Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AMRIT (Advance Marine Research Infrastructures Together)
Période du rapport: 2024-03-01 au 2025-08-31
The European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) is the foundation of European ocean knowledge. EMSO, EURO-ARGO, ICOS ERICs, as well as EuroFleets+, EuroGoShip, GROOM RI, JERICO RI, and MINKE as INFRA projects, are the main European marine research infrastructures (MRIs) focused on ocean observation. They provide in situ ocean data for EOOS and Copernicus and manage the instrumental capacity that helps research.
The organisations managing these MRIs are aware that limited cross coordination prevents them from fully supporting frontier research, while the lack of integration makes it difficult to reach a critical mass for EOOS, resulting in significant cost and effort duplication. Accordingly, AMRIT aims to gather these MRIs together with OceanOPS/WMO international coordination experience with the objective to:
- Ensure seamless operation of marine observation platforms;
- Ensure the full nominal use of sensors and accelerate their evolution;
- Exploit the complementarity of the various observation platforms;
- Ensure the overall coherence of the ocean data value chain.
To achieve these objectives, AMRIT will design and implement an EOOS Technical Support Centre (EOOS TSC) for:
- A fully integrated information service across the data value chain, from early planning stages to final delivery to users;
- A cross-platform, fully standardised data acquisition methodology for Essential Ocean Variables;
- A collaborative federal structure to operate these services, relying on the ERICs and their members.
The EOOS TSC will be the cornerstone in establishing and maintaining the EOOS, upon which European ocean observation can be strengthened in the coming decades. AMRIT will provide a catalyst for the development and consolidation of MRIs throughout Europe, providing a benchmark for operational coordination and collaboration. AMRIT will advance EOOS in line with its 2023–2027 strategy and beyond, as well as the European Commission's ambitions for sharing responsibility for ocean observation across Europe.
The organisations managing these MRIs are aware that limited cross coordination prevents them from fully supporting frontier research, while the lack of integration makes it difficult to reach a critical mass for EOOS, resulting in significant cost and effort duplication. Accordingly, AMRIT aims to gather these MRIs together with OceanOPS/WMO international coordination experience with the objective to:
- Ensure seamless operation of marine observation platforms;
- Ensure the full nominal use of sensors and accelerate their evolution;
- Exploit the complementarity of the various observation platforms;
- Ensure the overall coherence of the ocean data value chain.
To achieve these objectives, AMRIT will design and implement an EOOS Technical Support Centre (EOOS TSC) for:
- A fully integrated information service across the data value chain, from early planning stages to final delivery to users;
- A cross-platform, fully standardised data acquisition methodology for Essential Ocean Variables;
- A collaborative federal structure to operate these services, relying on the ERICs and their members.
The EOOS TSC will be the cornerstone in establishing and maintaining the EOOS, upon which European ocean observation can be strengthened in the coming decades. AMRIT will provide a catalyst for the development and consolidation of MRIs throughout Europe, providing a benchmark for operational coordination and collaboration. AMRIT will advance EOOS in line with its 2023–2027 strategy and beyond, as well as the European Commission's ambitions for sharing responsibility for ocean observation across Europe.
During the first eighteen months, the project focused on establishing its management infrastructure, coordinating efforts across a consortium of 26 partners (WP1–3, WP4–6), and developing initial technical components (WP7–12, WP13–15). Early activities centred on building a shared understanding of the project’s goals and implementation strategy over its four-year duration. This was achieved through consultation workshops with internal and external stakeholders, complemented by coordination meetings to ensure optimal resource allocation and alignment with project objectives.
Period 1 also saw the successful establishment of the Scrum Team—an agile IT development group enabling efficient collaboration among partners across Europe. Based on the activities undertaken, specifications of the technical tools progressed well and methodologies were refined following gap analyses across work packages.
In a fast-evolving European ocean observing landscape, the team adopted an agile management approach, reallocating resources when necessary to ensure timely, high-quality results and forward planning. This adaptability enabled all objectives to be completed on-schedule and within budget, as outlined below:
WP 1: Overall project Management and scientific coordination. Introduction of tools and processes to promote best practices in management, communication, and coordination. Period 2 will revisit these channels to meet evolving needs. Achievement: 3 deliverables and 1 milestone.
