Results of EMOD-PACE and CEMDnet projects presented at Final Meeting and Open Workshop
On 23 November 2022, colleagues from the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and the National Marine Data and Information Service of China (NMDIS) gathered together with representatives from the European Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) at the final meeting of the EU-China collaborative ocean data pilot projects EMOD-PACE (i.e. the ‘EMODnet Partnership for China and Europe’) and CEMDnet (China-EU Marine Data Network Partnership). While the EMODnet-NMDIS collaboration will continue, the 34-month projects will end on 31 December 2022.
The final meeting was preceded by an EMOD-PACE & CEMDnet Open Workshop on ’Improving FAIRness of European and Asian marine data and products for regional and global users’ which took place as a hybrid event on 22 November 2022. The workshop showcased the results of the EMODnet-NMDIS collaboration to other interested experts, users and stakeholders with a view to ensure uptake of the outputs, connect with global data sharing initiatives and expand the partnership in Europe and Asia.
As both pilot-projects come to an end, the final meeting and Open Workshop provided an opportunity to provide insights into the challenges, lessons learned and achievements of the projects and present the project outputs. These include a range of achievements, including technological linkages between the European and Chinese data hubs and providing discovery, access, visualization and download services to an ever-growing range and volume of open European and Chinese data resources. To achieve data brokering for the multitude of data and products made interoperable and accessible, GeoDAB and ERDDAP were used to facilitate easy access to the resources.
Experts from Europe and China also performed an extensive assessment of different approaches for validation and modelling, among others evaluating the strengths and weakness of applying the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) and Environmental Carrying Capacity (ECC) methods in several sea regions. In addition, inter-comparison analysis yielded interesting results, which can only be of benefit to the scientific and engineering research communities - please check out each of the layers in the EMODnet Map Viewer.
Finally, several important data products on coastal adaptation were co-developed and are now available. Products available for display and retrieval include sea-level layers for the maritime route between Europe and China, also known as the European Chinese Sea Route (ECRS), and several others on ocean reanalysis, seabed habitat mapping, ecological vulnerability and coastal zone adaptability, together with reports on the methodologies applied. All information can be viewed on the map-viewer online through the European EMOD-PACE and Chinese CEMDnet webpages and also queried through an already operational EU user-helpdesk.
For more information, please also visit our open workshop page for the UN Ocean Decade Satellite Activity Laboratory Series for an ‘Accessible Ocean’; as well as our most recent open workshop last month. If you have an interest to know more, learn more, and benefit your own efforts, as well others in your line of work, please contact us.
These promising developments have created a firm foundation to build upon and make our way through the common challenges we face.
The collaboration and interconnected services provided by EMODnet and NMDIS will therefore be maintained and this has - to large extent – been made possible by the cooperation efforts dedicated during the course of the projects, which were solidified through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between EMODnet and NMDIS.