Oil spills, red tides, coastal floods and toxic algal blooms often hit the headlines, even though a wide range of treaties, conventions, and organisations monitor and protect the marine environment in Europe.
Understanding what’s happening in Europe’s oceans is important to maintaining the balance between economic and social benefits on one hand and minimising environmental impact on the other. However, the systems predicting ocean-based events across Europe were fragmented, incomplete and inconsistent across regions.
From 2003 to mid-2004, a novel project took the first steps towards Europe’s current integrated ocean monitoring system.
Operational oceanography combines data from river- and ocean-based monitoring systems with satellite observations and ocean models, allowing us to describe the current state of the oceans, forecast future conditions, and assemble long-term data sets showing trends and changes.
For 18 months researchers assessed and demonstrated the capacity of four existing monitoring and forecasting systems across the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
To do this, they integrated satellite observations with data from different monitoring technologies, including tide gauges, moored buoys, tagged sea animals and dedicated research vessels.
The researchers also reviewed high-resolution models for inspecting specific issues, such as harmful algal bloom and oil spill monitoring in the Baltic, North Sea, Irish Sea, Iberian coastal shelf seas and the Aegean Sea.
The project highlighted challenges and shortcomings for future work and planned a practical, unified approach to conducting observations across Europe by consulting model developers and those reviewing the existing and planned availability of satellite and in situ ocean monitoring systems.
The project was part of a larger global monitoring programme to provide accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.