Deliverables

The report highlights the complexity of the ocean observing landscape and how that influences the clarity of the foresight that can be achieved. The ocean observing landscape is interconnected at all levels. This complex landscape has grown organically, as different stakeholders have understood the importance of ocean observing for understanding our climate, the provision on ecosystem services such as food and generally for understanding how the ocean functions. In this complex landscape many initiatives depend on partnerships with other communities and end-users. It is imperative that the current coordination and partnership efforts are supported, reinforced and possibly better organised. This support is needed in different communities such as the ocean research communities, the monitoring community for policy-driven objectives, as well as between these communities.

As most ocean observations are funded at a national level, national coordination and sustainability discussions, should be reinforced by EuroSea and the upcoming EU Ocean Data Collection Framework Directive. At the European level, the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) framework, supported by EuroSea, will provide the discussion forum to promote the alignment and coordination of integrated observation systems in Europe. EOOS aims to bring together the national, regional and international ocean observing community to enhance ocean observing in Europe.

This report will inform the EuroSea project on the governance implications of its activities, by providing the baseline foresight initiatives and documents to consider duration the project in the preparation of its legacy. This publication is primarily aimed at readers interested in learning more about the international and European ocean observing and forecasting landscape. Interested readers also include stakeholders involved in ocean observing and forecasting, spanning diverse roles from commissioning, managing, funding and coordinating, to developing, implementing, or advising on programmes.

● Convergence of methods and endorsement of best practices
● Data and information management: towards globally scalable interoperability
● Developing community capacities for the creation and use of best practices
● Ethics and best practices for ocean observing and applications
● Fisheries
● Marine Litter/Plastics
● Omics/eDNA
● Partnership Building
● Surface Radiation
● Uncertainty Quantification

The workshop participants came from across the globe (see Figure 1 under Participants) and had a wide range of interests relating to the ocean.

The workshop focused on ways that ocean observing across the value chain (from observations to end user decisions) can use best practices to improve interoperability and our knowledge of the oceans. Ocean practitioners collaboratively addressed best practices as well as recommendations for the Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) which will guide its next implementation phase.

The recommendations (see Section 8) will broaden community engagement and help the OBPS serve the community and advance efforts along the following key dimensions:

● Data, Information, Knowledge
● Endorsement of methodological documents by communities
● Uptake of methodologies by communities
● Convergence of methods across scales (thematic, local, regional, global)
● Development paths – how does a region/community build best practices? How can the OBPS better support that?

This report provides details of discussions and recommendations for advancement of best practices and the Ocean Best Practices System.

Whilst EuroSea is focussed within the European region, it is important that components built in this study help progress ocean observation on a global scale, and that Europe gains in efficiency and outcome from this interaction with global experts and structures. To that end, we used the results from D1.2, specifically on zooplankton, to engage the global observing community in an effort to (1) synthesise our current understanding of zooplankton in a changing climate, (2) determine key knowledge gaps, (3) identify all monitoring programmes globally, (4) determine data availability from observing programmes, and (5) design an integrated observing programme that would meet user needs. A review article, currently under review, was developed as an outcome to highlight key knowledge and geographic gaps that need urgent attention.

Moving forward, the two workshops and review article identified the need for improved data availability, standardisation of protocols and better coordination via community engagement (e.g., working groups) and/or regional/global efforts (e.g., European Ocean Observing System, Global Ocean Observing System).

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The report presents Marine Plastics Debris as a new emerging EOV and includes the first version of the EOV Specification Sheet prepared based on current international expert guidelines and recommendations for global scale monitoring of marine plastics and other debris. Furthermore, the report summarizes the progress towards establishing common sampling protocols for marine plastic debris in Europe and beyond, in particular sampling protocols and shared survey designs which would augment existing ocean observing approaches and thereby also increase the readiness level of marine debris monitoring.

Expansion of the European capacity to monitor and report about OOS has been investigated. Despite some improvements made during this task, the conclusion is that without a clear mission and a long-term vision about this question, monitoring the EOOS, in its entire complexity and along each link of the value chain, from planning to data product delivery, cannot be achieved today. Many networks should engage further in the coordination with European and Regional OOS, and monitoring tools should be developed to serve the multiple stakeholders’ needs.

Even though the collaboration between OceanOPS, EMODNET and Copernicus marine in situ exists, it should be improved to better monitor the EOOS especially for better planning of the EOOS implementation as well as fostering open data for the EOOS observing systems. Although, the networks falling under the scope of EOOS should reinforce their data and metadata policy to comply with the FAIR principles. Essential feedback loops between networks and metadata & data aggregators should be set up to continuously improve the quality of the metadata delivered by the networks.

Metadata must be considered as the fundamental element to report about any OOS. High-quality and large diversity of those elements are essential to deliver the OOS monitoring efficiently and accurately, and reporting services that Europe deserves to better implement and pilot the development of the EOOS.

There is no legal EU instrument that regulates ocean observing. Applicable rules appear in different instruments (such as for environmental protection or disaster risk reduction); some binding and some not. The regulation of ocean observing often depends on the purpose for which one collects ocean data. The 2012 Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) states that the EU may set up joint undertakings or any other structure necessary to efficiently execute research (TFEU, Art. 187). This could provide a basis for harmonisation of the rules that are applicable to ocean observations, not only between the Member States but also within the Member State, if a domestic institution is mandated to be responsible for ocean observing and its regulation. The following five suggestions in order of priority and achievability could be used to change the current situation.

1. Create an EU level policy or regulation for ocean observing. For harmonising policy and legislation regarding ocean observing, an EU level policy or regulation is required. Considering the EU-wide value of ocean observations (for saving lives with accurate weather forecasting) and that many current policies and legislations are already at EU level, the EU principle of subsidiarity should be applied, as Member States would not be able to address these issues by working individually.

2. Create a “Marine Scientific Research Clearance Office” – a single point of contact – in each Member State to shorten the time needed for clearance. At present, States that want to conduct observations in another State’s exclusive economic zone, must provide detailed information to seek consent at least six months in advance of the starting date of the observing campaign (UNCLOS Art. 248). If the coastal State does not react by the day the project commences, it is understood that the coastal State grants consent (UNCLOS, Art. 252), creating unnecessary unpredictability for planning marine scientific research. This Office could shorten this time to one month.

3. Create a standardised form to request clearance to be used throughout the EU such as proposed by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. Many EU Member States’ regulations are consistent with the Law of the Sea Convention but not necessarily consistent with each other as there is no explicit requirement for consistent interpretation and implementation of international rules. A standardised form could be adopted for the purpose of use within the EU. If an on-line form could be created, the applicant would be able to track the progress of the clearance request.

4. Establish ocean observations projects with the participation of Member States with a designated EU organisation. Art. 247 of the Law of the Sea Convention suggests that a coastal State that is a member of organisation, such as the EU, is deemed to have authorised marine scientific research project from that supranational organisation. It is of course open to other organisations to make use of the option in Art. 247, such as existing entities in the European context such as EMODnet, EuroGOOS or EOOS. EU Regulation 508/2014 defined the European marine observation and data network (or ‘EMODnet’) as a ‘network that integrates relevant national marine observation and data programmes into a common and accessible European resource’ (Art. 3(2)(4)). A marine scientific research project of an intergovernmental organisation within the EU could be instrumental in conveying the importance of data being gathered and its value to the coastal State, and can ensure the compliance of the international agreements concerning the inclusion of scientists from coastal States as well data-sharing standards.

5. Expand the harmonisation of the regulation of ocean observing in the EU to all European seas. According to Art. 123(c) UNCLOS, ´States bordering an enclosed or semi-enclosed sea should cooperate […] to coordinate their scientific research policies and undertake where appropriate joint programmes of scientific research´. This step would evidently require cooperation of, and agreement within all littoral states of seas of which parts fall within the scope of EU regulation such as the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

We propose a scoring approach that can evaluate the EOOFS readiness level (RL) in monitoring ocean phenomena, on a regular basis and in a systematic way. We have demonstrated the usefulness of this approach by implementing it based on our assessment and the feedback of the EOOFS community. The main results clearly show that the EOOFS has “Fitness for Purpose” readiness levels (RL 7) in the three main pillars of the value chain (Input, Process, and Output) only for one ocean phenomenon, while 83% of ocean phenomena have RLs varying from 1 (Idea) to 4 (Trial). A deeper analysis of the scoring results reflects that the EOOFS major gaps are predominantly concentrated in two of its three pillars: the coordination and observational elements (Process) and data management and information products (Output) (Figure 1).

