Description: This first progress report summarises the progress in the project, the individual work packages and tasks in the first 14 months of the project. Reporting period: 1 Nov 2019 – 31 Dec 2020

Description: EuroSea brought together key European actors of ocean observation and forecasting with key end users of the ocean observations’ products and services to better integrate existing ocean observation systems and tools, and to bring the coordination to a higher level. The EuroSea WP1 “Governance and coordination of ocean observing and forecasting systems”, in particular, aimed to strengthen the interactions between regional, national, and international observing systems and support the development of a European coordinated system through the Framework of the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS). During the project, the challenges and gaps in the design and coordination of the European ocean observing and forecasting system were identified and mapped. Many gaps and challenges related to the observations of physical, chemical and biological Essential Ocean Variables were identified. Some of these gaps are related to technological advancements, while others are caused by insufficient funding, coordination, management, and cooperation between different entities, as well as limitations in foresight activities, policies and decisions. To enhance the sustainability of European ocean observations, several recommendations were compiled for networks, frameworks, initiatives, Member States, and the European Commission.

Description: The European Ocean Observing and Forecasting System (EOOFS) plays a pivotal role in understanding, monitoring, forecasting, and managing the complex dynamics and resources of Europe's Seas. It serves as a critical interdisciplinary system for addressing a myriad of challenges, from climate change impacts to marine resources management. However, to ensure its continued effectiveness, it is essential to identify and address the gaps within this system and provide actionable recommendations for improvements at short- and long-term. Therefore, this document serves as a baseline that can guide the funders and supporters of the EOOFS, as well as the various stakeholders directly or indirectly related to the EOOFS, towards the gaps that hinder better monitoring and prediction of various ocean phenomena, along the ocean observing value chain. The main identified gaps are related to spatial and temporal coverage of data and products of the EOOFS, the data integration and accessibility by various types of users, the uncertainties of projections, the technological challenges, as well as to the engagement of various actors and the communication of results and services to them. The main recommendations to be taken into consideration for addressing all highlighted gaps are detailed in the report for every phenomenon and component of the ocean value chain. These recommendations are not provided just to satisfy the academic interest of the EOOFS community, however, they may have profound implications for multiple sectors and the society as a whole, if taken into consideration. This is due to the fact that the EOOFS is essential for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, in improving the efficiency of the marine resources’ management, in enhancing the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems as well as coastal cities and infrastructures against disasters and extreme events, for shipping and navigation safety, and for the scientific advancements and innovations of Europe in the field of marine science that serves the society. We propose a scoring approach that can evaluate the EOOFS readiness level (RL) in monitoring ocean phenomena, on a regular basis and in a systematic way. We have demonstrated the usefulness of this approach by implementing it based on our assessment and the feedback of the EOOFS community. The main results clearly show that the EOOFS has “Fitness for Purpose” readiness levels (RL 7) in the three main pillars of the value chain (Input, Process, and Output) only for one ocean phenomenon, while 83% of ocean phenomena have RLs varying from 1 (Idea) to 4 (Trial). A deeper analysis of the scoring results reflects that the EOOFS major gaps are predominantly concentrated in two of its three pillars: the coordination and observational elements (Process) and data management and information products (Output) (Figure 1). In a changing world that is affecting all aspects of European lives, it is crucial to significantly invest and support the EOOFS to better monitor and accurately predict the European Seas, and provide sustained services that can help businesses and improve the resilience of communities and resources.

Description: This report provides recommendations to foster collaboration and cooperation between technologies and disciplines and for implementing truly integrated ocean observing systems. Based on an intensive literature review and a careful examination of different examples of integration in different fields, this work identifies the issues and barriers that must be addressed, and proposes a vision for a real implementation of this ocean integration ambition. This work is a contribution to the implementation of EOOS, a much-needed step forward in Europe, following the international guidance of GOOS.

Description: This deliverable is intended to give an overview of the EuroSea actions at the interface between science and policy, ensuring the EuroSea results are useful for policy and decision-makers both at the EU, regional, and national levels.

Description: This deliverable is intended to give an overview of the EuroSea actions at the interface between science and policy, ensuring the EuroSea results are useful for policy and decision-makers both at the EU, regional, and national levels.

Description: Identifying existing initiatives in foresight in ocean observation, emerging strategies and roadmaps.

Description: A review of the existing reporting tools about Regional Ocean Observing Systems and perspective toward future European Ocean Observing System monitoring and reporting services.

Description: Report on the progress of the EuroSea project on glider network metadata management in Europe and globally

Description: This deliverable describes the process of establishing global coordination for sustained observations of marine plastics litter as a new type of Essential Ocean Variable (EOV) addressing the aspect of observing human impacts on the ocean. The document reports on the EuroSea efforts to implement a community vision for an Integrated Marine Debris Observing System (IMDOS) as a new element of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). First version of the Marine Plastics Litter EOV Specification Sheet is included. Progress towards establishing common sampling protocols for marine plastic litter in Europe and beyond are described.