Meeting location: Remote meeting with Webex
Date and time: 27 April 2023, 14:00 to 15:30 CEST

List of actions

Meeting Minutes

1. Welcome and Introduction

Jan-Bart Calewaert (EMODnet Secretariat) opened the meeting and presented the agenda and objectives of the meeting. It is the aim to present the latest developments of the European Atlas of the Seas and to get feedback from the Steering Committee members on how we can further strengthen the Atlas.

Tour de table

All participants in the meeting presented themselves.

• Joana Costa (EEA) recently joined the European Environment Agency. She pointed out the interest of linking the European Atlas of the Seas (Atlas) with the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) - Marine.
• Jörn Schmidt (ICES) is very interested in the Atlas. He pointed out that there is an increasing number of groups working on Earth Observations which are relevant and there are interesting links to the Digital Twin.
• Julien Gaffuri (EUROSTAT) has worked on the Atlas in the past. He stated that he is pleased to see how the Atlas has evolved.
• Tim Lemmens has moved to DG DEFIS to support the management of the Copernicus programme. He has also been following up the developments for a very long time as it is his 15th anniversary dealing with the Atlas.
• Juan Carlos Fernandez (CINEA) is supporting DG MARE in implementation of the Atlas.
• Alice Belin (DG ENV) is working on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). She finds the Atlas very useful and regularly uses the seabed habitat maps.

Perspectives from DG MARE

Chantal Vanhove (DG MARE) highlighted that the Atlas is a very positive project which has made a lot of progress but still has potential for further growth and impact. Rémy Denos (DG MARE) pointed out that the Atlas receives good appreciation both internally and externally. DG MARE is always eager to have indicators of impact (e.g.; number of visitors). The Atlas deserves more promotion to reach out to more people across Europe. He underlined that it would be interesting to have the possibility to subscribe to a weekly or monthly map to maintain the interest of audiences. Zoi Konstantinou (DG MARE) noted that the Atlas has made significant progress. The user base has increased. It is expected that the Atlas will handle more information, not only from EMODnet but also from other services. Alessandra Portis pointed out that she is working with Nathalie Van Isacker (EMODnet Secretariat) for cross-communication between the Atlas and DG MARE and explained that the way the Atlas team and DG MARE complement each other is evolving. Good synergies are created. Johanna Af Heurlin is new to DG MARE. She is keen to learn how her team can contribute to the Atlas. They work on modelling.

Chantal Vanhove (DG MARE) stated that MARE is very pleased with the Atlas. The Atlas has been increasingly profiled as an ocean literacy tool to be used in classrooms. People will only protect what they know. The Atlas is very important in this perspective. The Atlas team developed the My Maps tool to support teachers. The team organised a test run in a primary school in Belgium which has showcased hat the Atlas is intuitive to use for young pupils. The Atlas team has also launched an online survey to collect feedback from teachers on the My Maps tool. The Atlas team has been collaborating with the Education for Climate Coalition and the EU4Ocean Coalition. Thanks to the collaboration with the Education for Climate Coalition, the team will produce the first citizen science map in the Atlas.

Jan-Bart Calewaert (EMODnet Secretariat) noted that the Atlas is reaching many more people across Europe thanks to the translations. It is rewarding for the implementation team. There are opportunities for further development in outreach.

Approval of the agenda

No comments were made on the agenda.

2. Development of the Atlas

asc10_02_technicaldevelopments.pdf

Achieved and ongoing technical developments

Clara Becares (Bilbomática) presented the latest developments in the Atlas (see presentation).

• The My Maps tool is a key new development. After its initial release, several user experience improvements have been made.
  • Save the basemap and map extent.
  • Make it easier to change the thumbnail.
  • Making saving of the map more intuitive.
  • Make logging in and out of EU LOGIN more intuitive.

Planned features

• Bilbomática is now working on two additional features for the My Maps tool:
  • 'My Locations' which will enable users to enter their own information to locations, using a table.
  • 'My Notes', which will allow users to add markers and text to their maps.
• Bilbomática is also working on the deployment of translations into the Atlas. This includes translations related to:
  • Updated content and new map layers.
  • My Maps tool texts.
  • New predefined maps.

