Review of existing and operable observing systems and sensors

Deliverable 1.4 is aimed at identification of existing and operable observing systems and sensors which are relevant to COMMON SENSE objectives. Report aggregates information on existing observing initiatives, programmes, systems, platforms and sensors. The Report includes: • inventory of previous and current EU funded projects. Some of the them, even if started before 2007, were aimed at activities which are relevant or in line with those stemming from MSFD in 2008. The ‘granulation’ of the contents and objectives of the projects varies from sensors development through observation methodologies to monitoring strategies, • inventory of research infrastructure in Europe. It starts from an attempt to define of Marine Research Infrastructure, as there is not a single definition of Research Infrastructure (RI) or of Marine Research Infrastructure (MRI), and there are different ways to categorise them. The chapter gives the categorization of the MRI, together with detailed description and examples of MRI – research platforms, marine data systems, research sites and laboratories with respect of four MSFD descriptors relevant to COMMON SENSE project, • two chapters on Research Programs and Infrastructure Networks; the pan-European initiatives aimed at cooperation and efficient use of infrastructural resources for marine observation and monitoring and data exchange are analysed. The detailed description of observing sensors and system are presented as well as frameworks for cooperation, • information on platforms (research vessels) available to the Project for testing developed sensors and systems. Platforms are available and operating in all three regions of interest to the project (Mediterranean, North Sea, Baltic), • annexed detailed description of two world-wide observation networks and systems. These systems are excellent examples of added value offered by integrated systems of ocean observation (from data to knowledge) and how they work in practice. Report concludes that it is seen a shortage of new classes of sensors to fulfil the emerging monitoring needs. Sensors proposed to be developed by COMMON SENSE project shall answer to the needs stemmed from introduction of MSFD and GES descriptors

Problems with rendering the information accessible and presenting the information in publicly accessible databases

Based on the experience acquired from working on the Regional Oceanographic Database (ROD) at the IOPAS in Sopot and from cooperation with similar scientific facilities, a general review of problems with the security of data ownership, copyrights, rendering the scientific information accessible, propagating it and differences in the access to data in European Union and Poland was presented. A system for accessing processed data, educational data and source information was proposed

A system for the determination of surface water pCO2 in a highly variable environment, exemplified in the Southern Baltic Sea

Measurement of pCO2 in highly dynamic coastal zones such as the southern Baltic Sea presents many challenges. In this study, we designed a system to measure pCO2 and then validated it in a series of laboratory and seagoing tests. The fast response time of the system was shown to provide a better resolution of CO2 system gradients. In the open waters of the Baltic Sea, the accuracy of the pCO2 measurements (±1.3 μatm) met the requirements of the ICOS (±2.0 μatm). In the coastal zone, there was less consistency between pCO2, DIC and pH measurements, suggesting the need to redefine the quality assurance and control requirements for the measurement of pCO2 in dynamic regions

Experimental study of the formation of steep waves and breakers

Breaking waves (whitecaps) are one of the most important and least understood processes associated with the evolution of the surface gravity wave field in the open sea. This process is the principal means by which energy and momentum are transferred away from a developing sea. However, an estimation of the frequency of breaking waves or the fraction of sea surface covered by whitecaps and the amount of dissipated energy induced by breaking is very difficult to carry out under real sea conditions. A controlled experiment, funded by the European Commission under the Improving Human Potential Access Infrastructures programme, was carried out in the Ocean Basin Laboratory at MARINTEK, Trondheim (Norway). Simulation of random waves of the prescribed spectra by wave makers provided a very realistic pattern of the sea surface. The number of breaking waves was estimated by photographing the sea surface and recording the noise caused by the breaking waves. The experimental data will serve for calibration of the theoretical models of the sea surface fraction related to the whitecaps

Regional oceanographic database as a modern sea research tool

Based on the experience acquired from working on the Regional Oceanographic Database at the IOPAS in Sopot a general view of database as a tool for supporting scientific research was presented. Article describes general structure, data flow and techniques of using the ROD

eBalticGrid – an interactive platform for the visualisation of results from a high-resolution operational Baltic Sea model

In recent years, modelling has been one of the fastest growing fields of science. Ocean, ice and atmospheric models have become a powerful tool that has supported many scientific fields during the last few decades. Our work presents the new operational service – called eBalticGrid – implemented into the PLGrid Infrastructure (Dziekoński et al. 2014). The grid is based on three modelling tools – an ocean model (Parallel Ocean Program), an ice model (Community Ice Code) and an atmospheric model (Whether Research and Forecasting Model). The service provides access to 72-hour forecasts for the Baltic Sea area. It includes the physical state of the Baltic Sea, its ice cover and the main atmospheric fields, which are the key drivers of the Baltic’s physical state. Unlike other services, this provides the additional three-dimensional fields of temperature, salinity and currents in the Baltic Sea. The models work in operational mode and currently one simulation per day is run. The service has been implemented mostly for researchers. Access to the results does not require any modelling knowledge. Therefore, the main interface between a user and the model results was designed as a portal providing easy access to the model’s output. It will also be a very suitable tool for teaching students about the hydrology of the Baltic Sea. Data from the system are delivered to another operational system – SatBaltic (Woźniak et al. 2011). The development of an output format to be suitable for navigational software (GRIB files) and sharing via FTP is also planned