EMODnet Chemistry at EGU 2026 (© EMODnet Chemistry)
EMODnet Chemistry and its contribution to the Blue-Cloud project platform were featured at the EGU 2026 General Assembly.
Organised by the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the meeting brings together about 20,000 researchers each year to foster dialogue on cutting-edge topics and facilitate cross-thematic collaboration. This year, the meeting took place from 3 to 8 May in Vienna, Austria, the established location of the event.
The data steward Megan Ann French from the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics - OGS, the institute coordinating EMODnet Chemistry, explained in a poster how the use of standardised vocabularies supports the findability, interoperability, and reuse of data. To this end, she showcased the vocabularies adopted by EMODnet Chemistry and their latest improvements.
EMODnet Chemistry uses the standardised, hierarchically mapped vocabularies of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Vocabulary Server (NVS), managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre, for indexing and annotating metadata and data. The BODC Parameter Usage Vocabulary (P01) is one of the most important in use. Composed of other vocabularies, P01 describes variables by providing information on the target chemical object (S27 vocabulary), such as cadmium, a specific property, such as concentration, and the medium in which the variable has been measured. The SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary (P02) and EMODnet Chemistry Chemical Groups Vocabulary (P36) are used to group P01s. The poster illustrates recent changes in P02 and P36 implemented by the EMODnet Chemistry working group focused on vocabulary alignment and improvement.
“This work resolved numerous mapping issues for EMODnet Chemistry, allowing all chemical substances to be mapped, making more data findable and interoperable in EMODnet. It also increased alignment with the vocabularies of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Overall, these efforts improve EU marine data management and support alignment with other EU frameworks.”
Megan Ann French, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics - OGS
Watch the poster From Principles to Practice: Community-Driven Approaches to FAIR and Open Data in Earth and Environmental Sciences
Catalina Reyes Suárez, also an OGS data steward, reported on the Blue-Cloud 2026 project's efforts to harmonise, integrate, and validate large marine in situ data from various sources, including EMODnet Chemistry, and on the use of these data in virtual research environments.
The Blue-Cloud project has developed a web platform where experts in marine science, computer science, and data management collaborate to improve data and metadata in accordance with the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) principles. Since 2019, Blue-Cloud has established a federation of multidisciplinary marine data archives and developed and integrated tools for interoperability, quality control, visualisation, and data analysis, which can be used securely and customised from any location.
In her presentation, Suárez provided insight into the Blue-Cloud workbenches for Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) in ocean chemistry, such as temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen, which are critical for assessing eutrophication and ocean acidification. She particularly highlighted the Eutrophication Workbench (EWB), which focuses on chlorophyll, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen. This workflow integrates data from EMODnet Chemistry, Copernicus Marine, and the World Ocean Database to produce high-quality EOV datasets for eutrophication assessment. EMODnet Chemistry's expertise in data management and its collection for eutrophication were crucial for implementing the workbench and the related virtual research environment (VRE). The VRE enables users to calculate indicators to assess the trophic status of coastal marine waters.
Watch the presentation Blue-Cloud 2026 workbenches for Essential Ocean Variables: advancing harmonization and big-data workflows for eutrophication in marine science.
Starting this year, Blue-Cloud is integrated into the marine domain of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the federated European environment where researchers can find, access, share, and reuse data, tools, and services, promoting open research practices across disciplines and countries. EDITO provides the marine data component for this EOSC Marine Node.