Marine Environment and security for the European Area (MERSEA)

Marine Environment and security for the European Area (MERSEA)IP - Integrated Project (FP6-2002-SPACE-1

On the summer mesoscale variability of the Black Sea

The evolution of the Black Sea temperature, salinity and circulation, from large scale to mesoscale, is studied using a data-driven primitive equation simulation. The data are drawn from (i) a basin-wide hydrographic survey, CoMSBlack\u2792, obtained in the Summer of 1992; (ii) wind stress derived from wind analyses of the Sevastopol MSIA/URHI Office; (iii) climatological heat fluxes; and (iv) climatological river outflows. The primitive equation model is from the Harvard Ocean Prediction System. The simulation is used to examine the evolution of the circulation at mesoscale resolution, its dominant variabilities and dependencies in the summer period. The large-scale upper layer circulation over the deep portion of the basin is generally cyclonic with a system of anticyclonic eddies evolving in its periphery. The edge of the cyclonic circulation is dominated by an inertial jet: the Rim Current. As the Rim Current transverses the edge of the deep basin, the meandering and secondary circulation associated to the jet varies according to internal dynamics and interactions with the bottom topography and shelf water circulation. The relatively broad northwestern shelf is found to be mostly wind driven with a buoyancy-driven coastal current and interacting with the quasi-stationary Crimea and Kaliakra anticyclones. The seasonal thermocline is strengthened during this period and a zonal large-scale temperature gradient with warmer/colder sea-surface temperatures in the east/west is driven by the observed weak/strong winds. Some of the major circulation elements are partially verified using qualitative comparisons with the Summer of 1992 data and historical data; both in situ, and infrared and color remotely sensed data. The Rim Current meander shape and propagation parameters, eddy size and distribution, and the generation of rapid surface bound jets are found to be in good agreement with observations. The simulation shows two previously unobserved events: an anticyclonic eddy is shed near Sinop; and the anticyclones moving north along the Caucasian coast are formed and shed from the Batumi eddy. Imprints of these events are found in the historical record

Dynamics of the circulation in the Sea of Marmara: numerical modeling experiments and observations from the Turkish straits system experiment

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A compilation of global bio-optical in situ data for ocean colour satellite applications – version three

A global in situ data set for validation of ocean colour products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) is presented. This version of the compilation, starting in 1997, now extends to 2021, which is important for the validation of the most recent satellite optical sensors such as Sentinel 3B OLCI and NOAA-20 VIIRS. The data set comprises in situ observations of the following variables: spectral remote-sensing reflectance, concentration of chlorophyll-a, spectral inherent optical properties, spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient, and total suspended matter. Data were obtained from multi-project archives acquired via open internet services or from individual projects acquired directly from data providers. Methodologies were implemented for homogenization, quality control, and merging of all data. Minimal changes were made on the original data, other than conversion to a standard format, elimination of some points, after quality control and averaging of observations that were close in time and space. The result is a merged table available in text format. Overall, the size of the data set grew with 148 432 rows, with each row representing a unique station in space and time (cf. 136 250 rows in previous version; Valente et al., 2019). Observations of remote-sensing reflectance increased to 68 641 (cf. 59 781 in previous version; Valente et al., 2019). There was also a near tenfold increase in chlorophyll data since 2016. Metadata of each in situ measurement (original source, cruise or experiment, principal investigator) are included in the final table. By making the metadata available, provenance is better documented and it is also possible to analyse each set of data separately. The compiled data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.941318 (Valente et al., 2022)

Sustained, Efficient Production of Required Information and Services within Europe is our only justification (SEPRISE)

The overall objective of the project is to discern and enable methods of increasing, improving and coordinating production of European scale Operational Ocean Forecasting Products and Services. This will be achieved by reviewing and then ensuring that, as far as possible, the findings and experience gained from the so-called Operational Forecasting Cluster of Projects funded under MAST III and FP-5, and other relevant sources, are pulled through into sustained, efficient operational oceanographic services. Recommendations for the future structure and functionalities of an integrated initial European coastal ocean observing and forecasting system will be made and a design plan to implement this will be prepared. Care will be taken to ensure that proposals are compatible with the wider implementation of GMES, in particular to ensure interoperability with similar initiatives outside the marine theme.SSA - Specific Support Action (FP6-2003-GLOBAL-2

Black Sea scientific network (BLACK SEA SCENE)

The Black Sea SCENE project aims to establish a Black Sea Scientific Network of leading environmental and socio-economic research institutes, universities and NGO's from the countries around the Black Sea and to develop a virtual data and information infrastructure that will be populated and maintained by these organisations to improve the identification, access, exchange, quality indication and use of their data and information about the Black Sea. The Black Sea SCENE research infrastructure will stimulate scientific cooperation, exchange of knowledge and expertise, and strengthen the regional capacity and performance of marine environmental data & information management, underpin harmonization with European marine data quality control/assessment procedures and adoption of international meta-data standards and data-management practices, providing improved data & information delivery services for the Black Sea region at a European level. Black Sea SCENE consists of 32 partners from all Black Sea countries, 5 EU member states and 1 Associated State. Environmental and socio-economic scientists and technical specialists of the partners will meet regularly in Workshops to discuss and to formulate the specifications, to coordinate and tune the networking activities, to monitor and to evaluate the project progress, and to consider long term sustainability of the network and wider cooperation. Common Data Quality Control procedures will be explored and harmonized, whereby partners from EU member states will demonstrate EU practices. Partners will compile overviews of their marine datasets and data acquisition activities using established European metadata formats. Partners will assess the quality of their datasets and include Data Quality indicators in the metadata. A virtual data and information infrastructure will be implemented to facilitate the access to metadata and datasets.IA-CA - Integrating activities implemented as Coordination Actions (FP6-2004-INFRASTRUCTURES-5

GRAND GOOS Regional Alliances Network Development (GRAND)

Large-scale operational ocean monitoring and forecasting networks, defined in the international programme Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), are needed to implement many global conventions and agreements signed by the EU and its member states, including the Convention on the Law of the Sea, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, Convention on Biodiversity, Framework Convention on Climate Change, Programme of Action for Sustainable Development. GOOS Regional Alliances co-ordinate the efforts of states around the world to implement GOOS. They have different capacities, resources and level of activity, but all seek to establish a global sustained system of observations to predict the state of the marine environment, to fulfil their duties in international agreements and to gain practical benefits for a variety of end-users and for public good. Europe (Burgoos, Mangos) has world leadership. EC RTD projects such as MAMA, PAPA and ARENA support international co-operation for GOOS, and participate in the initial phase of the Global Monitoring of Environment and Security, the European contribution to global monitoring systems. GRAND brings together all the GOOS Regional Alliances (Grass) and is supported by the major international organisations related to GOOS (IOC, JCOMM, I-GOOS). The partnership covers all the oceans on Earth to provide a forum, led by Europe, to harmonise the diverse regional systems within GOOS, while advancing the European contribution to the global system. GRAND will facilitate the dissemination of best practice, technology transfer, development of international co-operation, establishment of observing systems in developing countries, application of results of EU projects to the broader international community active in the Grass. This will help to strengthen the role of the EU on the international stage while contributing to the integration and strengthening of the ERA.SSA - Specific Support Action (FP6-2002-GLOBAL-1