Steering Committee Feedback

Chantal Vanhove (DG MARE) pointed out that the main focus in the short term will be on integrating new translations into the Atlas. The Atlas team will introduce new translation requests for predefined maps in 24 languages. The team will also focus on the development of the second version of the My Maps tool. Feedback from teachers collected via the online survey will be integrated in these developments.

Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) invited members of the Steering Committee to test the My Maps tool and fill out the survey.

3. Content maintenance and development

asc10_03_contentdevelopment.pdf

Achieved and ongoing content development

Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) presented the progress made on content maintenance and development since the last meeting (more detail in the presentation):

• 7 New map layers were added to the Atlas.
• 55 Map layers were updated.

In previous phases, the Atlas catalogue grew to include many new map layers. The focus of this phase is on the consolidation and updating of the existing map layers.

A number of additional things to note:

• Each year, a map layer is produced on EMD in My Country events. Games are developed in combination with these map layers (e.g., boat race in 2022, geocaching game in 2023).
• The map layer on Mission Actions is regularly updated.
• For map layers based on Eurostat data, all links were updated following changes to the Eurostat website so that users can see the source data.
• EU4Ocean map layers have also been updated.

Proposal for new content and existing content revision

In the short term:

• A new map layer will be produced in the framework of the Education for Climate Challenge.
• The 2023 EMD in My country map layer with the Atlas Geocaching Game will soon be published.
• The Atlas team is also having a new look at the Predefined Maps. They will be adapted to reflect the objectives of the Green Deal.
• The Atlas Teachers Corner on the Maritime Forum will be migrated. The content and links will be reviewed by the Atlas team after migration. The migration will provide opportunities for new developments.

In the longer term:

• Number of suggested new maps as well as map updates are listed in the presentation.
• The technical team will also work on links to data providers so that users can directly access the data.

Steering Committee Feedback

Jan-Bart Calewaert (EMODnet Secretariat) asked how changes from data providers that need to be addressed are identified. Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) explained different procedures in place:

• There is a monitoring tool that notifies the team automatically when a map layer is not working or has changed.
• For changes to the data model (and the legends of the maps) which cannot yet be automatically detected by the tool, the Atlas team has processes in place to check changes regularly by comparing Atlas legends with legends returned by the map service.
• The team also receives direct requests from data providers.

Julien Gaffuri (EUROSTAT) suggested that the Atlas could be reviewed by a cartographer. Some of the predefined maps include too much information that is overplotting. Map design professionals could provide good insight to improve these maps. In addition, improvements can be made to the map resolution when the users zoom in and out. Too many map layers are combined in the predefined maps. A cartographer could provide support for these improvements. Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) explained that the Atlas team does have professionals (from Bilbomatica) that make sure information is intuitively displayed in individual maps. However, this is not done for the predefined maps, as these combine (too many) of the map layers.

• Action: Review predefined maps to ensure that too many map layers are not combined and reduce the number of map layers where needed.

Jan-Bart Calewaert (EMODnet Secretariat) asked what the process is to request the development of new map layers in the Atlas. Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) explained that a request form is used. It was agreed that priorities have to be set regarding the development of new map layers, where we favour maps that are already provided as a map service, saving Atlas team resources required to create map services from data.

Joanna Costa (EEA) congratulated the team. She noted that there is a map layer on daily chlorophyll concentration in the Atlas. She asked if it is possible to go back in time and visualize it as a time series. Tim Collart explained that a map service from Copernicus is used and that the Atlas team has to investigate if this is supported.

• Action: Investigate the possibility to include chlorophyll concentration time series in the Atlas with the Copernicus Marine Service.

4. Monitoring performance

asc10_04_monitoringperformance.pdf

Web traffic analysis and trends

Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) presented the trends regarding the Atlas' visitors (see presentation).

Peaks in web traffic can be seen in connection with communication activities and cases where the Atlas was embedded in external websites, including news websites. Drop in Atlas traffic correspond with school holidays across Europe, as can be expected given the Atlas' target audience.