In a changing world that is affecting all aspects of European lives, it is crucial to significantly invest and support the EOOFS to better monitor and accurately predict the European Seas, and provide sustained services that can help businesses and improve the resilience of communities and resources.

Deliverable 2.1 starts describing the motivation and objective of Task 2.3 of the EuroSea project. Then, we divide the main objective in different scientific goals and subtasks. The first goal is to optimize the design of a multi-platform in situ experiment to validate SWOT, the second goal is to compare different methods of reconstruction to validate simulated observations of SWOT, and the third goal is to explore the capability of the existing observing system networks to validate SWOT. In Section 5 we describe the design of the OSSEs that will be conducted to achieve these goals: regions of study, high-resolution models to be used, observations planned to be simulated, different configurations that will be evaluated, methods of reconstruction to be tested, and analysis of the results. We finalise the Deliverable with a work plan and conclusions.

Concerning the BGC in situ observations, comparison to the BGC Argo floats helps to identify regions with a lack of observations or large model error that should benefit from an increased number of BGC Argo floats. Thanks to the BGC model, key regions for the export of organic carbon were also identified.

The deliverable presents the process we undertook to co-define scientifically based indicators as well as the requirements in terms of Essential Ocean and Climate Variables (EOVs/ECVs) linked with them for each group of stakeholders included in EuroSea Demonstrators (WP5–7) and Forecast (WP4) working packages. This necessarily also defines the requirements in terms of observations and platforms.

The assessment presented in this deliverable has its focus on the status quo. It does not question or analyze the necessity for individuals, institutions and countries to be represented in a network – “Why should individuals, institutions or countries feel a need or a motivation to engage with the networks?”. It seems logical that networks are only founded, maintained and developed when individuals see an advantage in their involvement in a network – for themselves, their institution or a country. The “characteristics” of the apparent advantage of contributing to a network is likely of central importance. For example, if the advantage is only that there are no disadvantages (e.g. fines), a further development and improvement of the network is questionable. This important investigation of the motivation of individuals will be part of final assessment prepared in D3.10.

Improving coordination and interoperability between these programs is essential to ensure an adequate service to end-users and the sustainability of the network. Along these lines, the EuroSea Data Management Plan aims the harmonization of data management procedures and the implementation of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles. This report is the contribution to this plan of the European tide gauge network, represented by the EuroGOOS Tide Gauge Task Team, collecting the voice of European Data Integrators Infrastructure (EMODnet Physics, CMEMS INSTAC, SeaDataNet), and following GLOSS existing requirements and needs in the region.

A review is presented of the content, number of stations and main purpose of all known international data portals that collect and distribute tide gauge data and/or derived products from European tide gauges, as well of existing data flow. A first basic analysis of 13 data portals or catalogues has revealed the existence of significant gaps and duplications in terms of sea level information. A more comprehensive analysis has been hampered, however, by the identification of shortcomings that should be addressed by the sea level community. These include relevant aspects such as: i) the need to review the definition of tide gauge/station/site; ii) the lack of an agreement on minimum mandatory metadata with common vocabulary and definition; and iii) the lack of unique and persistent identifiers. These issues are not new and have not yet been tackled by GLOSS, whose representatives provided a roadmap to be included and presented in this report, including actions for the next couple of years.

The level of quality control and data processing also differs between data aggregators. These rely mostly on data originators work, do not perform quality control at all, or apply only basic automatic quality control routines. Delayed mode quality control and data processing is necessary for the generation of a reprocessed sea level product from tide gauges that can be easily accessed and regularly updated for modellers, the altimetry community and scientists. This effort should rely on harmonized and standard routines and make use of enough high-quality metadata information, in close collaboration with data providers, who could be interested in face-to-face training for them to build good data repositories.

Part of the future harmonization work in the European network (assignment of unique identifiers or metadata management and standards) should rely in principle on the progress of the work at a global level, with the support of OceanOPS, as it is already done for other ocean observing systems.

This report provides recommendations and action lines for the European network, including a proposal of station definition based on vertical land movement information, and a set of minimum mandatory metadata to be included for near-real time applications. In the framework of EuroSea WP3, the following on-going activities will be accomplished: i) completion of data portals gaps and duplicates analysis; ii) European tide gauge metadata inventory; iii) workshop focused on new automatic quality control algorithms and products from tide gauge data; and iv) new global sea level data portal based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers installed to monitor land motion.

In section 2, the global, European and regional landscape of ocean observing thematic areas, strategic objectives and governance structures are reviewed in order to propose a governance of the European HFR network in line with the existing framework.

In this context, the role of the EuroGOOS HFR Task Team for structuring the European HFR network is described in section 3, as well as the established terms of reference, contribution in the EuroGOOS strategy and links with other EuroGOOS Task Teams and Working Groups. Moreover, a detailed overview of the current status and the activities of the HFR network as well as the main projects and milestones achieved over the last 5 years is provided. In order to monitor and track the HFR network progress on action steps and to evaluate its impact on an annual basis, a quantitative framework has been established incorporating a broad range of expertise, including science, decision and policy makers. Additionally, the governance plan, its implementation and practices will also be evaluated yearly.

Section 4 includes the long-term strategy, fully aligned with the five high-level objectives of EuroGOOS, and the HFR community roadmap for the next 3 years, comprising the tasks, mid-term milestones and outcomes of the four main areas of actions (e.g. 1-Management and community building; 2-Sustainability, 3-Product and services and 4-Research & Development). The future strategy involves the use of HFR data to support operational, seasonal to decadal planning by governments, industry, science and communities.

Built from an already existing framework, a robust and sustained Governance structure is designed and proposed in section 5, as well as the human and infrastructure resources required to deliver the strategy. The 5 main components, of the proposed framework include: (i) an international Steering and Executive Committee for HFR roadmap planning and oversight; (ii) the European HFR Node to overseeing the day-today management of HFR data; (iii) the HFR Operators & Manufacturers Working Group for management of HFR operations and maintenance; (iv) the Stakeholder Panel to connect with stakeholder communities and leveraged engagement and the Advisory Board, overarching guidance for defining the HFR network strategy. For each of these elements, the composition, their roles/tasks, the type and frequency of meetings and the future strategy for their implementation are addressed. Additionally, the relationship (in terms of data or policies/advice/process flow) between the different boards and committees are also established, thus creating a feedback loop ensuring a sustained governance able to respond to changing priorities and challenges over time as an iterative process. The governance framework should also be able to respond to new information, making data updates at annual or longer timeframes sufficient.

Concluding remarks are included in section 6.

Autonomous and uncrewed systems have significantly improved and evolved in the last decades to provide a key platform for several sectors and domains, including ocean observing systems. Transition from research concept to commercial product and related services has not always been easy due to technology, business and policy framework constraints. Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV) development and implementation illustrates this evolution. Starting as small custom-prototypes operating near shore for survey and research applications, ASV have evolved into more complex and capable platforms that are now able to operate in highly demanding scenarios and the open-ocean for long periods in routine-fully-autonomous mode. This progress has paved the way for small and large-scale autonomous ships (MASS) to be used as an ultimate step in maritime autonomy.

Within the framework of in-situ ocean-observing technologies acting as recognized international network in support to global observing strategies, this initiative is aiming to engage key actors from the “triple-helix” perspective representing developers, industry, research, end-users and regulatory bodies to provide an overview on current trends in ASV technology, while seeking a baseline understanding of the sector from lessons learned and current status at technical, operational, data management and policy/regulatory levels to be used as the basis for a ASV Network implementation.

Technology developments enabling ASV include a multidisciplinary set of cutting-edge sensors and systems for measuring, sampling, guidance, navigation, control, telemetry, propulsion, path planning, as well as specific tools for oversight of operations and situational awareness, including key applications of machine/deep learning and artificial intelligence techniques. ASV capabilities and applications presently include a wide range of operations and services that address specific needs from marine and maritime sectors, highlighting ocean observing in both coastal and open-ocean areas, as well as providing unique features like monitoring at the same time Essential Climate and Ocean Variables in support to WMO and GOOS respectively or acting as gateway to link in real time underwater observations with satellite platforms.

