[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/12842\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EStorm-proofing: Europe steps up marine monitoring efforts\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen oceanographer Toste Tanhua and his research team set up a trial system to monitor aquaculture conditions near Barcelona in 2023, they were keenly aware of the havoc a powerful storm had wreaked on the region three years earlier.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStorm Gloria ravaged southeast Spain in January 2020, killing 13 people and causing millions of euros in damage. At the Port of Barcelona, seven-metre waves crashed over sea defences, engulfing nearby coastal towns in sea foam and ravaging beach resorts.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe had Storm Gloria very much in mind,\u201d said Tanhua, a chemical oceanographer at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. Tanhua has personally taken part in over 35 marine research expeditions, including in the Arctic, Atlantic and Antarctic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EOcean gaps\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe disaster in Spain highlighted the need to improve Europe\u2019s ocean monitoring and warning systems. Despite the fundamental importance of the marine environment, both environmentally and economically, there are still large gaps in ocean observation and forecasting systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ENow we are seeing a need for a sustained observing system that can deliver information for understanding ocean health, biodiversity changes and the effects of climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EToste Tanhua, EuroSea\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOcean observation is \u201cbig science\u201d, involving large teams and resources. The EU has made significant investments in recent decades to boost the development of ocean observation and improve integration and coordination of national efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETanhua has been heading up an international team of researchers working to help integrate European national ocean observation systems into a global system.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of a four-year EU-funded research initiative called EuroSea, which concluded in December 2023, the researchers brought together experts from 56 organisations across Europe and beyond.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose included the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), World Meteorological Organization, the international organisation Mercator Ocean International, and the European Global Ocean Observing System (EuroGOOS).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EInternational oversight\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEuroSea is part of a series of scientific efforts that supported the development of the EU\u2019s Copernicus Marine Service (CMS).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis service is the marine component of the EU\u2019s Copernicus Programme and provides free, authoritative information in support of European and international ocean management policies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIts aim is to shed light on important changes taking place in and around the world\u2019s oceans, from ocean and weather forecasting to picking up on longer-term climate and ecosystem signals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHistorically, ocean science has been driven by curiosity, as people wanted to explore the oceans and their life forms, said Tanhua.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNow we are seeing a need for a sustained observing system that can deliver information for understanding ocean health, biodiversity changes and the effects of climate change,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuch operational services are needed for shipping and other maritime industries such as aquaculture, offshore wind and tourism.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ELong-term effort\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe origins of the CMS go back to an earlier EU-funded research initiative called MERSEA-STRAND 1. The research team carried out an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of European operational oceanography and data assimilation systems back in 2003 and 2004.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis was when all the operational oceanography centres in Europe first sat down together to discuss how to develop a fully operational system for ocean modelling and forecasting,\u201d said Pierre-Yves Le Traon, scientific director of Mercator Ocean International.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis paved the way for a series of EU-funded programmes that worked to integrate satellite observations with data from in-situ monitoring networks for more precise ocean modelling, eventually leading to the creation of the operational CMS in 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need Copernicus\u2019 capabilities to better manage the ocean in a sustainable way, support the development of the blue economy and better protect marine ecosystems,\u201d said Le Traon.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also stressed the need to better understand how the ocean is being altered by climate change to predict its long-term evolution, and to prepare and adapt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EImproving data quality\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETanhua and the EuroSea research team explored ways to connect data from many different sources to enhance overall data quality in EuroGOOS.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to the aquaculture monitoring site off the coast of Spain, the researchers also set up a similar data collection service in the Irish Sea to support Irish fish farmers. In both cases, the researchers were responsive to user needs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Ireland, data collection was mostly concerned with monitoring ocean health, measuring things such as oxygen levels and the presence of harmful algal blooms. These were connected to levels of nutrients in the water and heat waves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Spain, they were more interested in understanding waves and currents and wind, said Tanhua. \u201cThey wanted a warning system that would allow them to prepare for adverse weather conditions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn both sites, the team used buoys equipped with sensors to measure both chemical and physical ocean variables. These measurements were combined with data from other observation systems in the Copernicus network.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Spain, the oceanographers also worked with several ports around Barcelona. The data the buoys collected allowed them to model how currents and wave conditions would change in ports and beaches along the Catalan coast during storms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt also provided information on how marine construction projects could alter tides and storm surges, and even insight into where the coast guard should search in the case of someone falling into the sea, based on local ocean currents.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESolar-powered drone\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETanhua specialises in ocean ventilation \u2013 the movement of water from the surface of the ocean into the depths, carrying with it properties such as changes in temperature, gases like carbon dioxide and oxygen, or fresh water from rain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the EuroSea research experiments, the team was able to gain further insight into this process, with all its environmental implications. \u201cThere was a function that allowed you to model how an oil spill would disperse, for example,\u201d said Tanhua.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers used an autonomous sailing drone to measure carbon dioxide concentrations on the ocean surface in the tropical Atlantic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOceans are currently taking up about a quarter of man-made carbon dioxide emissions,\u201d said Tanhua. This amounts to an estimated 10 to 12 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, or about\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/276629\/global-co2-emissions\/\u0022\u003Ea third\u003C\/a\u003E of annual global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe need Copernicus\u2019 capabilities to better manage the ocean in a sustainable way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EPierre-Yves Le Traon, MERSEA-STRAND 1\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo accurately predict the impact of climate change on the world\u2019s oceans, scientists need to understand these carbon dioxide fluxes better.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe solar-powered drone equipped with a carbon dioxide sensor spent more than a year at sea, travelling around 22 000 kilometres back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea was to explore how carbon dioxide concentrations could be measured. The project also used carbon dioxide sensors on buoys and cargo ships, and robotic floats that drift with ocean currents.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe sensors use data from the Copernicus system to improve forecasting, but they also send data back to the system, enhancing its capabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EDigital twin\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBuilding on the achievements of the CMS and the European Marine Observation and Data Network, scientists are now developing the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO), using the latest advances in observation, modelling and artificial intelligence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe first pre-operational platform of the EU DTO was unveiled in June 2024.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe digital twin platform uses real-time and historical ocean data and models to run different \u201cwhat if\u201d scenarios, explained Le Traon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat if I reduce the pollution in a given river, what would be the impact on the ocean?\u201d he offered as an example. \u201cGiven different scenarios of climate change, what will be the impact of sea level rise on the coast?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeing able to model such climate change scenarios will help decision-makers better manage the ocean,\u201d Le Traon said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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