Most people visit the Atlas during weekdays, during office/school hours. There is also some interest in the evening.

Thanks to the translations, the Atlas is increasingly being accessed in different languages.

The Atlas is getting a lot of traffic coming from external websites:

• Maps of the Week lead to direct and indirect impacts in terms of web traffic. As a new Map of the Week item is published every Friday on the Maritime Forum and the EMODnet Central Portal, people visit the Atlas to see the highlighted map. In addition, past Maps of the Week are referenced in Google. When people search for topics that have been addressed in the Maps of the Week, they find past Maps of the Week that lead them to the Atlas.
• Articles in news websites (e.g. in Euronews or El Espanol) embedding the Atlas generate a lot of traffic.

People access a wide diversity of map layers in the Atlas.

The Atlas team also analyses the feedback received from users through the feedback form. Most common types of feedback are:

• Requests from users who wish to add/update data in map layers (e.g.; aquaculture farms, ferry routes). The team then refers them to the relevant data provider.
• Some users wish to have access to the data. The team then refers them to the data providers' websites where the data can be downloaded. Based on this feedback, we have also decided to update the data provider links in the Atlas directly to pages of the data provider from which the data can be downloaded (rather than the data provider home page).
• Positive feedback is also frequently received.

Steering Committee Feedback

Rémy Denos (DG MARE) noted that about 30% of the web traffic comes from EMODnet and asked for further information on this. Tim Collart (EMODnet Secretariat) explained that the Map of the Week is published on the EMODnet Central Portal and that this is an important source of traffic.

5. Promotion, Events and Partnerships

asc10_05_promotioneventspartnerships.pdf

Achieved and ongoing promotion

Nathalie Van Isacker (EMODnet Secretariat) presented the progress made on the implementation of the communication strategy after a brief reminder on the main objectives of the communication strategy, the main audiences of the Atlas and key channels to reach out to these audiences (see presentation). She pointed out that all communication activities are interlinked and support each other. Collaboration with partners and networks is key to a successful implementation of the communication strategy.

The Atlas was presented at many events in the past months. This made it possible to promote the Atlas towards a diversity of audiences ranging from marine science educators and teachers to scientists and science communication experts.

• At the European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA) conference, promotion of the Atlas was made through a poster, a pitch presentation and a plenary session presentation. The conference was useful to improve the Atlas uptake by marine science educators, to get an overview of the work carried out by marine science educators and assess how the Atlas can help them in their work and to build the Atlas team's ocean literacy network. Important contacts were made at the conference, including contacts with the Science in School journal. This led to the publication of an article on the Atlas in the journal. In addition, connections have been developed between the Atlas and the journal on Twitter which provide a multiplier effect in communication.
• Presentation of the Atlas at the online Scientix Conference allowed to reach out to teachers across Europe interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
• Participation in the COMM Ocean conference made it possible to network with scientists and science communication experts and promote the Atlas to this audience. Questions during the conference and interactions on Twitter showed there was great interest for the Atlas.
• Presentation of the Atlas at the 'Join the Blue Schools' conference in Den Helder allowed to reach out to Dutch teachers and network with Dutch organizations involved in Ocean Literacy. It further strengthened the connections between the Atlas and the EU4Ocean Coalition.

The article in the Science in School journal allowed to promote the Atlas so as to increase its use by teachers and to highlight the latest developments.

The Education for Climate Challenge 'Be a scientist! Mapping climate change at seas & waterways' is the result of collaboration between the Atlas Team and the Joint Research Center (JRC). The Challenge includes 7 phases (from getting to know the Atlas to creating and using a new map layer in the Atlas). Phase 6 has now been reached. The data collection for water surface temperature has been closed and the Atlas team will create a new map based on the data received. Data has been received from 4 schools and 9 miniboats built by schools and deployed at sea.

A communication campaign was launched to promote the new My Maps tool which includes an online survey to collect feedback from teachers on the new tool. At the time of the Steering Committee meeting, the Atlas team had received 53 responses to the survey from primary and secondary schools. In addition, a test run with the Atlas was organised in a primary school in Belgium. This provided useful direct feedback from pupils and teachers.

