On 15 January 2025, EMODnet will highlight how its open and FAIR marine data and products support the UN Ocean Decade. The webinar will address three key challenges, namely Challenge 3: Sustainably feed the global population, Challenge 4: Develop a sustainable, resilient, and equitable ocean economy and Challenge 6: Increase community resilience to ocean hazards. Join this event to discover how Earth observation,  in situ and modelled marine data can drive tangible solutions for a sustainable ocean future. >Learn more and register today!

Did you know that EMODnet has a searchable database of > 100 use cases demonstrating concrete uses of EMODnet’s data, data products and services? Use cases are provided by stakeholders spanning local authorities and the private sector, to policy makers using EMODnet to deliver European policy and provide evidence for Regional, European and global assessments. EMODnet has an open call for use cases - so if you are interested to showcase how you utilise EMODnet, and give your organisation visibility, let’s talk! And, if you are a data provider and have a success story of your data submission and ingestion to EMDODnet we’d also love to hear from you - more information on how EMODnet celebrates its hundreds of data providers is coming soon!

The EMODnet Portal has recently been updated with restructured and updated seafloor geology map layers on geomorphology, Quaternary and pre-Quaternary geology. It has also had a major overhaul of the existing submerged landscapes datasets into a new data product structure. These achievements are delivered by EMODnet Geology, now in the final year of the current contract. Check out the latest full offer of harmonised EMODnet Geology products spanning the deep ocean (abyssal) seafloor to coastal erosion in the EMODnet Map Viewer and Products catalogue!

In December 2024, EMODnet Biology completed a major data publication, increasing its biodiversity data holdings by over 1.2 million new occurrence records, spanning a historical time period of > 100 years for a broad range of taxonomic groups from algae to marine mammals and more. This significantly enhances data coverage and accessibility across European regional seas and the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

Less than 2 months ago, EMODnet held its fourth Blue Economy workshop, with this edition’s focus on the Ports, Marinas and boating sectors. And now you can read all about it in the workshop report, released this week for public access and download. The event was held online on 22 October 2024, co-organised by EMODnet, EC DG MARE, the European Boating Industry (EIB), TransEurope Marinas and the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO). The event brought together over 70 experts, including representatives from local and national port authorities, representatives of marinas, boating operators, European networks of these Blue Economy sectors, and wider stakeholders from the public and private sectors, together with EMODnet experts and wider open data specialists. Recommendations include marine data needs from these sectors, current and emerging uses of EMODnet data to support ports, marinas and boating operations and planning, and the value of data sharing, including how EMODnet’s data ingestion can support this process to ensure FAIR data, for the benefit of all.

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.

How can we increase accessibility to land-sea interface data near river mouths? This was the focus of the meeting chaired by EMODnet and +ATLANTIC CoLAB in Lisbon on 8 November. Portugal was chosen as the venue because the Portuguese Environment Agency is a leader in providing river outflow data to EMODnet. One of EMODnet's most important national oceanographic data centres, the Hydrographic Institute of Portugal, is also located there. EMODnet plays a key role in supporting the interoperability and accessibility of data at national level through its capillary network of organisations specialising in data management and through its data infrastructure and services.

EMODnet Biology hosted an online workshop on 19-20 November with more than 40 representatives from EU projects, EU project officers and DG MARE. The focus was on projects that collect biodiversity data or create products based on these data.

EMODnet Human Activities Coordinator Alessandro Pititto participated in a roundtable on Innovations in Coastal Monitoring and Forecasting for early warning systems that took place in Rimini, Italy on 6 November, part of a series of events organized by the Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience during the Ecomondo green technology expo event. EMODnet offers a diverse range of coastal data, from marine environmental to human activities data.

The EMODnet Geology consortium convened in Trondheim, Norway on 4-8 November 2024, hosted by the Geological Survey of Norway. Bringing together around 50 delegates from over 20 organisations, key discussions included updates on recent and ongoing developments to enhance the existing offer of harmonised marine geological data products, which are critical as stand-alone resources, and as input to cross-thematic products e.g., seabed habitat maps. Other interesting topics included the upcoming coastal resilience data product, geotechnical data, perspectives from producing seamless seabed maps from Norway, and use case stories related to windfarm work in Iceland and the Geological Service for Europe (GSEU) project.

EMODnet Seabed Habitats provides a single access point to European seabed habitat data and unique products like the EUSeaMap broad-scale seabed habitat map for Europe, with diverse uses from produces aiding marine spatial planning to supporting marine habitat assessments. EMODnet has recently updated a storymap which visually illustrates the data and data products available from EMODnet Seabed Habitats on the EMODnet Portal.

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!

On 1 October 2024 EMODnet’s partner Dick Schaap (MARIS) presented EMODnet and specifically the EMODnet Chemistry eutrophication offer at a meeting organized by Copernicus Marine Service and OSPAR on ocean eutrophication and ocean acidification. The presentation explored needs and requirements by OSPAR Working Groups for data/data products and the value of combining satellite and in situ data. Also discussed were EMODnet’s collaborations with OSPAR as the Regional Sea Convention (RSC) for the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.

EMODnet’s Bathymetry Coordinator, Shom, France, EMODnet Human Activities experts and the EMODnet Secretariat were among EMODnet experts at the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Week Conference in Marseille, France on 22-24 October, celebrating a decade of EU achievements. Conor Delaney, EMODnet Technical Coordinator, spoke on the panel “Data, Innovation, and Harmonisation within MSP” highlighting EMODnet’s key role in shaping European MSP, including making EU Member State MSP plans available in geospatial format.

Discussing the scientific and technical basis for coordinating, standardising and harmonising the monitoring of seafloor litter and the management of associated data at a global level was the aim of the recent international workshop in China. EMODnet Chemistry was one of the speakers at this invitation-only event, representing the full network, and in particular bringing its long-standing expertise in delivering the European marine litter database, in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre and Technical Group on Marine Litter of the EU MSFD. During the workshop it was emphasised that EMODnet could play an important role in the definition and development of the global database.

At the Ocean Best Practices Workshop VIII, held from October 14-18, 2024, EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service collaborated to present best practices for enhancing data and service interoperability within the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO). During the session on 16 October 2024, EMODnet Biology Coordinator Joana Beja (VLIZ) presented on its conventions used, with wider discussions on critical standards for data integration, focusing on the EDITO-Infra project, which aims to create a robust EU infrastructure supporting the EU DTO.

At the international workshop titled "AOMI Database: Enhancing Ocean Microplastics Monitoring", EMODnet Chemistry showcased how marine litter data are managed within the project. Held on 8 October 2024 and led by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, the workshop provided a practical demonstration of the Atlas of Ocean Microplastics (AOMI).

EMODnet Chemistry took stock of its recent achievements during the latest back-to-back meetings of the whole partnership and the steering committee. The meeting took place on 23 and 24 September 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the headquarters of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) who is a long-standing partner and contributor to EMODnet Chemistry, among others.

The recent General Assembly of EMODnet Chemistry was a good opportunity to present relevant ways in which the project pursues the principles of Open Science (OS). The University of Liège (ULiege, Belgium) showed how the project implements Open Science thanks to open-source software. Charles Troupin from ULiege referred in particular to EMODnet Chemistry's use of the netCDF format and the NCDatasets.jl package.

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!