The EU-funded EuroSea project provides a unique framework opportunity to define the basis and implement a recognized useful ASV Network in support to international ocean-observing initiatives such as GOOS or EOOS from a synergetic approach with already existing ocean-observing networks (moorings, floats, gliders, radars, FerryBox, tide-gauges, etc.).

This document reports on the main actions undertaken and objectives achieved within the framework of the execution of activity 3.7 of the EuroSea project. For this, both the execution and results derived from the execution of the two workshops (one online and the other hybrid) are described, as well as the promotion and engagement actions through attendance and participation in national and international conferences, seminars and technological forums, where the EuroSea ASV-Network initiative has been shown. As a whole, this activity has mainly allowed 1) To identify the main agents of the public and private sector related to ASV technologies, of which a large number have already shown their interest and commitment in supporting and being part of the initiative, 2) To define the main topics and priorities (technological development, applications, regulatory framework, good practices, etc.), where the ASV network should focus its development and implementation both specifically and in relation with other existing ocean-observing networks to fulfil the global ocean-observation strategy, 3) To define a roadmap on which to base the future development and implementation of the ASV network, which includes nominating working group leaders and national delegates as coordinators, 4) To identify and synergistically approach strategies with the OASIS initiative which is being developed by NOAA in the USA endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade program, 5) To propose ways in order to sustain the ASV Network initiative beyond EuroSea project framework (annual meeting, site meetings during attendance to other conferences and seminars, new project proposal, endorsement from existing ocean-observing programs and initiatives such RIs or similar, etc.).

Although this process is the very foundation of the scientific approach, and therefore naturally occurs in scientific projects that concentrate on understanding specific ocean processes, this integrated approach has not yet been fully realised at larger scale and on an operational basis. Despite significant advances over the last two decades in more cooperation across the ocean observing activities, the ocean observing system still suffers from organisational silos, each network, team or nation establishing their own priorities and direction without substantial interaction with others. This lack of coordination has been a rising concern for the last 20 years, since it is a strong impediment to getting a more accurate and holistic picture of the ocean environment, thereby preventing ocean science from advancing at a faster rate. Moreover, the ambition of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and the various efforts to grow a sustainable ocean economy and effective ocean protection efforts all require a more integrated approach to ocean observing. During the last two decades, there has thus been a rising awareness that enhanced integration is necessary to deliver more complete, consistent and sustained observations globally and better address the new and emerging scientific challenges.

Based on an intensive literature review and a careful examination of different examples of integration in different fields (section 3), it appears that integration is a very complex challenge that goes far beyond the traditional scientific and technological perspective. In all the examples examined, integration is more a matter of organisation and human interactions than technical issues. The lack of integration is generally due to a lack of common vision, a lack of leadership, too much emphasis on short-term results, a lack of clarity regarding the goals of integration, difficulties in communications, rigid vertical structures that create organisational silos, and overly individually-focused evaluation processes that lead to destructive competition between individuals or departments. Solutions to foster integration involve agreeing on a common goal, clearly defining roles and responsibilities among participants, focusing on long-term objectives, redesigning the organisational structure to foster more transversal approaches, and building an organisational governance framework that enables the establishment of a structured collaborative process.

Building on these results, section 4 analyses the barriers that currently prevent the ocean observing system from becoming fully integrated. These barriers are summarised in four key points: (1) the norms and practices of the scientific system that tend to prioritise progress in narrow specialised fields and have led to the development of an ocean observing system that is very much divided by disciplines and technologies, each one pushing to enhance its own capacities; (2) the lack of clear leadership and robust ocean observing governance structure for coordinating the end-to-end value chain, despite the coordination efforts exerted by GOOS and its regional alliances; (3) the limited resources available and the over-reliance on short-term ad hoc funding, which prevents the system to establish a common long-term vision and makes disciplines, technologies, networks and institutions compete against each other for funds, reinforcing the silos; (4) the research assessment system that create strong and sometimes destructive competition across disciplines and among scientists, and the insufficient incentives to participate in the coordination process in our science culture.

Achieving a truly integrated ocean observing system therefore requires fundamental changes in all these different aspects, which is not a simple task, since it implies moving beyond a business-as-usual approach, with a major shift at the cultural, behavioural, organisational, and management levels. In section 5, we suggest ten recommendations in order to initiate this transformative change. These recommendations include: (1) reforming the incentive system of ocean science, (2) agreeing on a common agenda and principles, (3) redesigning a polycentric ocean governance framework, (4) elaborating sustainable funding mechanisms, (5) developing new form of work organisation and management, (6) connecting the diverse communities, (7) establishing clear design and implementation plan, (8) facilitate the transition from research to operations, (9) building a coordinated data management system, and (10) efficiently communicating the value of ocean observing. We consider that all these recommendations are complementary and necessary, and the order of the items does not reflect priority ranking. However, the first five points are certainly among the most important since they would lay the foundation upon which this ocean integration could be built and from which the other points could naturally derive. They should therefore be the main priority. Section 6 provides an overview of the very interesting feedback we received when presenting this work at different conferences. This evolution in the organisation of how we have been working so far in oceanography will not be easy, and will only be possible if scientists, institutions and funders embrace this change and collectively reflect on how to implement it. This work contributes to raising awareness on the importance of the cultural, behavioural, organisational and management aspects that need to be rethought for the achievement of a truly integrated ocean observing system. These recommendations aim at being a first step opening the way toward more reflection. Finally, in section 7, we describe how this transformation could be achieved. To design and implement these changes, we envision a 5-to-10-year project that will continue this work and will: (1) lead a collective process of reflection and discussion on how to implement these changes, involving a wide variety of different stakeholders, including the major players of ocean observing as well as Early-Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) and experts from outside ocean science, and (2) implement these changes at multiple levels and scales in order to adapt to local conditions (one size never fits all!), potentially starting with some selected pilot regions, to be later extended to the other regions of the world.

1. Ensure the European leadership in the process of strengthening and consolidating the global OceanGliders coordination activity with a direct link to the GOOS and GCOS via the Observation Coordination Group (OCG)

2. Launch of OceanGliders GitHub Community as a central place to discuss and converge the local wisdom, practices, and documents into community agreed-on Best Practices and data formats based on, whenever possible, existing vocabularies. After its launch in September 2021, the online community has already attracted 131 members (28 June 2022).

3. Capacity development of the glider community. In total 7 GitHub training sessions have been carried out since September 2021 with +50 community members to learn how to use these tools for future asynchronous community work.

4. Initiate and lead the convergence process needed to receive a first set of European and globally agreed Best Practices for glider operations to record the EOVs for surface and subsurface Salinity and Temperature, Depth-Average Currents, Oxygen, nutrients (Nitrate) and phytoplankton (Chlorophylla).

5. Ensure the European leadership in the development and release of a globally agreed data and metadata format (OceanGliders Format 1.0). Led by European glider and data management communities, this international initiative will be conducted by the OceanGliders program of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) to uniformize the glider data format globally. Constrained by vocabularies, aligned with international standards (cf, OceanOPS, ACDD) and interoperable with other formats (Argo, OceanSITES), the new OG1.0 format will have a great impact on the glider community. The unique glider format will accelerate data uptake through improved data sharing and data flow, but also in the monitoring of the program and the development of common tools. Despite delays due to difficulties in the harmonization of the multiple existing formats, OG1.0 will be released officially this year and become operational in 2023. This great achievement for the international community has been made possible thanks to multiple meetings among experts from the EU, USA, and Australia over the last 18 months.

Priorities for the next years: The overall priority is to ensure the sustainability of the network activities in scientific, technological, data management and international cooperation areas. To maintain such dynamism and continue to reinforce the glider network at the European level and beyond, we clearly rely on our ability to get funding from national and international projects on technical development and ocean science process studies but more importantly on our institutions to recognize the need for sustained glider observations and our coordination activities.

The tremendous progress made regarding glider metadata management so far, led by EuroSea D3.10 members, allows the European glider community to ambition the implementation of the FAIR principles. Thus, machine-to-machine metadata sharing in the coming years will be improving the European capacity to monitor glider activity and use glider data. The release of the OceanGliders 1.0 format will set the baseline for all glider data sets in the world. It will integrate the progress made by the EuroSea D3.10 team. This task contributed to the great improvement of glider data management in Europe, and also strongly influenced the data management approach of OceanGliders, the glider program of the Global Ocean Observing System.

