, existing and emerging uses of EMODnet and wider open source marine environmental and human activities data for coastal tourism operations and applications, and opportunities for private-public data sharing, including optimization of dataflows and EMODnet data ingestion as a public service supporting the European ocean observation and data collection community to enable Findable, Accessible, Reusable and Interoperable (FAIR) data.

The European Maritime Day (EMD) 2024 will be a fully-fledged physical event, in Svendborg, Denmark on 30-31 May 2024. Registration will open soon. In the meantime, you can already apply for “EMD In My Country 2024 events” which will also take place all over Europe from 1 April till 31 October 2024. Are you ready to submit your event(s) for 2024? Fill in the online application form before 29 February 2024 and bring European Maritime Day 2024 to your country!