European Marine Observation and Data Network | EMODnet

EMODnet made waves in May at a number of key European and International Conferences. EMODnet’s engagement with the industry-led Geospatial World Forum 2024 in Rotterdam, Netherlands in mid-May featured dialogues with Hydrographic offices and EMODnet Associated Partner Fugro. This was followed by a large delegation of EMODnet experts at the International Conference on Marine Data and Information Systems, held in Bergen, Norway. The same week EMODnet attended the European Maritime Days 2024 in Svendborg, Denmark, where EMODnet co-organised a workshop with the EU Blue Economy Observatory and European Environment Agency and celebrated with EC DG MARE and CINEA 10 years of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF, formerly EMFF). EMODnet also had an exhibition booth, in partnership with Seabed 2030 and the International Hydrographic Offices (IHO). EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service also co-organised a booth for the EU Digital Twin Ocean. June 2024 is also set to bring EMODnet’s key partnerships to the forefront with EMODnet speaking at the Copernicus Marine Service General Assembly and Digital Ocean Forum, providing expert mentors to the OceanHack2024 and running a joint webinar on EU marine data services for the UN Ocean Decade. See below and stay tuned for more information!

EMODnet Seabed Habitats participated in the recent GEOHAB 2024 Conference held in Arendal, Norway from 6-10 May 2024. This event was co-hosted by GRID-Arendal/University of Tasmania and the Geological Survey of Norway, in partnership with Ophelix Scandinavia AS.

As EMODnet Biology reaches the end of the first year of Phase V, the thematic provides an overview of activities and a forward look to the year ahead.

On 7-8 May EMODnet Chemistry joined a hybrid workshop in Venice (Italy) and online which also brought together experts from ICOS, NOAA and UNESCO to discuss how to manage ocean carbon system data on a global scale. Monitoring and reporting ocean acidification data is an important prerequisite for minimising and combating the effects of ocean acidification, which is one of the targets of Goal 14 "Life Below Water" of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The EMODnet Geology partner meeting was held at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) headquarters in Espoo, Finland, on 14-17 May 2024. About 50 project delegates gathered to discuss EMODnet Geology’s current activities, which included an exchange with the coordinator of Seabed Habitats to deepen collaboration between the two lots. EMODnet Geology partners also celebrated their long-time Coordinator Henry Vallius, who has excellently led the project for many years, as there will be a change in the coordination in June when Dr Vallius and the deputy coordinator Anu Kaskela change roles.

Two ongoing EU Horizon Europe projects, MPA Europe and MARCO-BOLO, are working on producing species distribution models to support conservation action. The underlying species occurrence information is sourced from EMODnet Biology holdings available in OBIS through the European regional OBIS node (EurOBIS). MPA Europe and MARCO-BOLO are collaborating and exchanging experiences in distribution modeling. As a case study, models for the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) were developed and compared, showing that different approaches successfully capture the species' distribution.

The EU-funded H2020 project EOSC-Future ran from April 2021 to March 2024, implementing the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). It offered European researchers a virtual platform for sharing and accessing data across disciplines and borders. EOSC-Future developed key EOSC components. EMODnet Chemistry helped addresses the data integration challenges, enabling users to explore diverse environmental data.

EMODnet Chemistry marine litter data has contributed to a marine litter assessment tool developed by the EUROqCHARM EU-funded H2020 project that lasted from 1 November 2020 – 31 October 2023. The project provided harmonised methodologies for the monitoring and assessment of marine plastics (macro-, micro- and nano-) in all environmental compartments: water, soil/sediment, air, and biota. Additionally, it released blueprints for standards of marine litter monitoring and data management and recommendations for policy and legislation.

A new map layer titled ‘European Maritime Day in My Country 2024’ has been added to the European Atlas of the Seas. The Atlas team has hidden five images in this map layer! They invite you to play a new game – the Blue Economy Challenge – to find these images. Five ‘Maps of the Week’ were published on the Maritime Forum and the EMODnet website: ‘AQUARIUS Project and Examples of Ocean Observation Instruments’, ‘European Maritime Day’, ‘European Maritime Day in My Country 2024’, ‘Marine Natura 2000 sites’ and ‘The EU4Ocean Coalition at European Maritime Day’.

EMODnet will be well represented at the 3rd edition of the Digital Ocean Forum (DOF) in Brussels, Belgium (12-13 June 2024). As the key pillar for in situ marine data services, EMODnet is a key contributor to the public infrastructure backbone of the European Digital Twin Ocean (DTO) through the EDITO-Infra project, in collaboration with the Copernicus Marine Service. The high-level event will be web streamed, allowing you to follow all new European DTO developments live. Stay tuned for more information coming soon on our social media channels!

Mark your calendars! Final planning is underway for the “EU marine data services Ocean Decade Data” Webinar kicking off on 19 June. This webinar is co-organized by EUMETSAT, Copernicus Marine Service, EMODnet and the ECOP Programme, in collaboration with the UN Ocean Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing (ODS). The webinar will showcase European marine data services and how these already contribute to the UN Ocean Decade and global initiatives. This series is designed for international audiences from diverse backgrounds and aims to foster a user-driven approach to marine data utilization. You can find more information on participation here!

The EMODnet Secretariat presented EMODnet’s diverse marine data service at the Hydrospatial Infrastructure and Blue Economy Summit, part of the Geophysical World Forum 2024 which took place between 13-16 May 2024. EMODnet joined a session on integrated ocean knowledge, together with Seabed 2030, Hub Ocean and the Danish Geodata Agency, among others. EMODnet partners and data contributors from national hydrographic offices were also present, speaking in related sessions together with EMODnet Associated Partner Fugro. Presentations and further information are available at: https://geospatialworldforum.org/  

EMODnet turned out in force for the International Conference on Marine Data and Information Systems (IMDIS) which took place between 27-30 May 2024 in Bergen, Norway, with multiple oral and poster presentations from EMODnet Data Ingestion, EMODnet thematics Biology, Chemistry, Bathymetry and others, together with the Central Portal technical team and Secretariat, together with other key actors in the marine data management community including SeaDataNet who also co-organised the event. More information is available here: https://imdis.seadatanet.org/ 

EMODnet teamed up with a number of European services and key stakeholders at EMD2024 held on 30-31 May 2024 in Svendborg, Denmark. EMODnet co-organised a workshop on diverse data for the Blue Economy and EU Policy with the European Blue Economy Observatory and the European Environment Agency (EEA). This included presentations by EMODnet Human Activities and the Secretariat. The EMODnet EC marine data service booth was visited by diverse stakeholders ranging from policy makers and the research community to the private sector, non-governmental agencies and citizen science initiatives. This year’s booth was held in partnership with the International Hydrographic Office (IHO) and Seabed 2030, enabling the dialogue on how EMODnet Bathymetry contributes to global seabed mapping initiatives. EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service also co-organised a booth on the EU Digital Twin Ocean showcasing EU marine data services supporting EU Green priorities. Read the newly published article on the ongoing is co-operation between these two EC marine data services here.

Join the Ocean Predict (OP) 2024 Conference from November 18-22 2024, to be held at the IOC-UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. This event is specifically designed to strengthen cooperation and partnerships among diverse ocean science and service communities. The event will address sustainable development, the blue economy, and societal awareness. OP 24 will feature sessions on ocean predictions, covering global, basin-scale, coastal, regional, and polar ocean and sea ice predictions. Attendees will explore new developments in measurements, observations, modeling, data assimilation, machine learning/AI, and digital twins.

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