Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FORCOAST (Earth Observation Services for Fishery, Bivalves Mariculture and Oysterground Restoration along European Coasts)
Reporting period: 2021-02-01 to 2022-10-31
The European Union Earth Observation efforts, Sentinel missions, and Copernicus Services offer a global view of environmental variables of prime importance for climate and environmental research. The accuracy and high spatial resolution of the data play a vital role in representing physical, chemical and biological processes in the coastal zone. FORCOAST, by combining measurements and models, has contributed to improve the understanding of the coastal environment. Newly satellite measured data combined with localized coastal models need to be in accordance to provide an understanding of processes during long temporal scales. However, the users are from time to time hampered by the unavailability of products of broadly used formats that can directly be included in their own applications. Therefore, one of the main achieved objectives of the FORCOAST project has been the generation of high resolution added value products for coastal applications that are a clear extension of different Copernicus core services dealing with the coastal areas partly based on the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) datasets.
FORCOAST developed information services co-designed with stakeholders, which provide high-resolution data of water quality and met-ocean variables at coastal zone and nearshore that are used to give focused answers to specific questions from the targeted wild fisheries, bivalve mariculture, and oysterground restoration sectors. FORCOAST also tested and demonstrated, in operational mode, novel Copernicus-based downstream information services that incorporate Copernicus Marine Services Products, local monitoring data and advanced modelling in the services. This allows improving operation, planning and management of different marine activities in these sectors.
FORCOAST extended the reach of Copernicus efforts by improving the quality, reliability, and customization of the currently offered operational marine products. By making these products more accessible and usable to the three identified sectors, the European industry within wild fisheries, oystergrounds restoration, and bivalve mariculture is able to benefit in terms of know-how, expertise, and competitiveness; increasing their potential to seize market opportunities in five regions across European seas.
FORCOAST developed information services co-designed with stakeholders, which provide high-resolution data of water quality and met-ocean variables at coastal zone and nearshore that are used to give focused answers to specific questions from the targeted wild fisheries, bivalve mariculture, and oysterground restoration sectors. FORCOAST also tested and demonstrated, in operational mode, novel Copernicus-based downstream information services that incorporate Copernicus Marine Services Products, local monitoring data and advanced modelling in the services. This allows improving operation, planning and management of different marine activities in these sectors.
FORCOAST extended the reach of Copernicus efforts by improving the quality, reliability, and customization of the currently offered operational marine products. By making these products more accessible and usable to the three identified sectors, the European industry within wild fisheries, oystergrounds restoration, and bivalve mariculture is able to benefit in terms of know-how, expertise, and competitiveness; increasing their potential to seize market opportunities in five regions across European seas.
The following aspects have been described and reported in detail in their respective final deliverables.
An analysis had been performed regarding identified stakeholders, their interests and needs, and to promote synergies between the main users within and across the different pilot areas and sectors.
Continuous exchanges with final users and the organization of multiple dedicated user workshops took place.
The information requirements of the different pilots that integrate the FORCOAST project and their purpose have been identified, and the provided services were designed accordingly. The different CMEMS and other datasets currently used by the eight Pilots that are part of the FORCOAST project are part of the services processing pipeline.
Local marine models deployed within the FORCOAST Pilots have been characterized and extended, providing the necessary input to the FORCOAST services.
The concept of Service Module (SM) was defined and adopted by the consortium, with the purpose of developing the needed tools in a homogeneous way that allows the retrieval of the necessary marine information across the FORCOAST Pilots, following a modular approach. In total 7 Service Modules: Suitable Fishing Area, Fronts Detection, Operational Scheduler, Land Pollution, Prospection for New Sites, Assistance for Spat Captures, and Retrieve Sources of Contamination were conceived and have been developed into fully-fledged functional services.
The technical specifications for each SM intention had been described with respect to the user experience framework, and these were followed in the design and implementation of each Service Module.
The platform design, the iterative development and implementation were completed and been divided in a modular way into Central Platform (front-end and back-end) and Service Modules.
The development of the platform was containerized (Docker) to ensure its sustainability after its final implementation.
The services consist of four components: P1) preoperational dataflow from CMEMS and external data providers; P2) using P1 data to generate downscaled data, by using either local numerical models or statistical analysis tools; P3) using P2 data to generate final data products; P4) presenting relevant P1-P3 data and products in FORCOAST platform, which was developed in WP4.