The Teachers Corner has been further developed with the addition of the level 2 boat race game and presentations made at the different events mentioned above.

The Atlas team continues to promote the Atlas on Twitter. The number of followers on the Atlas' Twitter account has continued to increase (see presentation). Activities on Twitter are important for networking and engaging audiences in events, surveys and activities.

Promotion plan

Nathalie Van Isacker (EMODnet Secretariat) presented the next steps in communication and outreach (see presentation). This includes

• The promotion of the Education for Climate map layer when it will become available in the Atlas.
• Further development of the Teachers Corner:
  • The Atlas Geocaching Game connected to the EMD in my Country 2023 map layer.
  • A new exercise on marine biodiversity.
• Further promotion of the My Maps tool.
• Opportunities to promote the Atlas at several events that the EU4Ocean Coalition will participate in:
  • EU Open Doors on 6 May 2023.
  • European Maritime Day on 24-25 May 2023.
  • Ocean Week on 5-11 June 2023.

Steering Committee Feedback

Alessandra Portis (DG MARE) asked how the Atlas team assesses the impact of communication campaigns. Nathalie Van Isacker (EMODnet Secretariat) explained that this is done by various means. For the My Maps Survey, the number of responses received is monitored. It was difficult to get responses from schools. Teachers are very busy. Collaboration from European Schoolnet was very helpful. After they disseminated the survey towards Scientix Ambassadors, many responses to the survey were received. The Atlas team also noted new feedback received through the Atlas' feedback form and new followers on Twitter. The Atlas Team also monitors the Atlas' web traffic and can see the impact of some communication actions in the web traffic. Direct feedback is received from participants during workshops. Nathalie Van Isacker (EMODnet Secretariat) stated that she would be glad to discuss this further with DG MARE.

• Action: Follow up with Alessandra Portis (DG MARE) on how impact of communication campaigns can be better assessed.

Alessandra Portis (DG MARE) explained that she was in contact with the Plastic Pirates following the Mission Ocean event in Brussels. It was suggested that they could contribute data to the Education for Climate challenge. She asked what the status of collaboration is between the Atlas and the Plastic Pirates. Nathalie Van Isacker (EMODnet Secretariat) explained that this could develop into an existing collaboration. The Plastic Pirates organize two field campaigns per year during which students could measure water surface temperature. However, the data collection phase of the challenge had to be closed before their spring campaign so that the map could be published before the end of the school year. They could thus not contribute to the map at this stage but there are future opportunities for collaboration. The Atlas team will follow-up on these opportunities.

• Action: Follow-up with the Plastic Pirates for future citizen science projects.

Alessandra Portis (DG MARE) asked how systematic the use of the Atlas is by schools in the Network of European Blue Schools. The close connections between the Atlas and EU4Ocean will allow to better assess this in the future and increase the use of the Atlas in schools.

Rémy Denos (DG MARE) asked how it is possible to subscribe to the Map of the Week. Nathalie Van Isacker explained that followers on Twitter are informed of the publication of the Map of the Week every Friday and it is possible to register for notifications on the Maritime Forum.

6. Conclusions and forward look

Jan-Bart Calewaert (EMODnet Secretariat) thanked the technical team from Bilbomática and the EMODnet secretariat for all the information provided. He explained that minutes of the meeting would be shared with the Steering Committee members so that they could provide further feedback.

Chantal Vanhove (DG MARE) closed the meeting. She indicated that big steps have been achieved in the development of the Atlas and she is looking forward to the future with the release of the second version of the My Maps tools. In terms of promotion, it is important to further engage with the Network of European Blue Schools. She explained that her experience has shown that students pick up the Atlas very quickly but teachers need support. In the future, it would be useful to prepare tailor made educational packages for schools.

• Action: Further engage with the Network of European Blue Schools
• Action: Develop tailor-made educational packages for schools in the Teachers' Corner.

Annex 1 – List of participants