Research Infrastructures & Data |

Research Infrastructures & Data

In order to achieve BLUEMED’s objectives identified in the Strategic Agenda, research infrastructures (RI) are key. RI have strongly developed in the past year and cover already a large proportion of the scientific needs of research and innovation communities.

In the framework of the BLUEMED project, a Research Infrastructure high-level Conference will be organized in 2019. The conference will provide inputs to support the promotion of the BLUEMED roadmap for the deployment of research infrastructures, expected at the end of 2019. Stakeholders from various sectors (public and private, research and innovation, businesses etc.) and from various EU and non-EU countries will be involved in the process. The bottom-up strategy will bring the expectations and needs of the blue growth stakeholders working on the ground to the highest political level, through collaboration with the national pivots and the BLUEMED platforms.

Two major stakes will be addressed during the BLUEMED project: first, sharing RI – how to link and to facilitate collaboration between different scientific domains and stakeholders in order to boost knowledge and innovation; second, long-term sustainability of RI – how to maintain them, how to upgrade their equipment and tools, and how to enhance training of users.

RI occupy an important portion of the BLUEMED Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and are mentioned in the following goals and actions:

Goals	Actions
Develop optimal aquaculture strategies, technologies and practices	Develop new strategies, technologies and practices to make aquaculture sustainable
From traditional maritime economic to blue growth activities	Consolidate existing infrastructure that supports the development of innovative green technologies performed by the Mediterranean clusters
Greening vessels and facilities	Design and develop innovative infrastructure solutions to improve the sustainability of ports, with special reference to energy efficiency and externalities relating to the surrounding built environment
Towards an observing system of systems	Develop an integrated Mediterranean observing system, based on existing European networks and consortia, including European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, and national infrastructure, in line with the overall European contribution to global observing systems
Tailor-made sensors and platforms	Develop new ideas for robotic systems and devices to explore and work on the seabed in deep-sea area
Changing the rationale: one platform, multiple uses and activities	Spatialise and cross-check: offshore fixed and mobile infrastructure distribution and environmental monitoring and surveillance needs from coasts to open sea
	Develop new concepts and protocols with private companies and maritime operators to maximize the use of infrastructures, ships and platforms for scientific and environmental monitoring, safety and security purposes
	Develop tailor-made technologies to improve efficiency on installations for the exploitation of marine renewable energies (wind, current and waves)

1. Research vessels and equipment: for sea access and deep sea exploration/sampling

Coordination between research vessels is a core issue. As research vessels and equipment are expensive, coordination is important in order to reduce costs of cruises. Furthermore, as there are big differences in fleet operation mechanisms among countries, it is relevant to promote exchanges for setting realistic schemes of cooperation. BLUEMED will support international cooperation and coordination for a better use of infrastructures, in order to benefit to the most.
Data collected during cruises, including multipurpose goals cruises – both for research and monitoring – is another core issue. A specific effort to hire and train more technicians and engineers to implement the processing of data, including long-term storage, in a coherent manner in all Mediterranean countries is needed.
Moreover, due to jurisdictional issues, scientific cruises do not have access in practice to the whole Mediterranean basin. International cooperation within the BLUEMED framework intend to solve the issue of access permission in waters under national jurisdictional regimes.
To conclude, BLUEMED can work very practically on the ways to experiment fleet time-sharing and transnational access to vessels via some pilot projects, and facilitate the access across regions for research purposes.

ERVO: European Research Vessels Operators
EUROFLEETS (2009-2013) and EUROFLEETS 2 (2013-2016): New operational steps towards an alliance of European research fleets
European Research Vessels Infobase
OFEG: Ocean Facilities Exchange Group
Vessel tracker

2. Marine based facilities: structures for seawater and seabed monitoring and observation, offshore in sea water testing laboratories, including in situ platforms, marine test facilities and in situ observing systems

EMSO (EMSODEV 2015-2018): European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory
EurOcean, European Center for Information on Marine Science and Technology
EuroGOOS: European Global Ocean Observing System
JERICO (2011-2015) and JERICO NEXT (2015-2019): Joint European Research Infrastructure network for Coastal Observatory – Novel European eXpertise for coastal observaTories
MARINERGI (2017-2019): Planning an Integrated European Research Infrastructure
MaRINET-2 (2017-2021): Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network for Enhancing Technologies – 2
Hydralab+ Adaption for Climate Change
MedSeA: Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a changing climate
MONGOOS: Mediterranean Oceanography Network for the Global Ocean Observing System

3. Land based facilities: aquaculture (including production of micro-algae and by-products), onshore platforms/renewable energy (towing tank, wave basin), shipping (different from towing tank), harbors, coastal basin, ballast water management, mesocosms, land based test facilities and basins, observation systems including HF radar facilities