The Market Analysis had been drafted following the initial roadmap, while a later follow up refined it paying special attention to potential competitors in the target markets.
A Business Plan is presented in its respective deliverable, which was applied on the different services offered.
The final Exploitation Plan has been drafted including the guidelines and setup for both demonstration and commercial purposes.
The three activities listed above have been done with the supervision and collaboration of the business development expert Marcel Bruggers (D-Biscuit Innovation).
A corporate identity for FORCOAST has been developed and stablished, including among others, a common graphic line and project website.
The analysis of FORCOAST audience and stakeholders was completed and was included into the Communication and marketing plan, which has been completed.
Marketing material drafted and distributed so far includes a leaflet describing the project in its initial stages, posters for different events and news articles, among others. Different publications under the FORCOAST project have been published.
An analysis had been performed regarding identified stakeholders, their interests and needs, and to promote synergies between the main users within and across the different pilot areas and sectors.
Continuous exchanges with final users and the organization of multiple dedicated user workshops took place.
The information requirements of the different pilots that integrate the FORCOAST project and their purpose have been identified, and the provided services were designed accordingly. The different CMEMS and other datasets currently used by the eight Pilots that are part of the FORCOAST project are part of the services processing pipeline.
Local marine models deployed within the FORCOAST Pilots have been characterized and extended, providing the necessary input to the FORCOAST services.
The concept of Service Module (SM) was defined and adopted by the consortium, with the purpose of developing the needed tools in a homogeneous way that allows the retrieval of the necessary marine information across the FORCOAST Pilots, following a modular approach. In total 7 Service Modules: Suitable Fishing Area, Fronts Detection, Operational Scheduler, Land Pollution, Prospection for New Sites, Assistance for Spat Captures, and Retrieve Sources of Contamination were conceived and have been developed into fully-fledged functional services.
The technical specifications for each SM intention had been described with respect to the user experience framework, and these were followed in the design and implementation of each Service Module.
The platform design, the iterative development and implementation were completed and been divided in a modular way into Central Platform (front-end and back-end) and Service Modules.
The development of the platform was containerized (Docker) to ensure its sustainability after its final implementation.
The services consist of four components: P1) preoperational dataflow from CMEMS and external data providers; P2) using P1 data to generate downscaled data, by using either local numerical models or statistical analysis tools; P3) using P2 data to generate final data products; P4) presenting relevant P1-P3 data and products in FORCOAST platform, which was developed in WP4.
The Market Analysis had been drafted following the initial roadmap, while a later follow up refined it paying special attention to potential competitors in the target markets.
A Business Plan is presented in its respective deliverable, which was applied on the different services offered.
The final Exploitation Plan has been drafted including the guidelines and setup for both demonstration and commercial purposes.
The three activities listed above have been done with the supervision and collaboration of the business development expert Marcel Bruggers (D-Biscuit Innovation).
A corporate identity for FORCOAST has been developed and stablished, including among others, a common graphic line and project website.
The analysis of FORCOAST audience and stakeholders was completed and was included into the Communication and marketing plan, which has been completed.
Marketing material drafted and distributed so far includes a leaflet describing the project in its initial stages, posters for different events and news articles, among others. Different publications under the FORCOAST project have been published.
Natural processes and human activity have always shaped the coast; there has always been a necessity to monitor and forecast coastal environmental changes. Observing coastal environment would result in maximizing the benefits from the coastal zone while minimizing the damage to society and nature caused by those changes. The provision of added value products facilitates the use of Earth Observation data leading to an increased understanding of those earth processes that clearly represent a new market uptake. The integration of data from different sources (e.g. satellite, in situ data and models) represents a huge challenge, not only from the point of view of the amount of data to cope with or the computer resources to run the predictive models, but also for the development of such an advanced platform scheme. The availability and accessibility of the data and derived products generated promotes their exploitation by a wide range of users in different fields in the coastal zone and contributes to a range of high-level requirements needed to compliment the Copernicus core services at the coastal zone. The FORCOAST project managed to deliver to end-users a range of services that address the aforementioned intricate technical and societal challenges, providing innovative state-of-the-art approaches contributing to its wider impact within the target sectors. Furthermore, the added value products are an invaluable asset in understanding the complex socio-ecological relationships in the coastal zone among many sectors such as the project sectors of wild fisheries, oystergrounds restoration and bivalve mariculture.