A core service of EMODnet is the creation and publication of integrated European-scale marine data layers and data products spanning the marine environment and human activities. The launch of the EMODnet unified portal (January 2023) was a huge technical achievement, not least because it included a new common EMODnet MapViewer (also known as the GeoViewer) that unified the geodata viewer services of all the previous 7 EMODnet thematic portals into one.
On 30th November 2023, an EMODnet Call to Action was launched at the Closing Session of the EMODnet Open Conference 2023. The Call to Action outlined EMODnet’s achievements to-date, emerging areas of development, and the need for an evolution in the governance and funding of EMODnet, to ensure a fully functioning, sustainable EC marine data service.
The annual meeting of EMODnet Biology focused on providing all the partners an update of the progress so far and plans for the coming year and future. It was also an opportunity for the consortium partners to provide feedback on the work they have been doing for the different Work Packages they are involved in. The meeting counted with 35 colleagues from all but two partner organisations, with roughly 54% of those on site and the remaining 46% online.
EMODnet, represented by EMODnet Biology Coordinator Joana Beja, VLIZ, Belgium, presented EDITO-Infra and EMODnet’s contribution in a webinar hosted the European project Iliad titled ‘Digital Twins of the Ocean and Biodiversity’.
More than 100K new occurrence records are published by EMODnet Biology in the first data harvest of 2024, including more than 100,000 biodiversity occurrence records, making EMODnet Biology data holdings surpass the 40 million occurrence records threshold.
Dear EMODnet partners, colleagues and friends,
A very Happy New Year to you all! The EMODnet New Year’s letter is something of a tradition, written by the Head of the EMODnet Secretariat. In 2024, the baton passes to me, Kate Larkin, as I took on the role of Head of Secretariat in Spring 2023. On behalf of the EMOD-network I wish the previous Head, Jan-Bart Calewaert, well in his new activities in the global ocean data domain, whilst he remains a trusted advisor to EMODnet.
The data published increased our holdings by roughly 1.5 million records and includes data from 1970 to 2022 from the North Atlantic and the North Sea. These data provide information on all groups except reptiles and ranging from methodologies to abundance or habitats.
The 3-day workshop took place in late September and was co-organised by the G7 FSOI and EuroGOOS. The aim was to provide advice on how to overcome the data infrastructures, observing and forecasting systems current gaps and limitations.
The EMODnet Biology course hosted by the Ocean Teacher platform has been updated. This new version is open to self-enrolment until May 2025 and includes a new section on how to provide information on seabed habitats.