The OceanSITES netCDF data format specification was reviewed to include metadata as required by OceanOPS. The EMSO community has started to use this format. However, and if this new format is widely used (which is not the case at the moment), it has to be made available before data are made available (often two years after the observations) otherwise our monitoring status will always lag behind. And what about the SITES for which the data sharing is not happening for some reasons. We won’t have any monitoring capacity on these as we would only see the platforms sharing data. The alignment of metadata between OceanOPS requirements and final files for data users is needed, but this will not help our monitoring. Metadata have to be channelled to OceanOPS before (or just after) the SITE is serviced.

The current approach to complete the catalogue are based on rare, irregular, and individual submissions to OceanOPS. This is not efficient for any of the stakeholders but is better than nothing.

The prioritization of metadata submission to OceanOPS, according to its developing standard, seems to be the main challenge we face to deliver a robust and accurate metadata catalogue for Eulerian networks in Europe and beyond.

Considering the complexity and often unique specificities of each of these Eulerian systems, the work load required to complete this harmonization might as well be underestimated.

Without an active and regular cooperation between Eulerian platform operators and OceanOPS, our monitoring capacity in Europe for this system will remain rather poor.

– Argo network,
– Glider network,
– ASV network,
– Vessel network,
– Eulerian network,
– Tide gauge network,
– HF Radar network,
– Augmented observatory network.

Moreover, this handbook mentions for each of the networks, the Quality Control (QC) procedures applied as well as how it is possible to find and consult the data.

Finally, the handbook has also attempted to present, for each network, its structuration and maturity at the International and the European levels.

The development of open tools to be shared by the whole HFR community is essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of the HFR technology and the integration of the networks. In this sense, different tools have been developed inside the “Task 3.6 HF Radar” to be shared with the HFR community and they are detailed in this deliverable.

Open tools for the operational NRT/REP (Near Real Time / Delayed Mode) workflow are crucial for the integration of HFR networks. Those tools have been generated among Task 3.6 and made available for the whole HFR community. They are currently being re-coded from Matlab to Python (open source) to make them even more accessible for the whole HFR community. These tools allow the HFR community to easily process and share their data. The development of these tools has become essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of HFR technology and the integration of networks.

To enhance the use of HFR surface current data, tools for advanced QC for REP products and HFR Online Outage Reporting Tool (HOORT) have also been developed. Those tools not only help for the understanding of the surface currents and their quality and availability, but they also help to understand the outages that occur to the hardware and data workflow.

Coastal upwelling occurs when along-shore winds and the Coriolis effect combine to drive a near-surface layer of water offshore, inducing the vertical uplift of cold enriched waters that fertilize the uppermost layer, impacting on water quality and fisheries. Coastal Upwelling Index from HFR has been developed to enhance the use of added value products from HFR systems and a contribution has been recently sent to the 7th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR#71 ).

This document provides rationale for the OneArgo network implementation strategy in Europe, focussing on the new Deep-Argo and BGC-Argo missions. Euro-Argo’s long-term objective is to maintain one fourth of the international OneArgo array, which corresponds to about 1200 European active floats, including 300 Deep and 250 BGC floats. This ambitious target should be achieved by 2030.

The European contribution to BGC-Argo is driven by scientific interest in the European scientific community, while considering the needs of both the operational and satellite-based ocean colour communities, and ensuring a global implementation of the OneArgo design. The monitoring of European marginal Seas, namely the Baltic, the Black and the Mediterranean Seas, is one of Euro-Argo priorities for BGC-Argo. Maintaining a network of BGC-Argo floats in these regions will contribute to the monitoring and assessment of the marine environment status and functioning in relation to climate change as part of the European Union Green Deal. In complement, Euro-Argo aims to contribute to the implementation of BGC-Argo at global scale, in coordination with international programmes, with a specific interest in maintaining an appropriate BGC floats array in the Nordic Seas and the South West Indian.

Euro-Argo has been a key player in driving the evolution of Argo and its new missions. A new type of float able to carry additional BGC sensors, while enabling the float to fulfil its BGC-Argo mission (10 days cycles, for 4 years) has recently been developed in Europe. A number of these jumbo floats have been deployed with two additional types of sensors: (i) particle size imagers and (ii) hyperspectral radiometers, showing encouraging results. On the longer term, new developments are also planned within the GEORGE HE EU project1 to integrate novel sensors ultimately enabling for the first time systematic autonomous, in situ seawater CO2 system characterisation, and CO2 fluxes on Argo and other ocean observing platforms.

Euro-Argo has been involved in Deep-Argo since the beginning, in particular through the deployment of a pilot array in the North Atlantic. Currently, Euro-Argo is following international recommendations for the Deep-Argo mission to both maintain the current pilot experiments and initiate new regional foci in regions of substantial seasonal-to-decadal variability, while pursuing efforts towards technological refinements (e.g. long-term stability) and a coordinated data-management strategy (e.g. quality control). Because of their predominant roles in the ventilation and long-term sequestration of climatic signals into the deep (via convective mixing and downslope cascading), the North Atlantic, the Nordic Seas and the Southern Ocean stand out as the most natural targets and will be European scientific priorities. Efforts will also be made to maintain an appropriate number of Deep active floats in the Mediterranean Sea, and to contribute to the global Deep-Argo network implementation in collaboration with other international programmes.

Euro-Argo teams will continue their strong involvement in the development of data quality control procedures and in the monitoring and assessment of sensors accuracy, in collaboration with manufacturers, to improve data reliability. Pilot projects are also planned for the coming years to integrate commercially available optical scattering sensors, that have been tested to 6000 m, onto Deep-Argo floats.

The distribution of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration at global scale is driven by physical, biogeochemical and biological processes and DO data is in a key position of many biogeochemical processes. The optode DO sensor is of proven maturity and can provide very accurate measurements, after appropriate corrections have been applied. It is currently carried by a large proportion of Euro-Argo floats, including most of European Deep-Argo floats, and in the long-term, Euro-Argo plans to equip at least 3/4 of its fleet (all missions) with a DO sensor.

The implementation of the new OneArgo design, and more specifically the BGC and the Deep-Argo missions, come with new challenges for Euro-Argo, including the cost, but also the need for growing capacity both at manufacturer level and in the teams involved with operations, data management, data quality and sensor accuracy assessment and monitoring. As one piece of a multiplatform ocean observing system, Argo and Euro-Argo will also have to improve synergies with other ocean observing networks in the future, to efficiently progress in ocean knowledge and management. The European strategy for Deep-Argo and BGCArgo presented here will be part of a wider effort initiated by Euro-Argo to define the general “Euro-Argo scientific strategy for the OneArgo array implementation”.

A recommendation about what type of metadata should be attached to the measurement is also included in this deliverable. Its objective is to encourage data infrastructures to harmonize their metadata, which would allow data marine users to switch more easily from one infrastructure to another one and thus extend access to more data.

This deliverable also presents two case studies, in which we put ourselves in the place of a in situ marine data user.

Another challenge proved to be the variability within some networks with sub-components or sub-groups having significantly different characteristics. In particular Eulerian platforms comprise a wide range of platforms – fixed moorings, surface buoys, cable bottom platforms – with some of them being part of mature and well-developed networks (OceanSITES, EMSO etc) while other are loose partners of on-going programs and projects (JERICO RI, coastal buoys).

EuroSea activities had a significant positive impact on all the observing and thematic networks, actively promoting synergies and collaboration, with most of them successfully reaching Framework Processes Readiness Criteria Level 7 and above. Although progress at many different aspects must continue beyond EuroSea, it is important that the framework has been set. It is thus suggested that an annual evaluation/assessment process for each network/task team is adopted within EuroGOOS. By going through this exercise annually, each EuroGOOS Task Team (observing network) will be able to describe its current state, assess progress and most importantly to define next targets and priorities.

Molecular approaches come with many different options for the protocols (size fractioning, sample collection and storage, sequencing etc). One main challenge in systematically implementing those approaches is thus their standardization across observatories. Based on a survey of existing methods and on a 3-year experience in collecting, sequencing and analyzing molecular data, this deliverable is thus dedicated to present the SOPs implemented and tested at NEREA. The SOPs consider a size fractioning of the biological material to avoid biases toward more abundant, smaller organisms such as bacteria. They cover both the highly stable DNA and the less stable RNA and they are essentially an evolution of the ones developed for the highly successful Tara Oceans Expedition and recently updated for the Expedition Mission Microbiomes, an All-Atlantic expedition organised and executed by the EU AtlantECO project. Importantly, they have only slight variations with respect the ones adopted by the network of genomic observatories EMOBON. Discussions are ongoing with EMOBON to perfectly align the protocols. The SOPs are being disseminated via the main national and international networks.

