Deliverables

Capitalizing on national and European projects and programmes, in situ data FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and RE-Usable) has significantly improved in some domains. This includes better harmonization, interoperability, and integration of data and metadata services at regional or observing networks level. However, many gaps and barriers still exist and must be addressed. To this end, the purpose of EuroSea DMP is to propose a plan to enhance the FAIRness of these network data systems to facilitate their use either directly or throughout existing operational integrated services such as CMEMS and EMODnet. These data systems have been developed and maintained for the past two decades and EuroSea proposed and deployed empowerment or service enhancement will be up-taken and continued by these networks and service providers after the end of the EuroSea project.

The present study shows that the observation and thematic networks in EuroSea all have highly developed coordination mechanism elements, except for task 3.7 – ASV, which represents a new network to be established. Given the spectrum of coordination themes and envisioned targets significant heterogeneity across the networks is also evident. The coordination of ship-based observations is not fully represented in EuroSea (and thus in EuroGOOS) and ideally this task should have been divided into research vessels and commercial vessels (container ships, ferries) but as it stands currently is dominated by one technology only (Ferrybox). This reflects the situation in EuroGOOS. For the thematic networks it is interesting to note that the observatories that are operated in task 3.8 (Augmented observatories) are not represented in the observational networks (task 3.1-3.7).

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.

Today, more than 600 active tide gauges contribute to the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS). Their data are integrated and distributed through different national and international data portals and programs, targeting different applications often related to different temporal sampling intervals, quality control or latency. Some of these data portals were specifically designed for sea level measurements as part of the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS). Others, such as Copernicus or the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), integrate these data in near-real time along with other sources and types of data, allowing the use of tide gauge data in operational oceanography.

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.

• Foster the development, management and execution of the European HFR network roadmap.
• Enable broad international collaboration.
• Be capable of sustaining HFR measurements over extended, decadal timescales.
• Be readily scaled to tackle new regions and value additional HFR data products (e.g. waves, winds, derived added value products).
• Be adapted beyond the established European HFR community, by boosting stakeholder engagement and co-design of the European HFR strategy and implementation actions.

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.

Currently, there are numerous programmes, projects and initiatives working to develop and implement effective ocean observing capacities, operating at different geographical scales (local, national, regional, panEuropean and international) and different timescales (real-time, daily, monthly, annually, etc). These capabilities are, by their nature, highly fragmented and complex. While there is some coordination at global level, for example under the auspices of GOOS and the OCG, a strengthening in coordination at regional scale is necessary to ensure that the right observations are made and that they are made on a systematic and sustained basis. An overarching strategy across all measurement platforms is required to ensure that best use is made of limited resources in Member States and at European level. The European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) links the currently disparate components of the observing system in Europe and will promote novel technology and infrastructure development, standardization, open access to data, and capacity building.

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.).

We also estimated a slight offset comparable to other measurements with this type of sensor, offset easily adjustable with the reference in situ measurements. This type of observation will continue in the future and will improve our observations of CO2 in the Ligurian Sea.

They are, and will need to be, complemented by additional metadata and information specific to the network considered. Each recommendation is associated with a criterion based on the FAIR principles as proposed by the international collective FORCE11. The output table obtained from these proposed basic recommendations is then filled by the different EuroSea in situ networks which highlight similarities and differences and the maturity of the networks. It gives a good overview of the existing metadata and information used by the observation networks for further discussions and improvements.

As explained in sections 1 and 2, integration is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional effort. It designates the process of efficiently collaborating among all the actors of ocean observing in order to optimally combine, across scales and disciplines, in-situ and remote observations and numerical models, exploiting the complementarities among different types of data, to produce an observing system that is more relevant than the sum of its individual contributions. An integrated approach thus requires strong and efficient coordination between observing networks, between modellers and observers, and between disciplines and areas of expertise, to ensure that all these elements are finely tuned to each other and constitute a coherent whole.

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.

Main successes:

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.

Thanks to the EuroSea project, the European glider community managed to re-organize the way metadata has been handled since the community started to work on glider data management. This new approach based on the use of online community tools has been endorsed by the international community and will increase user engagement on this topic through an effective, inclusive, open, transparent, and asynchronous way to share and build knowledge.

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.

OceanOPS activity within EuroSea project is an opportunity to highlight challenges and enable progress. OceanOPS has developed a metadata management system for standardization and harmonization of various OCG networks1 , including long term Eulerian time series stations. The Eulerian stations considered are fixed moorings for ocean observations as against the mobile drifting buoys, floats, gliders under overall GOOS OCG. Other fixed stations like tidal gauges, high frequency radars are beyond current topic.

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.

To start, this handbook provides an educational description of the eight ocean observing networks considered in the EuroSea project, namely:

– 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.

WP3 (Network integration and Improvement) supervises key aspects of integration of European observing technology for its optimal use in EOOS and global initiatives. Moreover, WP3 is dedicated to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of operation and use of in-situ ocean observing technologies by improving and integrating observing networks and improving their coordination.

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 ).

Originally designed to provide temperature and salinity profiles in the upper 2 km of the ice-free ocean, the Argo array has progressively been expanded into seasonal ice zones and marginal or enclosed seas. Furthermore, regional pilot programmes, where Euro-Argo partners played an important role, have allowed to develop and test Argo floats able to measure biogeochemical (BGC) parameters (BGC-Argo), and floats able to make measurements throughout the water column to 6000 m depth (Deep-Argo). The BGC-Argo and Deep-Argo Missions are now being implemented by Euro-Argo and internationally to complement the initial Core-Argo Mission. Together they form the new global, full-depth and multidisciplinary OneArgo programme.

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”.

To start, this deliverable provides a description of these three major European data integrators and explains how to access to the data and what type of data it is possible to find. The cooperation between these three data infrastructures is also presented.

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.

The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic had significant effects upon WP3 activities since the main mechanism foreseen to advance progress within the different networks was the organization of in person workshops. Moreover, adequate funds were allocated towards this in order to promote inclusivity and participation. Adapting to the new situation the first series of workshops had to be changed into online only events which despite the inherent difficulty, proved to have significant advantages as well. In particular they gave the opportunity for a significant number of people to join from all around the globe and participate in the events (for example the Sea Level WS).

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.

In this context, the specific aim of Task 3.8 is to accelerate the adoption of molecular methods such as genomic, transcriptomic (and related “omics”) approaches, currently used as monitoring tools in human health, to the assessment of the state and change of marine ecosystems. It was designed to favor the increase the capacity to evaluate biological diversity and the organismal metabolic states in different environmental conditions by the development of “augmented observatories”, utilizing state-of-art methodologies in genomic-enabled research at multidisciplinary observatories at well-established marine LTERs, with main focus on a mature oceanographic observatory in Naples, NEREA. In addition, an effort is dedicated to connecting existing observatories that intend to augment their observations with molecular tools.

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.