Aquaculture facilities developed across the Mediterranean for the last 20 years. This rapidly growing sector can be an opportunity to continue to exploit fishing resources while preserving existing natural ones. Aquaculture is therefore a good example of blue growth potential in the Mediterranean area. Among economic activities having a direct impact on the marine environment, the exploitation of renewable energy from marine resources, notably offshore wind, waves and currents, is in its pioneering phase, and a significant development in the next decades is foreseen. A stronger collaboration among RI and their upgrade is also made necessary to face the challenges of new emerging activities with impact on the Mediterranean, as in the case of the exploitation of MRE sources, notably offshore wind, waves and currents.
European regions facing the Mediterranean boast a large portfolio of wave basins and flume tank infrastructures providing a suitable environment for studies on coastal erosion and sediment transport, wave/structure interactions, coastal infrastructure design. These infrastructures are run by universities and by public or private research centers, and access by external users as individual or through joint R&D initiatives is largely supported. Considering the large community they represent and the widespread distribution in Mediterranean EU coastal regions, the range of testing capabilities they offer and the expertise of research teams, stronger networking initiatives should be promoted to fully develop the potential impact in many R&D sectors addressing the marine environment and human activities on it, especially shared access with southern Mediterranean countries. Transfer of technology is particularly important to allow sharing with southern Mediterranean countries.

AQUACOSM: Network of European AQUAtic MesoCOSM Facilities Connecting Mountains to Oceans from the Arctic to Mediterranean
eLTER: Long-term Ecosystem Research in Europe
EMBRC: European Marine Biological Resource Centre
ESFRI: European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures
Hydralab+ Adaption for Climate Change
ICOS: Integrated Carbon Observation System & Ocean Thematic Centre
LIFEWATCH: E-Science European Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research
MARINERGI (2017-2019): Planning an Integrated European Research Infrastructure
MaRINET-2 (2017-2021): Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network for Enhancing Technologies – 2

4. Satellites and spatial: remote sensing for sea-surface monitoring

Satellites and spatial activities are very useful to gather data on marine sciences and to better know and understand seas and seacoasts, and cover fundamental science as well as a growing number of operational services. Various programs and European satellites infrastructures are dedicated to marine observation.
A gap that BLUEMED can bridge concerns the interaction between the scientific community and the space agencies. The needs of the scientific community have to be better taken into consideration in space observation programs, by reinforcing interactions with space agencies. There is also a need for reinforcement of systematic systems allowing for data discovery encompassing satellite and in situ data.

AIS International: Aerospace International Service
EPS: EUMETSAT Polar System
ESA engineering & technology activities linked to CubeSats
GEO: Group on Earth Observations / GEOSS: Global Earth Observation System of Systems
JASON-2 / OSTM: Ocean Surface Topography Mission
Medspiration ESA European Space Agency
ORFEO: Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation
PLEIADES High Resolution satellites (CNES): High resolution observing and mapping Earth’s surface (incl. coastal areas)
Sentinel
SPOT: Satellites pour l’Observation de la Terre

5. Marine data management: structures for data validation, storage and dissemination through web portals

The availability and accessibility of data is a priority for stakeholders involved in marine and maritime policy, and also for the private sector. Structured networks and databases already exist at European level, including the Mediterranean, but tools and projects on data need to be further developed, in order to become more accessible and even easier to use for the users (scientists, public stakeholders, policy makers, private companies or ordinary citizens…).
One of the key issues of marine data is the access to data once it is collected. The development of metadatabases for long-term storage is also important, even when projects are completed. Scientists need to be able to have access to well-structured, easily accessible data and harmonized and corresponding information, based on the same standards. This standardization of data is key in order to boost cooperation between countries, organizations and stakeholders. BLUEMED could push forward the cooperation at Mediterranean level by facilitating communication and collaboration between existing infrastructures and organisations/programmes.
Finally, BLUEMED could raise awareness within the science community and promote sharing data as the first step to enhance research and innovation.

BLUEBRIDGE
CFP: Common Fisheries Policy
CMEMS: Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service
DCF: Data Collection Framework
DG Mare EMODNET (since 2009): European Marine Data and Observation Network
DG Mare European Atlas of the Seas
EEA: European Environment Agency
EEA Waterbase – Transitional, coastal and marine waters
EVEREST: European Virtual Environment for Research – Earth Science Themes: a solution
Galileo
GFCM: General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean
ICES: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
ICES Data Centre
i-Marine (since 2011): Data e-Infrastructure Initiative for Fisheries Management and Conservation of Marine Living Resources
JRC EMIS: Environmental Marine Information System
MSFD: Marine Strategy Framework Directive
MSS: Maritime Security Strategy
PERSEUS: Policy-Oriented Marine Environmental Research in the Southern European Seas
SEADATACLOUD
WFD: Water Framework Directive

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