Before the plenary stage opened for the EMODnet Open Conference 2023, the EMODnet community convened for the EMODnet Partner Jamboree 2023—an exclusive gathering of EMODnet partners and Associated Partners. This pre-conference event was attended by > 150 representatives of the EMOD-network and provided a unique setting for in-depth discussions, partner meetings, cross-thematic dialogues, and collaborative endeavors, setting the stage for the subsequent conference. Topics of discussion spanned EMODnet and Citizen Science, EMODnet Communication, EMODnet and the EU Digital Twin Ocean, and EMODnet content evolution, ranging from the coast to the deep sea and from the surface ocean to the seafloor, including ideas for new cross-thematic data products. A Partnership Dinner on 28th November evening included speeches by Kestutis Sadauskas, Deputy Director-General EC DG MARE and Kate Larkin, Head of the EMODnet Secretariat.
Webservice
To complement the EMODnet Open Conference 2023 on-site meeting and physical exhibition, a Virtual Exhibition was produced by the EMODnet Secretariat and Coordinators. contains many resources and updates on EMODnet thematic and data ingestion services, key partnerships spanning business to ocean observation and from EU to global, EMODnet videos and other communication outputs, the European Atlas of the Seas and community posters solicited and submitted specifically for the Open Conference 2023. This was showcased in Plenary during the EMODnet Open Conference 2023, just before community poster pitch presentations. The Virtual Exhibition remains open for 1 year until 30 November 2024. You can see the full EMODnet Virtual Exhibition by clicking on the button below.
EMODnet is about the people and its diverse community. At the Open Conference 2023, an interactive session featured an overview of the EMODnet Virtual Exhibition, together with diverse community poster pitches, and an open mic Panel where members of the community could provide perspectives and recommendations.
The interactive dialogues at the EMODnet Open Conference 2023 included a series of Townhalls which provided a unique platform for focused discussions on various critical aspects of EMODnet. Topics for the 2023 Townhalls included: EMODnet, Ocean Best Practices, and Interoperability; EMODnet for EU Policy; EMODnet and the Blue Economy; and EMODnet, EU Mission Ocean and wider society. These were organized and co-Chaired by members of the EMOD-network and invited experts, with EMODnet and the European Marine Board Secretariats jointly serving as rapporteur and facilitators. For each Townhall, a representative presented key messages back to the Plenary on Day 2.
At the EMODnet Open Conference 2023 the two EC marine data services EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service, launched a joint communication on the EU in situ marine data landscape. The statement explains the complementarity between the two EU marine knowledge assets, and also how the services work together, following a high-level agreement between DG DEFIS and DG MARE and the signature of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016. Copernicus Marine Service was represented at the EMODnet Open Conference 2023 in sessions including on the value of EMODnet, EMODnet for the digital era, and EMODnet, Ocean Observation and the marine knowledge value chain.
At the EMODnet Open Conference 2023, a new video animation was released that explains the EMODnet unified service, noting the centralisation of all 7 EMODnet thematics into one portal, and what is means for EMODnet’s diverse user community. Follow the link to watch the full video.
The 14th EMODnet Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting, was held online on 18th October 2023. At the TWG, EMODnet technical experts exchanged on the latest EMODnet Central Portal developments, including user-driven evolution for 2024 and beyond.
The University of Aegean is a partner in the MUSICA (Multiple Use of Space for Island Clean Autonomy) project, that developed a smart multi-usage of space (MUS) platform for the concurrent use of three types of renewable energy – wind, photovoltaic and wave – at small islands. The MUS also contributed to the advancement of a successfully tested multi-use platform (MUP), which was previously developed by the University of Aegean and the private company EcoWindWater. In the process of finding optimal siting areas for the MUP, MUSICA used EMODnet map services and data to highlight areas of potential constraints.
Following the centralisation of EMODnet services, a successful webinar was organised to showcase and promote all the new features and capabilities of the EMODnet portal and how to use them. The webinar recording is now available on the EMODnet YouTube Channel .
This thematic unification simplifies access and enhances the EMODnet user experience. Central to the upgrade and major improvement is the release of the common map viewer, which offers the user easy and seamless access to discover, visualise and download marine data across seven thematics spanning marine environment and human activities and hundreds of data and data products from one place, powered by a searchable unified catalogue.
