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Blue-Cloud at the EMODnet Open Conference 2023

EMODnet Open Conference 2023
Other Event
29 November 2023 12:30 – 30 November 2023 17:30
Brussels, Belgium

The EMODnet Open Conference 2023 is a public, in-person event in Brussels, Belgium. This provides a unique opportunity to gain access to cutting-edge marine data service updates, influential speakers, have your say in EMODnet’s evolution and expand your network, connecting and exchange with EMODnet experts from the EMODnet partnership, associated partners, data providers, service providers, users and wider stakeholders from Europe and around the world.

At the Conference, EMODnet experts from the full partnership will present the latest developments and innovations in EMODnet’s in situ marine data services, user-interface and infrastructure to meet user and policy needs for a digital and green future. This will include EMODnet’s key role in the EU Digital Twin Ocean, including the creation of a common data lake between EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service. It will also discuss how the EMODnet offer is evolving in terms of diversifying data collection e.g., citizen science, filling data gaps in existing parameters, resolution and geographical scope, expanding data parameters e.g., genomics, and increasing EMODnet’s offer of marine data and knowledge for societally relevant topics e.g., coastal vulnerability, sea level rise, biodiversity etc.

The Conference will also highlight and explore EMODnet’s key partnerships including with SeaDataNet, Copernicus Marine Service, ICES, Regional Sea Conventions, with discussions on how the marine knowledge value chain and data flows can be further optimized, also in collaboration with Mission Ocean and Horizon Europe, to maximise the sharing and ingestion of data into EMODnet, and to better serve user needs.

Blue-Cloud is considered one of the EMODnet partners. Some EMODnet portals are already exploring the use of Virtual Research Environments for speeding up product generation chains, for validating and harmonising the processing of large collections of data sets and for generating derived data products. Therefore, EMODnet has an interest in the VRE activities of the Blue-Cloud, next to providing access to its harmonised data collections through the Blue-Cloud Data Discovery & Access Service and for use in the Blue-Cloud Virtual Research Environment (VRE) and its Virtual Labs.

For example, biodiversity and environmental data (relevant for Plankton Genomics), physics, biology, chemistry data (relevant for Marine Environmental Indicators), biology and coastlines data (relevant for Fish, a matter of scales Virtual Lab), and in-situ environmental data for ground-truthing and European marine topography (relevant for Blue-Cloud Aquaculture Monitor). The Virtual Lab “Integrating coastal oceans observations along Europe”, provides a workflow integrating physics, geology, human activities and bathymetry data from EMODnet. While the Virtual Lab “Carbon-Plankton dynamics” combines biodiversity and chemistry data from EMODnet with carbon data from ICOS. 

Blue-Cloud at the event

Simona Simoncelli, Scientist at Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Bologna, Italy) and Blue-Cloud 2026 partner leading the development of a workbench for temperature and salinity will be a panellist in the pleneary Session 2 "EMODnet for the Digital era" taking place on 29th November 15:15 - 16:00 CET. The panel will look at how the EDITO-Infra brings in EMODnet cutting edge technology, the role of EMODnet in the EU DTO backbone and data lake, how this relates to the Copernicus marine data store, EDITO-Model Lab and wider projects/initiatives e.g., Destination Earth, Horizon Europe projects and International Digital Twin of the Ocean initiatives e.g., DITTO.  Simona will present how Blue-Cloud 2026 is producing research and innovation in web-based science, and how these assets are being developed to be interoperable with the structural EU DTO.
 
A Blue-Cloud poster will also be showcased at the event. Entitled "Advancing ocean research through cloud-based data integration and Open Science", the poster will be presented by Patricia Cabrera (VLIZ) how Blue-Cloud offers simplified access to EMODnet data collections through the Data Discovery & Access Service and for use in the Virtual Research Environment (VRE) and its Virtual Labs (VLabs).

"EMODnet is one of the key data infrastructures contributing to Blue Cloud. Several EMODnet thematic lots are well represented in the services offered by Blue Cloud. Through the DD&DAS, EMODnet Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Bathymetry data are accessible within the Blue Cloud Virtual Research environment, enabling users to perform web-based collaborative open science. Virtual laboratories combine multidisciplinary data types from several Blue Data Infrastructures, such as EMODnet or Copernicus Marine, generating innovative data products. For example, The Carbon and Plankton Dynamics VLab combines data from EMODnet Biology, and chemistry with carbon data from the ICOS portal. Workbenches provide workflows to harmonize, integrate and qualify large in situ datasets from different BDIs for selected Essential Ocean Variables. For example, the EMODnet Physics lot, is one of the main targets for the Temperature and Salinity WB. In conclusion: Interaction among marine data domains is critical to improve interoperability and to achieve “ocean integration” responding to the United Nations Ocean Decade key challenges and the Digital Twin of the Ocean." - Patricia Cabrera (VLIZ)

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