A stronger Global Ocean Observing System to enhance Europe’s strategic autonomy, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation

Expected Outcome:

Proposals are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes, in full alignment with the OceanEye initiative:

• scientists, public authorities and businesses benefit from strengthened and resilient global ocean observing capacities, coordinated under the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS),^[1] through the deployment of ocean observation equipment, in particular for the provision of critical observations for marine biodiversity and ecosystem knowledge;
• public authorities prioritise investments on infrastructures and capacity building to advance ocean research, protect and restore ocean health and biodiversity and provide critical services through a global ocean observing system and data delivery that is fit-for purpose, cost efficient and designed across all its components;
• increased EU leadership and strategic autonomy in global ocean observation capabilities, in support of EU climate and biodiversity goals, strengthening the EU’s contribution to and influence within GOOS, and reducing the risk of critical dependencies, notably for key services (i.e. Copernicus Services);
• enhanced collaboration between observation communities, marine research infrastructures, European SMEs and technology providers, maritime industries, and service operators, actionably contributing to the validation, procurement readiness, uptake and large-scale deployment of innovative ocean observing technologies and approaches, in particular for biodiversity observations, while reinforcing the long-term sustainability of the global ocean observing system.

Scope:

The EU has committed to global leadership in climate action, biodiversity protection and ocean governance, notably through the EU Ocean Pact, the EU Ocean Observation Initiative “OceanEye”, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters, the EU Climate Law, and international commitments such as the Global Biodiversity Framework and Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). Achieving these objectives requires sustained, global, interoperable and open ocean observations, as well as the knowledge and the capacity to use these observations.

IOC-GOOS, constituting the internationally recognised framework for in situ ocean observations worldwide, provides the global backbone for the development and monitoring of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs),^[2] and underpins European capacities such as Copernicus Marine Service and EU-funded research and innovation activities under Horizon Europe. Sustained and resilient ocean observation is crucial for marine biodiversity conservation and restoration under a changing climate, meaning that maintaining an optimised global ocean observing system is very important to achieve biodiversity goals.

Evolving geopolitical dynamics and reduced engagement by key international partners pose significant risks to the continuity, openness and resilience of global ocean observing systems, in particular in areas beyond national jurisdictions, highlighting the need for reinforced European action to safeguard scientific sovereignty and long-term, reliable observations and predictions. This topic aims to stabilise, further strengthen and operationalise the global ocean observing system and open access to data, with particular attention to the interconnected physical, biogeochemical and biological components relevant to biodiversity conservation and reliable services.

Bringing together the scientific community engaged in the Global Ocean Observing System, proposals should:

• focus primarily on areas beyond national jurisdiction, reinforce and expand the governance frameworks and observing networks of the GOOS operating under IOC-UNESCO^[3], and the communities monitoring environmental, biological and ecosystem EOVs, to help address current structural gaps at global scale – (e.g. the polar regions, the deep sea and other under-observed regions of relevance to Europe) and to ensure that the current system is resilient and able to support key services (i.e. Copernicus Services) through interoperable and timely delivery of data;
• support global strategic observation equipment deployment and coordination led by GOOS, and strengthen the integration of European biodiversity and ecosystem observing efforts into the global landscape, promoting a more equitable and sustained system and improving access and use of observations for the global good, and align efforts and improve efficiency in ocean monitoring and data collection, fostering sustained operations;
• build on GOOS’s existing knowledge, perform observing system experiments (OSEs), observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) and/or apply network optimisation approaches to design and better coordinate the most reliable, sustained, cost-effective global ocean observing system (coverage, resolution, accuracy, and data redundancy), to strengthen the link between in situ and remote sensing monitoring programs and to optimise data assimilation and modelling strategies. These efforts should lead to the design and specification of a minimum viable observing system that is fit-for-purpose, notably for climate and biodiversity predictions and assessments, and for key operational services (i.e. Copernicus Services);
• identify critical technology needs (including AI) and co-create, with industry, a multiplatform technology roadmap including environmental, biogeochemical and biological sensors. Demonstrate the efficacy of high TRL sensors measuring Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs), with enhanced data integration and interoperability, to accelerate the maturation, scaling and uptake of innovative technologies with broad application potential;
• ensure that infrastructures, technologies and data are effectively used, shared and sustained across regions and communities, through skills development, training, and knowledge exchange.
• support the coordination efforts of GOOS and of its components, support the EU contributions to G7-FSOI and ensure appropriate connections and coherence with IOC-IODE and the Essential Biodiversity Variable framework developed under GEO BON.

The action should benefit the global ocean observing system first by maintaining its full capabilities in the short-term, through the deployment of observation equipment, and by a clear operational step-change in ocean observing capacities, including the validation, integration and sustained deployment of fit-for-purpose observing technologies, platforms, services and data delivery workflows across the GOOS value chain. In parallel, it should work toward long-term sustainability, capacity development, and structural solutions, through strengthened cooperation, and funding, with Member States and Associated Countries, international partners and global governance frameworks (IOC-UNESCO, GOOS).

Proposals should, where relevant, prioritise solutions that contribute to reducing critical dependencies on third countries, while ensuring performance, interoperability and long-term sustainability of the system.

This topic is part of a coordination initiative between ESA and the EC on Earth System Science (ESSI) under the Ocean Flagship. Successful consortia will be asked to coordinate with projects to be selected under ESA's FutureEO programme.

[1] https://goosocean.org/

[2] https://goosocean.org/what-we-do/framework/essential-ocean-variables/.

[3] https://www.ocean-ops.org/goosreport.