On 26 January 2023, the EMODnet Secretariat hosted an online workshop on the added value and benefits of the EMODnet Sea-basin Checkpoint (SBCP) exercises that took place across six sea basins in 2013-2018. The workshop brought together more than 50 experts including EMODnet Sea-basin Checkpoint Coordinators, partners and expert panel members, EMODnet thematic and data ingestion Coordinators and representatives, EMODnet associated partners, the European Commission and wider invited experts from the European Ocean Observing, marine data and user community.
EMODnet invites inputs to a public survey on the benefits of the SBCP which remains open until 2 February 2023!
A key user of EMODnet Human Activities vessel density maps is Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency supporting EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries in managing the EU’s external borders and fighting cross-border crime. The EMODnet’s vessel density maps, a data product that was first released in 2019 has been kept up to date ever since. Frontex applications combine EMODnet map services with other internal and external map services for supporting detection of abnormal vessel behaviour.
The EMODnet Seabed Habitats Map viewer contains over 80 modelled maps of specific habitat type. Models showing the predicted presence/absence of OSPAR habitats such as Lophelia pertusa and the newly listed Kelp Forests, are available to view, download or add as a web mapping service (WMS). Models for other Regional Sea Convention areas include spatial distributions of coralligenous outcrops across the Mediterranean Sea and over 20 species distribution models in the Baltic Sea.
The summary for the UN Ocean Conference (27 June to 1 July 2022) side event on “Marine Data Interoperability”, that was co-organised by the EMODnet Secretariat, is now available online. Check it out!
The #OceanChallenge4Africa online hackathon aims to tackle ocean challenges in the coastal and marine regions of Africa and to pool African energies to grasp opportunities offered by the ocean. It is organized by Mercator Ocean International, IOC Africa and Garage48; and supported by the EU’s Copernicus Marine Service and Segal Family Foundation. It is further held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme GEMS Ocean, GEO Blue Planet and the African Group on Earth Observations (AfriGEO). The deadline for idea submission and team formation is 22 March 2022.
The Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) is a United Nations coalition among multiple interested parties who are involved in tackling marine litter pollution.
The GPML platform integrates and provides access to up-to-date and reliable data to guide decision-making to achieve the following target of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds, by 2025. Most EMODnet Chemistry data products for marine litter, eutrophication, and contaminants are now integrated in the GPML digital platform. Read the related ‘use case’ to get all details on this new collaboration.
Ocean-based industries and conservation organisations are working towards 2030 targets to reduce harmful practices and restore ocean health. The summit will assess whether the targets are ambitious enough, and what policymakers, industry, and investors should do to achieve them.
The EMOD-PACE (EMODnet PArtnership for China and Europe) project is a collaborative pilot initiative between core implementors of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and the National Marine Data and Information Service (NMDIS) of China. It aims to promote effective international ocean governance and support the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources.
EMOD-PACE is currently organising a survey to obtain feedback from users and stakeholders interested in marine data and information covering the study area on the usefulness and relevance of the project’s activities, its outputs and provided tools/services. This will help the project partners to (i) gain insight into the effectiveness of the project towards reaching its objectives; (ii) gauge the general appreciation of the outputs and activities by users and stakeholders; and (iii) to help identify areas of possible improvement and/or further action.
Did you know that the EMODnet Open Conference virtual exhibition is still open for the public? The exhibition, set up for the EMODnet Open Conference in June 2021 takes the user through an informative journey of the past decade of EMODnet achievements, the latest state-of-the-art in in situ marine data services, key partnerships at EU and global levels – including with the ocean observation community, and EMODnet’s increasing win-win collaborations with the Blue Economy and Business sectors. There is information on the diverse activities of EMODnet, you can visit the gallery of community posters and get informed on related initiatives such as European Atlas of the Seas. The virtual exhibition closes in Spring 2022.
On 17 February 2022 EMODnet experts joined the Copernicus Marine 2.0 kick-off meeting that set the course for the Copernicus Marine workplan 2022-2028. Kate Larkin, Deputy Head EMODnet Secretariat spoke in a Panel on partnerships across Copernicus service and with EMODnet, noting that EMODnet is a proud collaborator with Copernicus which includes partnerships at multiple operational and coordination levels, and that EMODnet together with Copernicus Marine are key EU data services delivering the EU marine data space, the marine component of the EU Green Deal Data Space and the EU ocean contribution to the UN Ocean Decade.