WP 4: Communication, Exploitation and Dissemination to maximise stakeholder uptake, complementing WP12 (practical applications). Achievement: 2 deliverables and 1 milestone.
WP 7-10: Technical developments to deliver the first EOOS TSC technical services progressed as planned:
WP 7: EOOS Integrated System Performance Monitoring dashboard: first version delivered through the establishment of an agile Scrum team. Achievement: 1 milestone
WP 8: EOOS Federated Metadata nodes (APIs): metadata collection initiated to inform and test new API, streamlining data flows from EOOS metadata nodes to the federated performance monitoring dashboard. Public-private partnership opportunities were identified. Achievement: Started.
WP 9: EOOS Operations Support Services: benchmarking and defining specifications for the Passport/smart-tagging system to facilitate information sharing and integration of operations nearly complete; notification/alert feature added to the dashboard and beta-tested. This phase is near complete. Achievement: 1 milestone.
WP 10: EOOS Data support (services and tools): Achievement: 2 milestones
WP 12: EOOS Data uptake by operational centres (feedback loop users-producers): gap analysis and practical testing of AMRIT tools and services. Achievement: 1 milestone.
WP 13-14: Implementation and best use of selected EOVs, e.g. Subsurface temperature, Dissolved Oxygen and Ocean Color in EOOS to exploit complementarity of observations for improved data products.
WP 13: Data pathway of blended EOVs. Achievement: 2 deliverables
WP 14: Best Practices and usability of blended EOVs. Status: Started
WP16: Sustained federal structure for the EOOS Technical Support Centre. Status: Started.
Period 1 also saw the successful establishment of the Scrum Team—an agile IT development group enabling efficient collaboration among partners across Europe. Based on the activities undertaken, specifications of the technical tools progressed well and methodologies were refined following gap analyses across work packages.
In a fast-evolving European ocean observing landscape, the team adopted an agile management approach, reallocating resources when necessary to ensure timely, high-quality results and forward planning. This adaptability enabled all objectives to be completed on-schedule and within budget, as outlined below:
WP 1: Overall project Management and scientific coordination. Introduction of tools and processes to promote best practices in management, communication, and coordination. Period 2 will revisit these channels to meet evolving needs. Achievement: 3 deliverables and 1 milestone.
WP 4: Communication, Exploitation and Dissemination to maximise stakeholder uptake, complementing WP12 (practical applications). Achievement: 2 deliverables and 1 milestone.
WP 7-10: Technical developments to deliver the first EOOS TSC technical services progressed as planned:
WP 7: EOOS Integrated System Performance Monitoring dashboard: first version delivered through the establishment of an agile Scrum team. Achievement: 1 milestone
WP 8: EOOS Federated Metadata nodes (APIs): metadata collection initiated to inform and test new API, streamlining data flows from EOOS metadata nodes to the federated performance monitoring dashboard. Public-private partnership opportunities were identified. Achievement: Started.
WP 9: EOOS Operations Support Services: benchmarking and defining specifications for the Passport/smart-tagging system to facilitate information sharing and integration of operations nearly complete; notification/alert feature added to the dashboard and beta-tested. This phase is near complete. Achievement: 1 milestone.
WP 10: EOOS Data support (services and tools): Achievement: 2 milestones
WP 12: EOOS Data uptake by operational centres (feedback loop users-producers): gap analysis and practical testing of AMRIT tools and services. Achievement: 1 milestone.
WP 13-14: Implementation and best use of selected EOVs, e.g. Subsurface temperature, Dissolved Oxygen and Ocean Color in EOOS to exploit complementarity of observations for improved data products.
WP 13: Data pathway of blended EOVs. Achievement: 2 deliverables
WP 14: Best Practices and usability of blended EOVs. Status: Started
WP16: Sustained federal structure for the EOOS Technical Support Centre. Status: Started.