Biogeochemical in situ profile observations, mostly from Argo, will be used to optimize the parameters of the global CMEMS biogeochemical model.

Following the improvements made in the CMEMS repository after the workshop, in this report we outline the most recent status of the upstream data to be used and experiments that will be conducted in the following period of EuroSea in Task 4.2.

This report describes the indicator dataset, and provides some example illustrating the information content of seasonal forecasts. Preliminary results show that in most instances the seasonal forecasts of SST beat the persistence forecasts, and that uncertainty in OHC initial conditions in upwelling region limits the assessment of forecast skill. Results also highlight the importance of representing the decadal variability and trends in ocean heat content and sea level. More detailed analysis and interpretation of results will continue during the upcoming months, and they will be reported in due time via the scheduled deliverables.

Four groups are contributing to Task 4.4: CSIC, AZTI and CLS for the blue ocean and ACRI-ST for the green ocean. Although the four groups conduct separate activities using specific datasets in dedicated regions of interest, the methods used are similar. The triple collocation technique is applied to estimate the error associated with satellite measurement. The triple collocation analysis is a method for quantifying the random error standard deviation of 3 datasets of the same geophysical variable by combining the covariances between the datasets (Mignot et al. 2019). In addition to the triple collocation analysis, usual validation metrics (e.g., rms, bias, correlation) are also considered.

The impact of the physical in situ observations assimilated in open ocean and coastal areas is assessed with numerical data assimilation experiments. The experiments are conducted with the regional 1/36° resolution and global 1/12° resolution systems operated by Mercator Ocean for the Copernicus Marine Service. For the global physical ocean, the focus is on the tropical ocean to better understand how the tropical mooring observations constrain the intraseasonal to daily variability and the complementarity with satellite observations and the deep ocean.

The tropical moorings provide unique high frequency observations at different depth, but they are far away from each other, so part of the signal in the observation are decorrelated from one mooring to the others. It is only via an integrated approach, as data assimilation into a dynamical model and complementarity with other observing networks that those observations can efficiently constrain the different scales of variability of the tropical ocean circulation. As the satellite observations brings higher spatial resolution between the tropical moorings but for the ocean surface, we show that the tropical mooring and Argo profile data assimilation constrain the larger scale ocean thermohaline vertical structure (EuroSea D2.2; Gasparin et al., 2023). The representation of the high frequency signals observed at mooring location is also significantly improved in the model analysis compared to a non-assimilative simulation.

The ocean below 2000 m depth is still largely under constrained as very few observations exist. Some deep ocean basins, as the Antarctic deep ocean, shows significant trend over the past decade but they are still not accurately monitored. Based on the spread of four deep ocean reanalysis estimates, large uncertainties were estimated in representing local heat and freshwater content in the deep ocean. Additionally, temperature and salinity field comparison with deep Argo observations demonstrates that reanalysis errors in the deep ocean are of the same size as or even stronger than the observed deep ocean signal. OSSE already suggested that the deployment of a global deep Argo array will significantly constrain the deep ocean in reanalysis to be closer to the observations (Gasparin et al., 2020).

At regional and coastal scales, the physical ocean circulation is dominated by higher frequency, smaller scale processes than the open ocean which requires different observation strategy to be well monitor. The impact of assimilating high frequency and high-resolution observations provided by gliders on European shelves is analysed with the regional Iberic Biscay and Irish (IBI) system. It was found that repetitive glider sections can efficiently help to constrain the transport of water masses flowing across those sections.

BGC ocean models are less mature than physical ocean models and some variable dependencies are still based on empirical functions. In this task, Argo BGC profile observations were used to optimize the parameters of the global CMEMS biogeochemical model, PISCES. A particle filter algorithm was chosen to optimize a 1D configuration of PISCES in the North Atlantic. The optimization of the PISCES 1D model significantly improves the model’s ability to reproduce the North Atlantic bloom.

Recommendations on the in-situ network extensions for real time ocean monitoring are given based on those results, and the one also obtained in the WP2, Task 2.2 where data assimilation experiments but with simulated observations where conducted. Argo extension and the complementarity with satellite altimetry was also extensively studied.

During the initial scoping stage of this task, a series of workshops were held between Arup, National Oceanography Centre (NOC), University of Cambridge (UCAM) and CADA Consulting (CADA). In the workshops, the problem was broken down into distinct phases and a workflow was produced to deliver the modelling and visualisation prototype, with actions assigned to Arup, UCAM and CADA. The basic premise of the proposed prototype was to visualise the economic damage resulting from a large set of SLR flood risk scenarios. This required a correspondingly large set of simulations to generate the flood risk data and, potentially, a prohibitive amount of computational expense to estimate the associated economic losses. With the aim of providing a full representation of the scientific uncertainty in the predicted damage, the aim was to reduce the detail in the engineering calculations, which translate the environmental conditions into building level flood impacts, and also the economic calculations that turn flood impacts into damage estimates. This was the alternative to reducing the number of SLR scenarios to be visualised. During this scoping stage, a concept User Interface (UI) was also developed.

The modelling process can be summarised in 3 steps:

1) Specifying nearshore hydrodynamic conditions (still water level, storm surge profile, wave conditions).

2) Calculating the pathway of water onto the land through overflow and wave overtopping of high ground or defences.

3) Determining how the flood water spreads on land.

This was a significant undertaking and a core element of the task.  UCAM developed an approach to bring together all elements in a streamlined model workflow. The aim of the approach is for this workflow to be replicable in alternative locations. However, only the case study location has been modelled within the scope of this project.

Alongside the development of the modelling approach, a visualisation prototype was designed and built to receive, process and visualise the modelling outputs. The modelling method results in a very complex set of data focussed on a wide range of “scenarios”. The scenarios are created by three primary sources of uncertainty:

1. Emissions scenario (e.g. RCP4.5)
2. Model uncertainty for sea level rise predictions within a given emissions scenario (e.g. 50^th percentile)
3. The multiple wave possibilities combined with the storm and tide extreme still water level combination

The final dimension is the geographical distribution of the flooding; where does the flooding occur and what localised damage is it causing? The spatial calculation grid was simplified but still contained 1000 hexagonal regions to cover the flood extent within Hull.

Altogether, this results in thousands of potential scenarios across 80 years and a thousand geographical points, all requiring an economic damage calculation. The sheer volume of data creates a challenge; how can the user understand the data and how can it be used to inform decisions on the impact of sea level rise? This issue has been resolved through the creation of a visualisation prototype which is a web-based interface to the data, allowing the user to easily select a scenario and, importantly, rapidly change the scenario and compare to other scenarios. In this way the user can immerse themselves in the data and get a feel for how decisions on the originating uncertainty levels (items 1 to 3 above) alter the overall flooding in the region, its distribution and the resulting economic impact.

It was important to achieve sufficiently fast functionality of the visualisation prototype as significant delays between scenario changes would quickly lose the interest of the user and limit the potential for interactive data exploration. To achieve this, the calculations were pre-processed before uploading a static data set to the visualisation prototype. This allowed the incorporation of two different ways to view the data. A single scenario view where the impacts of the chosen scenario inputs can be examined with maps, graphs and metrics. Then a two scenario option where different inputs can be compared alongside each other to understand how certain changes in the physical inputs manifest in the impacts.

Initial stakeholder feedback from the Environment Agency on the visualisation protype was positive and included acknowledging:

• the value in this approach as it explains uncertainty and helps people to understand their own appetite for risk.
• This is a good means of visualising sea level change since people often struggle to understand this in a meaningful way.
• It is useful to see how a change in one small parameter can affect a whole city
• Different stakeholders will want the information at different scales

The future development of this modelling approach and visualisation prototype may consider the following:

• The balance of modelling accuracy with speed of processing according to the location and user needs
• The incorporation of quick defence raising assessments
• Enhanced economic calculations (more detail and or wider economic metrics), again balancing the needs for more information with speed of processing
• Different methods of visualisation, such as 3D, depending on the stakeholder and user needs
• Robustness and testing of the calculations in readiness for commercialisation

This task has proven that the prototype sea level planning and scenario visualization tool is a viable prospective means of communicating the high degree of uncertainty that is inherent in current projections of sea level extremes Future commercialisation depends on follow-on funding to implement the recommended development work.  The task consortium plans to continue engagement with existing stakeholders to explore use cases and funding opportunities to refine the prototype in respect of the Humber case study area. At the same time, the task consortium is keen to identify other potential beneficiaries and funding bodies (port operators, coastal communities, insurers, planning authorities etc), who might support the enhancement of the prototype to a commercial standard in other geographical areas.

