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The EMODnet community showcased its partnerships with EMOD-PACE and the EU All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance at the UN Ocean Decade Laboratory

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Screenshot taken by EMODnet Secretariat. © European Union, 2022

Following endorsement from the United Nations (UN) Ocean Decade, EMODnet co-hosted two Satellite Activities to the UN Ocean Decade Laboratory 6 ‘An Accessible Ocean’: (i) Expanding Data Interoperability between Europe and Asia; and (ii) EU Marine Data Services for the All-Atlantic and Global Ocean Data Spaces: Services and benefits offered by EU Marine Data Services COPERNICUS Marine Service and EMODnet. Both webinars took place as online events on Wednesday 11 May.

Expanding Data Interoperability between Europe and Asia

The first webinar was co-organised by the EMODnet Secretariat, NMDIS (National Marine Data and Information Service of China) and Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). It aimed to inform interested marine knowledge providers, users and stakeholders about the EMOD-PACE project and its sister project CEMDnet. Discussions focused on the developments in the Asia region, as well as the potential to expand the EMOD-PACE – CEMDnet Partnership with a view to the promotion of interoperable open data and information access. The discussions also explored options to co-develop relevant data products based on open data resources.

EU Marine Data Services for the All-Atlantic and Global Ocean Data Spaces: Services and benefits offered by EU Marine Data Services COPERNICUS Marine and EMODnet

The second webinar was co-organised by EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service, in collaboration with the AANCHOR initiative, with support from the European Commission.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Regional marine data services provide a vital resource for the UN Ocean Decade, offering integrated and standardised marine data, information and knowledge that underpins evidence-based ocean governance, conservation and management, scientific research, operations at sea and more. However, such data services are fully dependent on the data collection and data sharing efforts of ocean observation, marine monitoring and wider data collection initiatives. The EU marine data services EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service and the wider community call upon all stakeholders to:

  • increase efforts to coordinate data collection e.g., in Europe through the European Ocean Observing system (EOOS);
  • increase the sharing of data (in situ observations e.g., marine environmental, human activity, other) with national, regional e.g., EMODnet, Copernicus Marine Service, and international data services;
  • build upon existing partnerships to expand the cross-regional dialogue to share best practices, know-how and work towards a global community of connected and interoperable regional marine data services, to serve the All-Atlantic and Global Ocean Data Spaces.

Such efforts are the foundation for a future interoperable EU marine data space, All-Atlantic Data Enterprise 2030 and Global Ocean Data Ecosystem that can offer user-friendly transparent and accessible ocean data, information and knowledge for the benefit of all.

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Towards a digital ocean integration
Screenshot from the EMODnet - Copernicus Marine Service - All-Atlantic event. © European Union, 2022