Key priorities of the 8th EuroGOOS conference
Major developments have taken place in operational oceanography in recent years particularly in the enhanced networking and cooperation among ocean observing and data aggregation initiatives and in the development of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) associated products and services for users. Marine research infrastructures have in some cases transitioned to full legal entities providing robust, timely and quality assured data to the operational oceanography and wider scientific community.
The polar oceans will also receive more attention in the coming years through the Year of Polar Prediction and projects including the European Commission’s INTAROS project focused on the Arctic observing system. In coastal seas, there is significant activity to raise the technology readiness of key observing technologies, to enhance predictions in coastal areas, to incorporate more routine collection of biogeochemical measurements, and to provide better services to users in all European sea basins including enhanced satellite products. Acoustic technologies have developed rapidly in recent years and are increasingly used in operational oceanography.
Reflecting these developments, the key priorities of the 2017 EuroGOOS conference will be to:
- Highlight the progress in linking and aligning European ocean observing stakeholders and initiatives towards building an integrated and sustained European Ocean Observing System (AtlantOS, INTAROS, and others);
- Highlight the progress made in integrating and aggregating European marine data to enhance its societal and economic potential (Copernicus Marine Service, EMODnet, SeaDataNet, and others);
- Identify community priorities regarding the evolution of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service;
- Evaluate the role of marine research infrastructures in the operational oceanographic system;
- Emphasise new initiatives under way for polar seas (observation and predictive capabilities);
- Explore some of the new technologies for coastal operational oceanography;
- Elaborate the role of acoustic technologies in the ocean observing system;
- Evaluate the ongoing efforts to integrate ocean observing and data initiatives at a global level, meeting the societal, policy and economic needs.