EMODnet Chemistry has grown steadily over the last 15 years, gaining worldwide trust and recognition. Below you will find the most important achievements of the partnership in 2025 with the first steps of the new phase, which has just started.
1. Expanded quantity and quality of data
The number of metadata records has grown from about 1,271,000 to about 1,310,000, of which currently circa 1,140,000 relate to the European seas. They are available in the CDI Data Discovery and Access Service by SeaDataNet, which is one of the EMODnet Chemistry main services. Our special thanks go to the EMODnet Chemistry network of 39 data providers from 27 countries for both sharing data and their expertise in marine data management.
EMODnet has used the unrestricted measurement data to produce European-scale data collections for eutrophication–acidity, contaminants, and various types of marine litter for several years, updating them annually with the latest available data. Concerning data on eutrophication, ocean acidification and contaminants, the EMODnet Chemistry Regional Coordinators (RCs) aim to aggregate, harmonise and quality control information from dozens of data centres, which in turn collect data, covering 13 groups of chemical variables, from hundreds of research and monitoring institutions. In 2025, this task has been even more challenging for the RCs, as they have conducted a complete revision of the data and metadata, which occurs approximately every four years. This makes it possible to improve the quality of entire data collections through dialogue with data providers.
To search, download, subset and analyse the data collections, go to the EMODnet Chemistry key services, in particular: the ERDDAP access service, the EMODnet Products catalogue and the webODV Data Explorer and Extractor tool.Increased and fine-tuned quality controls. To this end, the common project procedure and the ODV software by AWI, a historical project partner, were reviewed and extended. This mainly involved reconsidering the range of values regarded as reliable for each parameter in the various sea basins, also known as broad ranges. Based on well-proven EMODnet experience, these broad ranges were deemed inappropriate for the high variability of coastal processes and were not applied to datasets located on the landward side of the 12 NM boundary. RCs can identify these data using a new metadata function in the ODV software.
Data validation, as well as its integration with data from other infrastructures, have also been improved through the mutually beneficial collaboration with the Horizon Europe Blue-Cloud 2026 project. Find out more in this EMODnet web news
Information on the quality checks currently performed by each participant in the EMODnet Chemistry network was collected through a survey. It was crucial to identify needs and gaps to improve data quality. Although it is clear that visual analysis and expert judgement remain fundamental and that automatic Quality Flag assignment is not reliable, there is a strong need to automate some procedures to facilitate data quality control.
2. New maps for eutrophication and marine litter
EMODnet Chemistry data scientists processed standardised and validated data to generate data products, which are discussed and refined with the Board of Experts on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In 2025, climatologies produced using the DIVAnd interpolation tool were agreed upon and released. The interpolation process required high-resolution bathymetry and data quality control, which are well documented and openly accessible in the guidelines section of the EMODnet portal. The product types, including monthly and seasonal gridded maps at various resolutions for European seas and coastal regions, cover variables such as ammonium, chlorophyll a, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphate, and silicate.
The latest versions of the maps on various marine litter types were also fine-tuned with MSFD experts and published in 2025 on the EMODnet map viewer. They include 18 maps for beach litter, 9 maps for seafloor litter, and 15 maps for floating microlitter, which show their spatial and temporal distribution. Concerning marine litter, the EMODnet Chemistry partnership celebrated another important result: the guideline entitled EMODnet Chemistry Guidelines and formats for gathering and management of micro-litter data sets on a European scale (floating and sediment micro-litter) has received the Endorsement Certificate of the Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS). The award recognises ocean organisations that follow a systematic process to gather community input into their practices and provide documentation of their methods, leading to their widespread adoption.
3. Increased data accessibility and interoperability
Since 2025 OGS, EMODnet Chemistry coordinator, installed an ERDDAP™ instance at erddap.emodnet-chemistry.eu to provide a further gateway to the data collections on ocean eutrophication-acidity and marine litter. ERDDAP stands for Environmental Research Division Data Access Program: a NOAA tool for visualisation and data conversion that allows multiple data subsets from different sources to be merged into a single workspace. ERDDAP is widely used in the geoscience community and from 2023 EMODnet thematic areas offer some ERDDAP services. OGS is currently working to make all 2025 collections accessible through ERDDAP.
“With this implementation, EMODnet Chemistry aggregated datasets are now even more interoperable, contributing to increased FAIRness of the data.” Sebastian Plehan, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics-OGS
4. EMODnet Chemistry data extensively used
EMODnet Chemistry has recorded numerous success stories involving a wide range of data providers and users. Some examples are given below.
Partners in the Horizon Europe Blue Cloud 2026 project, which supports the implementation of the European Open Science Cloud, used EMODnet Chemistry data together with data from Copernicus Marine Service and the World Ocean Database (WOD). The goal is to develop a toolbox for creating customisable, validated datasets on key ocean variables related to eutrophication. The data will then be used to calculate environmental indicators for evaluating the trophic state of coastal waters.
The EMODnet Chemistry data collections allowed researchers to establish reference conditions and target values for the assessment of eutrophication status at the sub-basin level in the Mediterranean Sea, which is essential in marine environments shared by many countries.
Data from 253 monitored beaches included in the EMODnet Chemistry Database were used to assess macro-litter trends along the European coastline in the period from 2025 to 2021. The results are included in the report “European Coastline Macro Litter Trends 2015–2021” published in 2025 by the JRC. By relying on an up-to-date source of standardised and trustworthy information, it was possible to set interim quantitative targets and make progress towards achieving Target 5 on coastline litter of the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan. Read the use case
In recent years, EMODnet Chemistry worked to extend the DBMS to include data on seafloor litter spatial distribution and abundance from images and videos. In 2025, EMODnet good practices includes a template for data providers and guidelines to ensure that these data are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. The partnership is currently testing the template and the guidelines.
EMODnet together with Copernicus Marine Service formed the data backbone for the European digital twin of the ocean.
Read what users say about EMODnet Chemistry's data, products and services in the use cases published on the EMODnet Portal.
In October, the same Consortium, which has been responsible for developing EMODnet Chemistry for 16 years, began work on the sixth phase, which will conclude on 2 October 2027. The main goals for the next two years and the activities to be undertaken in the first six months were presented during the kick-off meeting, which took place in Brussels during the EMODnet Jamboree and Open Conference 2025.
“The Chemistry Kick-off meeting has been pivotal in aligning administrative and coordination tasks, setting priorities for data management, planning training activities, and addressing the workflow from near-real-time data to delayed-mode data. The most important goals for the next two years and the best ways to collaborate with other EMODnet compartments to achieve them were also discussed extensively. We are keen to advance EMODnet Chemistry services in line with its extensive user community and for their benefit. The growing interest in EMODnet Chemistry clearly reflects the maturity and relevance the service has achieved over the years. With the launch of EMODnet Vision 2035, we are entering a new phase where ambition meets responsibility: delivering harmonised, quality-controlled marine chemistry data suitable for science, policy, and societal needs. As the in situ marine data service supporting the European Commission’s Ocean Observation Initiative, EMODnet plays an indispensable role in connecting observations to action. This contribution is essential for the successful delivery of the Ocean Pact and for ensuring that Europe’s decisions on ocean sustainability are based on reliable, accessible, and integrated ocean data”. Alessandra Giorgetti, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics-OGS, EMODnet Chemistry Coordinator