OSPAC will be implemented at three pilot sites: (i) Barcelona (Spain), (ii) Taranto (Italy) and (iii) Buenaventura (Colombia). At present stage, the Barcelona pilot-site has been successfully implemented in OSPAC and there is a growing user community (more than 30 registered users).

The OSPAC service is already available for Desktop and mobile. Access can be requested through the following website[1].

The demonstration of OSPAC in three pilot sites underscores its adaptability and effectiveness in diverse coastal settings, providing a tangible example of how EuroSea is bridging the gap between scientific research and the real-world applications essential for advancing the concept of “smart cities” and promoting sustainable practices in port management.  The report describes the OSPAC demonstrator characteristics already operational for Barcelona and Taranto pilot sites and the positive feedback, as well as recommendations for future improvements, from end-users at Barcelona and Taranto ports and city councils, during the last 6 months of the project.

This collaborative effort showcases the EuroSea role in connecting scientists with end-users, creating a harmonious synergy between cutting-edge research and the practical tools needed to navigate the challenges of our evolving coastal environments.

In Barcelona, the wave model revealed consistent model performance, despite overestimating certain wave height events. Hydrodynamic modulations by underlying currents were identified as a factor requiring further investigation into waves–current interactions. A 3-month multi-parameter intercomparison for two coastal ocean models (with and without waves-currents coupling) around Barcelona harbour showed robust performance in both cases, capturing events like Storm Babet’s sea level rise. Notably, the coupled model did not outperform the non-coupled model, suggesting the need for the extension of model intercomparison in the future to longer periods including diverse oceanic and meteorological conditions and significant extreme events.

In Taranto, the first day of forecasts is validated against the new sea level and significant wave height data provided by EuroSea tide gauge. For sea level, the results are comparable to the findings of the hindcast validation in previous studies. Regarding the significant wave height, the model shows satisfactory agreement with the two new sources of in situ waves information provided by EuroSea tide gauge, despite overestimating one of the wave peaks observed in the period.

The study highlights the effectiveness of a combined observational and modelling approach for comprehensive coastal processes characterization, leveraging the strengths of both systems.

Case Study 1. Sea lice in Deenish Island salmon farm, MHWs and oxygen concentration. Although seawater temperature increases the development rate of salmon lice, in this case, no obvious relationship was evident between sea lice numbers and marine heat waves. In addition, no relationship was found between sea lice numbers and low oxygen concentrations. Many factors influence sea lice populations, for example population numbers are greatly reduced by delousing treatments. Here, hydrodynamic and biogeochemical model data were used to overcome the lack of in-situ measurements. However, models cannot reproduce local effects caused by the farming activity. In addition, models do not account for local, episodic, highbiomass phytoplankton blooms that trigger deoxygenation events when the bloom subsides. For example, the biogeochemical model used here cannot capture sub-optimal oxygen concentrations due to the excessive decomposition of organic matter at the farm. This highlights the importance of deploying monitoring platforms to produce in-situ observations. In this regard, the recent deployment of a monitoring station at the Deenish Island salmon farm will be of great benefit to assess environmental impacts on the farming activity.

Case Study 2. Tracking Heat Waves impacting reproductive ecology of tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. One of the most relevant hydrographic variables influencing the geographical location and timing of reproduction and the survival of the eggs and larvae of the Atlantic Bluefin tuna is water temperature in the mixed layer depth, where tuna eggs and larvae are distributed. Heatwaves occurring in the spawning grounds during the larval developmental season strongly affects the thermal conditions in the surface. The increase of temperature in the mixed layer favours egg hatching and larval growth, and at the same time increases the metabolic requirements and the consequent need for food. Indicators providing information on the heat waves and temperature variability in that depth range before, during and after the spawning season of tuna provide a key source of information to assess the potential changes on larval survival and the associated deviations of recruitment induced by environmental variability. Indicators of surface temperature anomalies associated to heat waves are provided to different working groups of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). These indicators are applied to monitor environmental variability associated to climate change on the early life of this species and are integrated in numerical models simulating effects on interannual survival of larvae that have a key role in recruitment scenarios.

Case Study 3. Ocean Acidification: Deep cold water coral reefs of Lophelia pertusa and long-term decrease in pH. The acidification in the Rockall Trough is an interesting case study for two important reasons. Firstly, the presence of cold-water corals, particularly sensitive to a long-term decrease in seawater pH. Secondly, in-situ subsurface and deep-water samples have been collected from the Rockall Trough starting in 1991, making it possible to conduct studies on the long-term effects of climate change in this area, and to compare the impacts of ocean acidification in the surface and the deep ocean. The seawater pH along different transects in the Rockall Trough was derived from in-situ dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity measurements from 1991 to 2010. The data shows that the decline in seawater pH is not restricted to the subsurface waters, but it also affects deeper water depths where the Labrador Sea Water is found, with a decrease in seawater pH of ca. 0.03 units during this period. This means that the deep, cold-water coral communities of Lophelia pertusa will likely be affected by this continued long-term decrease in seawater pH.

Case Study 4. Acidification: oyster farming in Tralee Bay and long-term decrease in pH. A negative trend in seawater pH of -0.016 decade-1 is reported by the model at the oyster fisheries in Tralee Bay, reflecting the generalized effect of ocean acidification. Assuming a constant linear trend during the rest of the 21th century, the pH at the Tralee Bay oyster fishery in 2100 would be approximately 7.94. A decreased pH of the ocean will have negative effects for calcifying organisms such as bivalves, with larval stages being more sensitive to increasing acidic conditions. Previous research on the influence of seawater acidification on Ostrea edulis larvae development showed that acidified seawater had a markedly negative effect on the larval shell length.

Based on the results in this report “Connections between “Extreme Marine Events” and Biological EOVs”, we recommend that the ocean observing community continue to:

1. Increase the amount of in-situ ocean observations in the marine environment to properly evaluate the impact of climate change on the biological communities.

2. Improve the capability of 3D biogeochemical models.

3. Ensure that more support is provided to biological monitoring communities to ensure their datasets are easily accessible and usable in future studies.

1) the timeliness (latency) of ship data delivery according to operational oceanography requirements was promoted in HELCOM;

2) interim reanalysis by assimilating both BOOS and HELCOM data for a selected period was conducted;

3) indicator assessments based on integrated products for the selected period were produced for both eutrophication status and marine extreme events.

Products were designed in close consultation with the HELCOM community and introduced at relevant HELCOM meetings and will be published on the BOOS and HELCOM websites.

A number of recommendations are provided on how to support the use of Copernicus Marine Service products in fisheries science, such as the production of new Best Practices, stronger partnerships (fisheries scientists and oceanographers) and co-development of ocean indicators.

• improved observation data accessibility by BOOS, CMEMS INSTAC and EMODnet;
• improved quality of frequently updated CMEMS reanalysis;
• improved quality and update frequency of eutrophication assessment in the Baltic Sea based on the reanalysis.

We demonstrate the improvement of assessment products using interim reanalysis products and new CMEMS biogeochemical multiyear product BALTICSEA_MULTIYEAR_BGC_003_012, where more profile data, including those collected within the EuroSea project, were incorporated. Also, the still existing discrepancies between the assessment results based on the CMEMS product and HELCOM monitoring data are indicated for selected eutrophication indicators. A more user-oriented accuracy estimation approach is introduced and demonstrated. Recommendations to further improve the CMEMS products for their applicability in the Baltic Sea status assessments are given.

The feasibility of extending the suggested approach to use CMEMS products to other regional seas, other indicators, and fishery advice applications is analysed and recommendations from the workshop on “Full value chain integration for monitoring and assessment”, held in Galway on 5 October 2023, are provided.

This report, resulting from the contribution of numerous laboratories (GEOMAR, SU/LOV, Euro-Argo ERIC, UERJ, IRD/LEGOS/UFPE/DOCEAN/LOFEC), summarises the multi-platform deployment approach followed in this region and presents the main characteristics of the implemented tools. In addition, the first outcomes and results obtained by the autonomous platforms are presented. Finally, the first conclusions of this multi- platform approach are synthesised.

