European Marine Observation and Data Network | EMODnet

Between 20th – 28th January at Boot Düsseldorf 2024, the German Ocean Foundation, EC DG MARE, EMODnet and the Scuba Schools International (SSI) unveiled the largest Ocean Citizen Science Initiative to-date, which sees divers and wider water sports enthusiasts collecting ocean data using low-cost, high-quality sensors, with in situ data being made available through EMODnet as the EC marine data service. EMODnet Physics is the driving force behind this collaboration on behalf of the EMOD-network.

At the dawn of its 15th year in business, EMODnet Chemistry celebrates the best results of the past year with EMODnet stakeholders. A full article gives key achievements and a forward look, which sees the confirmation of the same consortium at the helm of EMODnet Chemistry for the next two years, coordinated by OGS.

EMODnet Chemistry has recently created new maps on pollutants. The products are grouped into 4 map categories that provide information on the spatio-temporal distribution of measurements in all European seas and beyond, for parameters prioritised in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

UNESCO and IUCN have compiled a first-time assessment of the status and trends of species within UNESCO World Heritage sites, revealing specific insights in the species richness of these sites. A number of the marine World Heritage sites are located within European waters, for which EMODnet Biology contributed data.

The University of Girona used EMODnet datasets in the Horizon EU project Blue-Paths, to develop a dashboard demonstrator with the goal to inform the wider audience in a dynamic manner about the geographic and social, ecological and economic characteristics of the high-potential areas for offshore wind energy in the Spanish sea space.

Starting in this edition, we are launching a news section dedicated to EMODnet's key role in the European Digital Twin Ocean (DTO). EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service collaborate in the EDITO-Infra project which is upgrading EC marine data services to provide the backbone infrastructure to the EU DTO. At the heart of EDITO-Infra's technical advancements lies the establishment of a comprehensive data lake. This innovative feature seamlessly integrates both EMODnet and Copernicus Marine products. Leveraging cutting-edge, open-source technologies from the cloud computing industry, the data lake offers robust and scalable object storage, coupled with high-performance computing (HPC) resources. This combination is pivotal for enabling on-demand data analysis and the creation of sophisticated 'what-if' scenarios. Stay tuned for more information.

In January, three ‘Maps of the Week’ were published on the Maritime Forum and the EMODnet website: ‘Seamount and ocean seabed’ in connection to the discovery of a new seamount, ‘Vessel density and sustainable nautical tourism’ in relation to the boot 2024 yacht and watersports show in Düsseldorf (Germany) and ‘Education and Sustainable Development: European Blue Schools Find the Blue!’ referring to the International Day of Education celebrated on 24 January 2024. This allowed to cover three key topics addressed by the Atlas: scientific research, the blue economy and education!

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.

Discover the latest insights on how EMODnet's marine data and data product offerings can serve as a foundation for essential ocean knowledge and the crucial role of EMODnet's Data Ingestion service in supporting seamless data submission to both the European and global ocean data ecosystem, at the upcoming “EMODnet for Horizon Europe and EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters projects" webinar on February 28, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Aimed at representatives of European Horizon Europe and EU Mission Ocean projects collecting in situ marine data, the webinar focuses on streamlining data submission processes, guiding participants in data and metadata collection, and optimizing data flow into EMODnet. For more details and to express your interest in participating, please send an email to: secretariat@emodnet.eu.

This course is suitable for anyone who would like to learn about how to use version control tracking changes and effective collaboration on their projects. This 2-day course will take place online and you will be introduced to the most popular open-source software for version control (Git) and the most popular platform for sharing and collaborating on projects online (GitHub) using a graphical interface to both (GitKraken Client). The course is designed to get researchers started with version control, demonstrate how to collaborate effectively as well as introduce version control best practices, as practiced by research software engineering teams.

Long-time EMODnet Biology partner, the Marine Biological Association, is offering a 3-day, online introduction to Programming in R course, ideal for anyone wanting to use R for data analysis. They are offering Early Bird Discounts for those booking prior to the end of January and there is a free online talk by the course tutor available on their website.

The 2024 EOOS Technology Forum “Catching the momentum in ocean observing technology: optimising value and data provision”, will take place on the 13 March 2024 at the Oceanology International, Excel, London. The 2024 EOOS Technology Forum will bring together technology developers, manufacturers and users to exchange knowledge on platforms and sensors of all types, costs and levels of technical sophistication with the goal to enhance accessibility of ocean observations.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) has released the Call for Abstracts for the Annual Science Conference 2024 in Gateshead, UK (meeting taking place 9-12 September 2024). This year, EMODnet has teamed up with ICES for a joint session "Theme session J: Moving the latest developments from machine learning and AI closer to exploiting mountains and lakes of data" This session is open for abstracts from the ICES and wider community, including those that demonstrate connection between ICES and EMODnet. The deadline for abstract submission is 22 March 2024.

The EDITO initiative, powered by EDITO-Infra, extends an invitation to ocean twinning projects and national initiatives throughout Europe. The primary focus of this initiative is to enhance the capabilities of the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO). Successful participants will have a unique opportunity to showcase their work at the high-level dedicated session during the Digital Ocean Forum 2024.

The European Commission has initiated a public consultation on the evaluation of the Nitrates Directive, which aims to protect water bodies from nitrate pollution caused by agricultural practices. The consultation, open until March 8, 2024, assesses whether the directive is still effective in promoting sustainable agriculture and food security, especially considering changing environmental conditions. The evaluation will focus on adaptation of farmers, support for new agricultural practices, and promotion of nutrient recycling. Key objectives include simplification, reducing burdens and costs, and aligning with global biodiversity goals. The Nitrates Directive sets limits on fertilizers and encourages good farming practices to prevent harmful effects of excessive nitrates, such as water pollution and economic losses. The evaluation aims to ensure diverse stakeholder interests are considered across the EU.