Towards a European Network of Marine Observatories for Monitoring and Research

Long-term time-series datasets from the marine environment are of critical importance to facilitate:

• Better understanding of ocean, earth and climate system processes;
• Monitoring the rate and scale of environmental change;
• Detection of hazards and events;
• Effective policy making for the sustainable management of seas and oceans.

The 2nd Marine Board Forum will bring together scientists, policy makers and stakeholders to discuss critical gaps and opportunities for the long-term monitoring of Europe’s marine environment. It will identify the scientific and policy actions necessary to achieve an integrated network of marine observatories around Europe’s coasts and seas, which will form a critical component of the extended observational infrastructure and of the EMODNET.

The Forum will address the following questions:

1. What role do marine observatories play in the provision of long-term (decadal-scale) time series data from European seas?
2. What are the technical challenges for an effective interoperability between systems, new observational capabilities and improved data management?
3. What observatories and projects are currently in place and what are the critical gaps in coverage and measurements?
4. How can sustained funding schemes, new partnerships and innovative governing structures be designed to best support a stable observatory network?

Forum Vision Statement

The Forum will deliver a Vision Statement including high-level recommendations in support of a European network of long-term marine observatories.

Who should attend?

European and National policy makers/advisors and programme managers, marine scientists, industry and NGOs.

Venue: Auditorium Maria Baers, Martelaarsplein 7, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

09:00-09.50 Registration & Coffee

Session 1 - Marine observatories: the current landscape

Chair: Lars Horn (Marine Board Chair, Research Council of Norway)

10.00-10.20 Welcome address and introduction of the Vision Statement

Lars Horn (Marine Board Chair, Research Council of Norway)

Peter Haugan (Marine Board Member, University of Bergen, Norway)

10.20-10.50 Opening address: Ocean Observations: the European landscape

Iain Shepherd (EC Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)

10.50-11.20 European Ocean Observatory Network: FP7 EUROSITES project

Richard Lampitt (National Oceanography Centre, UK)

11.20-11.50 Ocean Observatories: the US case

Bauke Houtman(National Science Foundation, USA)

11.50-12.10 From Time Series to Genomes: Challenges and Opportunities for Marine Research Stations

Michael Thorndyke (Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment / European Network of Marine Research Institutes and Networks - MARS)

12.10-12.30 Observation of Marine Biodiversity: Perspectives and Challenges

Carlo Heip (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)

12.30-13.20 Lunch break

Session 2 – Projects and initiatives

Chair: Alan Edwards (EC Research Directorate-General)

13.30-13.50The TENATSO Case: critical results and data applications

Doug Wallace (Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, Germany)

13.50-14.10 The ESO-Net and EMSO Initiatives: coordinating European Seas Observatories

Roland Person (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea)

14.10-14.30 The Mediterranean Operational Oceanography Network (MOON): ocean observatories in support of science and management

Giovanni Coppini (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy)

14.30-14.50 Coffee break

Session 3 – European Marine Long-term Time-series Observatories: critical issues

Chair: Edward Hill (National Oceanography Centre, UK)

14.50-15.10 Towards a network of Marine Observatories in Europe: what elements are missing?

Hans Dahlin (European Global Ocean Observing System - EuroGOOS)

15.10-15.30 FP7 Euro-Argo Infrastructure Initiative: long-term support for a marine observation infrastructure

Pierre-Yves Le Traon (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea)

15.30-15.50 Interoperability of Marine Observatories in Europe: how to achieve technical and data harmonisation?
Kai Soetje (Bundesamt fuer Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH, Germany)

15.50-16.10 European Marine Research Infrastructure: EC perspectives

Waddah Saab (EC Research Directorate-General)

16.10-16.50 Finalising the common Statement “Towards a European network of long-term marine Observatories”: Presentation and panel discussion

Peter Haugan (University of Bergen, Norway)

16.50-17.00 Concluding remarks

Edward Hill (National Oceanography Centre, UK)

17.00 End of Forum