Disclaimer: This document represents the situation at the time of data evaluation and writing of the report which is primarily based on data from 2021/2022 or not fully processed data. As BGC-Argo floats and Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs) are still in operation or have to be reprocessed, more data is coming in and the database is growing daily. This will allow us to improve the statistics of our analysis and hence the robustness of the results. Therefore, the results presented here are based on the status quo and are not necessarily the final word on these matters. We therefore point out that further analyses will and need to be carried out.

Disclaimer: This document represents the situation at the time of data evaluation and writing of the report which is primarily based on data from 2021/2022. As pH-equipped BGC-Argo floats and ASVs are still in operation or have to be reprocessed, more data is coming in and the database is growing daily. This will allow us to improve the statistics of our analyses and hence the robustness of the results. Therefore, the results presented here are based on the status quo and are not necessarily the final word on these matters. We therefore point out that further analyses will and need to be carried out. A more detailed and integrative assessment on the quality enhancement of carbon fluxes based on Argo-pH data acquired in the tropical Atlantic will be provided in EuroSea deliverable D7.61, to be submitted in 2023. Moreover, the results shown in this deliverable will be presented and discussed to that the scientific community during the next BGC-Argo community workshop in January 2023.

This deliverable recommends improvement of carbon sampling in all nations EEZ regions and following global standards. Because the objective targets a global assessment, the data must be disseminated rapidly and in a FAIR fashion to enable further global integration (e.g., global carbon budget). A need for defining responsibilities for such global integration and the resourcing is required. It is recommended to make use of statistical methods to create surface and interior carbon parameter distributions via multiparameter approaches with a sufficient amount of reference data (e.g., co-located DIC, oxygen, nutrients, chlorophyll- a, hydrography). In the light of the ongoing crisis related to global availability of the Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) for carbonate system measurements, provision of European-produced material becomes critical to enable traceability of future measurements. Nations should be encouraged to provide appropriate resources by means of corresponding European directives. Example for such national commitments is the collection of reference data in the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy.

This report presents extensive results of indicator forecasts across seasons, highlighting where the exploitation of forecasts has the potential to benefit users but also where further improvements in forecast systems are necessary to make them useful. Examples of encouraging results are shown for regions prone to devastating marine heat waves, and for sea level change near island nations. Seasonality of skill is also considered here; for example, extreme winter conditions in European seas are more accurately forecast than extreme summer conditions.

In summary, this report demonstrates the capability of seasonal forecast systems to predict marine indicators and is the first step towards the creation of marine-focused climate services.

This deliverable relies on different observing platforms deployed specifically as part of the EuroSea project (a Saildrone, and 5 pH-equipped BGC-Argo floats) as well as on the platforms as part of the TAOS (CO2- equipped moorings, cruises, models, and data products). It also builds on the work done in D7.1 and D7.2 on the deployment and quality control of pH-equipped BGC-Argo floats and Saildrone data. Indeed, high-quality homogeneously calibrated carbonate variable measurements are mandatory to be able to compute air-sea CO2 fluxes at a basin scale from multiple observing platforms.

With respect to the external communication, different target audiences need to be approached with different messages, and often also using different communication tools. Messages, target audiences, and tools are described in detail (Section 3), and are linked to each other (Diagram 3). In this way, the EuroSea communication approaches are outlined to target policy and decision-makers, industry and business sectors, the scientific community, and the general public.

To monitor the effectiveness and long-term impacts of the EuroSea activities, including communication, a subset of the EuroSea steering committee has established a protocol, explained in Section 4 of this plan.

Finally, a Gantt chart summarises the timing of communication for which a planning could already be made (Section 5).

EuroSea is adapting its dissemination and exploitation activities with the view of:

• Taking note of the lessons learnt from virtual meetings, adapting the session duration and frequency, as well as exploring the use of multiple platforms for the same event which increases opportunities for different types of online interactions;
• Exploring fully all available means to allow informal interactions via virtual networking;
• Exploring online exhibition opportunities; • Exchanging best practice and learning from each other among the European and global projects and initiatives, on how to enhance dissemination and engagement via virtual means;
• Considering cumulative impacts for the wellbeing at work caused by the shift from physical to virtual interactions;
• Using hybrid, physical-online, meeting options when this becomes possible;
• Engaging all partners in supporting EuroSea digital presence via social media and the website by delivering timely information and proactively contributing to the project’s visibility;
• Considering the gains from the online meeting experience once the travel restrictions are lifted.

• Understanding and coproduction – with the importance of active, iterative, and inclusive dialogue through established engagement and co-design methodologies, and continuous learning process;
• Socio-environmental systems – with the importance of integrating ocean observing and forecasting in social systems, including connection with the users of ocean knowledge and information;
• Flow of communication – with the importance of continuous and inclusive exchange of information while recognising the needs and competences of the actors of the science-policy process; • Jargon and language – with the importance of realizing that sector-specific jargon may not only be unknown to policy or industry stakeholders but also to fellow scientists and plain language must always be used;
• Addressing uncertainty – with the importance of communicating it clearly and with an emphasis on its value as a proof of the robustness of the scientific method or demonstration of requirements for observations and modelling;
• Proof of impact – with the importance of communicating the value of observations in terms of connectivity, partnerships, and synergies, and not through the traditional linear input-outputoutcome-impact model;
• Design of the messages – with the importance of clarity, brevity, and visual aids, as well as orientation towards the expected impact rather than the volume of scientific information, valorising the audience, and exemplifying messages with recent developments and publications in media.

EuroSea has allowed us to crystallize some acquirements and issues of the science-policy interface. However, this remains a relatively new area of activity for ocean observing and forecasting and will require further understanding with more lessons learnt to be derived. EuroSea continues this work aiming to not only demonstrate how our lessons learnt can be used and complemented, but also contribute to the overall narrative about the impact and value of the European ocean observing and forecasting system. Furthermore, we believe that through this document and the various science-policy activities of EuroSea, the European oceanographic community can contribute valuable best practices globally.

• Oceanographic Services for Ports And Cities (OSPAC software) – real time alert to provide forecast of sea conditions (WP5)
• Solution for marine sensors to measure and forecast oxygen, heat and pH related Extreme Marine Events onsite for aquaculture – monitoring system for extreme marine events at aquaculture sites (WP6)
• Low maintenance tide gauges (WP5)
• Prototype sea level planning and scenario visualisation tool (WP5)

These four KERs were selected based on external expertise provided to EuroSea through the EU funded Horizon Results Booster (HRB) services in relation to Module C – assisting projects to improve their existing exploitation strategy. The aim of this service is to strengthen the capacity of projects in using their research results and enhancing the capacity of partners to improve their exploitation strategy. These services were provided by LC Innoconsult International and their recommendation was that the four KERs chosen have the most potential for commercialisation.

For each of these KERs additional information is provided in Section 6 in relation to a description of the KER, risk assessment and priority mapping (partnership risk factors, technological risk factors, market risk factors, etc), exploitation roadmap outlining the roles of the relevant partners and use options for further exploitation.

Within Horizon 2020, the EuroSea Communication Work Package 8 focuses on public engagement activities related to ocean observing and forecasting, among other activities. To raise awareness about the EuroSea project and ocean observation, the EuroSea itinerant exhibition was created. This exhibition features printed panels, audiovisuals, and a photobooth that could be adapted and translated for different locations. The exhibition has been presented at 8 events and locations across Europe, aiming to engage the general public, promote ocean literacy, and emphasize the importance of ocean observation and forecasting.

This report specifically focuses on three events targeted to the general public where the EuroSea exhibition was showcased: 1) 2022 European Researcher’s Night. 2022, September 30th in Palma (Mallorca, Spain); 2) 25th Galway Science & Technology Festival. 2022, November 13th in Galway (Ireland); and 3) 10th ‘Science for all’. 2023, May 11-13th in Palma (Mallorca, Spain).

To evaluate the impact of the EuroSea exhibition, an online survey was conducted. The survey assessed visitor satisfaction, knowledge acquisition, interest in the topic, prior knowledge of EuroSea and ocean observation, and preferences for future engagement activities. A total of 41 people participated in the survey. The main results obtained from the analysis of the data demonstrate an overall positive satisfaction with the exhibition and a high level of interest in the topic. Participants reported acquiring new knowledge and expressed a desire for future engagement activities. Additionally, the survey provided valuable demographic insights into the participants, including their age, gender, employment status, educational background, and frequency of engagement in ocean science outreach activities.

The findings from the survey will contribute to the improvement of future public engagement activities by better understanding the needs and interests of the public regarding ocean observation and forecasting.

This document emphasizes the significance of public engagement in research and innovation, specifically within the EuroSea project. The EuroSea itinerant exhibition was developed to raise awareness and promote ocean literacy, while the survey conducted during the exhibition provided valuable insights into participant satisfaction and preferences. This information will be instrumental in enhancing future engagement efforts.

The methodology used was a case study approach using semi-structured interviews with the end users to qualitatively assess the impact of the KERs and ocean observations on them. This report focusses on the qualitative impact of demonstrator outputs.

Key findings and recommendations
The responses to the interview questions show that there is an economic benefit to the users of the demonstrator results and ocean observations in general. The value is derived from the provision of real time data and predictive models that leads to cost savings for the organisations interviewed. Quantifying these benefits in monetary terms in a meaningful way remains a considerable challenge and further case studies on the value of ocean observations are required.

The interviews have shown that the co-development of EuroSea Key Exploitable Results has been successful. This process was key to ensuring that the products and services developed in the project met the requirements of the users. This also helps to maximise the impact and benefit of the outputs for the users. Continued co-development is recommended to help enhance the benefit of ocean observation products for specific end users.

The availability and coverage of data remains a key challenge to maximising the economic impact of ocean observations. Further funding is required to fill gaps in data coverage and availability of local data. Other sources of funding for ocean observations should also be pursued, such as models of co-funding between research organisations and users for the development of specific data products that are useful to them.

Building a stronger and better integrated ocean observing system thanks to the fruitful cooperation developed in EuroSea among public institutions and private organisations enables the elaboration of common standards and metadata and enhances the interoperability of the innovative solutions and instruments provided by the project.

The ability to share ocean information to facilitate multi-stakeholder communication and reuse avoids duplication of efforts and costs and supports the New Blue Economy which focuses on improving collection, analysis, and dissemination of ocean data to support global economic growth.

• Oceanographic Services for Ports And Cities (OSPAC software) – one-stop platform that provides (i) monitoring, (ii) real time and forecast alerts and (iii) on-demand services for assessing the sea conditions at harbours and coastal cities (WP5)
• Solution for marine sensors to measure and forecast oxygen, heat and pH related Extreme Marine Events onsite for aquaculture – monitoring system for extreme marine events at aquaculture sites (WP6)
• Low maintenance tide gauges (WP5)
• Prototype sea level planning and scenario visualisation tool (WP5)

The report reviews the size of the markets for the KERs, the viable commercial plans for each and the investment sources to be pursued to further develop the results.

This report summarizes how the six articulations of the RRI approach were applied so far in the EuroSea project. It also offers some recommendations to boost the societal benefits provided by inclusivity, equality, ethics, transparency and collaborative co-design and co-creation in the research and innovation process applied to ocean observing. Now, and even more in the future, it is necessary to multiply the opportunities to share knowledge and expertise among all transdisciplinary actors to be engaged in improving the European and global ocean observing and forecasting.

Moreover, the emerging critical problems affecting the ocean require an increased public involvement through open access to ocean information, effective communication and dissemination of research findings, more diffuse ocean literacy and collective mobilisation. Only these factors seem to be able to establish the global common responsibility necessary to enhance the ocean sustainability, as advocated by the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development supporting the achievement of the SDG 14 in the UN Agenda 2030.

Key considerations in planning and strategy include defining project objectives, identifying target audiences, crafting effective messages, and selecting appropriate communication channels and tools. Evaluation and adjustment are also vital to measure the effectiveness of communication and dissemination activities.

Overall, this guide could serve as a resource for any team involved in communication and dissemination activities in projects from Horizon 2020. This information will be instrumental in enhancing future efforts, maximizing the impact of the activities and ensuring the success of the project.

EuroSea has recognized the importance of fostering a deeper understanding of ocean observing and forecasting among the younger generation.

This deliverable and the many activities feeding into it are a testament to EuroSea’s commitment to this cause. This report focuses on the lessons learnt from a diverse array of activities engaging the next generation of ocean observing and forecasting stakeholders, demonstrating the extensive range of possibilities for involving the younger generation. It underscores the importance of tailoring approaches to different age groups, from school children to university graduates and adapting engagement strategies to their varying interests and life stages. Every experience—even the ones that did not turn out as expected—has shown to be beneficial, and it is important to share lessons learnt and identify best practices while expanding these kinds of initiatives.

EuroSea’s dedication to engaging the next generation of stakeholders is a significant step in fostering intergenerational dialogue and promoting blue skills and knowledge sharing. Valuable lessons have been learnt from the EuroSea engagement activities and provide guidance for future initiatives aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of our ocean among the younger generation and engaging them in conversations that impact their future on this planet.

EuroSea Impact Areas:

1. Strengthen the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS), support the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the GOOS Regional Alliances;
2. Increase ocean data sharing and integration;
3. Deliver improved climate change predictions;
4. Build capacity, internally in EuroSea and externally with EuroSea users, in a range of key areas;
5. Develop innovations, including exploitation of novel ideas or concepts; shorten the time span between research and innovation and foster economic value in the blue economy;
6. Facilitate methodologies, best practices, and knowledge transfer in ocean observing and forecasting;
7. Contribute to policy making in research, innovation, and technology;
8. Raise awareness of the need for a fit for purpose, sustained, observing and forecasting system in Europe.

Ocean observing and forecasting is a complex activity brining about a variety of technologies, human expertise, in water and remote sensing measurements, high-volume computing and artificial intelligence, and a high degree of governance and coordination. Determining an impact on a user type or an area, therefore, requires a holistic assessment and a clear strategic overview. The EuroSea impact monitoring protocol has been the first known such attempt in a European ocean observing and forecasting project. The project’s progress has been followed according to the identified impact areas, through consortium workshops, stakeholder webinars, tracking, and reporting. At the end of EuroSea, we are able to demonstrate how well we have responded to the European policy drivers set out in the funding call and the grant agreement of our project, signed between the European Commission and 53 organizations, members of the EuroSea consortium. The project’s impact is diverse, spanning areas from strengthening ocean observing governance to contributing to policymaking or boosting ocean research, innovation, and technology. Each impact area underscores EuroSea’s commitment to a sustainable and informed approach to ocean observing and forecasting for enhanced marine knowledge and science-based sustainable blue economy and policies.

In order to significantly improve European ocean observation and forecasting services, EuroSea is committed to working closely with developers and potential end-users of products and services. This co-design approach leads to the strengthening of a joint community which is needed for the design and the implementation of a functional system. The overall aim of EuroSea is not only to significantly improve the European ocean observing system which advances scientific knowledge about ocean climate, marine ecosystems, and their vulnerability to human impacts and demonstrates the importance of the ocean for an economically viable and healthy society by delivering ocean observations and forecasts but also to integrate this system as an important entity in the global context.

To achieve this overall goal, the following objectives have been set for EuroSea

1. Strengthening European ocean observing and forecasting as an integrated entity within a global context
2. Improving the design for an integrated European ocean observing and forecasting system for the European seas and the Atlantic, including the deep sea
3. Improving and enhancing the readiness and integration of ocean observing networks
4. Enabling FAIR data, supporting integration of ocean data into Copernicus Marine Service, EMODnet and SeaDataNet portfolios
5. Delivery of improved forecasts and new information synthesis products by better use of data in models
6. Development of novel services, demonstrating the value of the ocean observing system to users
7. Support of an integrated, sustainable and fit-for-purpose ocean observing system by engaging with a range of end-users and other stakeholders

The project consortium consists of 55 partners with expertise from various sectors (science, industry, ethics, economy, industry, education, politics, …). Considering the size of the consortium and the broad range of tasks in the project, it is a great advantage that many of the partners have already worked together in different constellations and many of the tasks build on long-lasting and close collaborations and partnerships.

The project is divided into 10 work packages (WPs; Table 1, Figure 1), which in turn are subdivided into individual tasks. Roughly, these work packages can be classified into the following categories: Design & Coordination (WP2, WP3, WP4), Services & Innovations – EuroSea Demonstrators (WP5, WP6, WP7), and Governance & Legacy (WP1, WP8, WP9&10).