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While the open oceans are well covered by automated ocean measurement instruments, there is a lack of sub-surface oceanographic observation in coastal and shelf seas. Commercial fishing gear such as bottom trawls, pots, traps and long lines can act as a platform for sensors, which collect physical oceanographic data concurrently with normal fishing operations. The lack of observed in-situ ocean data in coastal and shelf seas limits operational oceanography, weather forecasting, maritime industries, and climate change monitoring. In addition, using fishing gear as an ocean observation platform has auxiliary benefits for fisheries management including stakeholder involvement. This study quantifies and compares the existing sub-surface in-situ data coverage with the spatial distribution of fishing activities. The results show that integration with fishing could contribute to filling some of the most pressing gaps in existing ocean observation systems in coastal and shelf seas. There are limitations inherent to opportunistic data collection, mainly related to spatial and temporal heterogeneity of fishing activities. However, we make the case that fishery-based observations have the potential to complement existing ocean observing systems in areas where oceanographic data are lacking and needed most in order to ensure long term sustainability of oceanographic monitoring.

Two important communities related to oceanography in the Baltic Sea are those working on operational oceanography and Earth system science, with focusing on the same water body but different temporal scales. They have been coordinated through two organizations/programs: the Baltic Sea Operational Oceanographic System (BOOS) and the Baltic Sea Experiment (BALTEX) and its successor, the Baltic Earth Program (Earth system science for the Baltic Sea region), respectively. Although the two communities have archived significant progresses in their own fields since early 1990s, there were few interactions between the communities. Rapid advancements of operational oceanography on ocean monitoring, data sharing, modelling and historical ocean state reconstruction in the last decade have provided a wide range of data, products and modelling tools which may be used in Earth system and climate change research. This is especially true when operational oceanography in the Baltic Sea is in a transition to a seamless service, i.e., from basin to local scales, from synoptic to climate scales and from physical to biogeochemical and biological systems. On the other hand, the Baltic Sea Earth system research can help to improve operational oceanography by contributing research observations and transferring their research achievements to the operational system. Based on a review of state-of-the-art of BOOS monitoring and modelling capabilities and on-going BOOS research, this paper will highlight topics and areas which are related to the Baltic Earth Grand Challenges, i.e., salinity dynamics, land-sea biogeochemical linkages, natural hazards and extreme events, sea level dynamics, coastal morphology and erosion, regional variability of water and energy exchanges, and multi-drivers of regional Earth system changes. Potential win-win cooperation and interaction between the BOOS and the Baltic Earth communities are also proposed and discussed.

International audience; High Frequency Radar (HFR) is a land-based remote sensing instrument offering a unique insight to coastal ocean variability, by providing synoptic, high frequency and high resolution data at the ocean atmosphere interface. HFRs have become invaluable tools in the field of operational oceanography for measuring surface currents, waves and winds, with direct applications in different sectors and an unprecedented potential for the integrated management of the coastal zone. In Europe, the number of HFR networks has been showing a significant growth over the past 10 years, with over 50 HFRs currently deployed and a number in the planning stage. There is also a growing literature concerning the use of this technology in research and operational oceanography. A big effort is made in Europe toward a coordinated development of coastal HFR technology and its products within the framework of different European and international initiatives. One recent initiative has been to make an up-to-date inventory of the existing HFR operational systems in Europe, describing the characteristics of the systems, their operational products and applications. This paper offers a comprehensive review on the present status of European HFR network, and discusses the next steps toward the integration of HFR platforms as operational components of the European Ocean Observing System, designed to align and integrate Europe’s ocean observing capacity for a truly integrated end-to-end observing system for the European coasts.

Data from the marine environment are a valuable asset for marine industries, decision-making bodies and scientific research, but in Europe marine data are stored in a wide range of national, regional and international databases and repositories using different formats and standards which makes it difficult to find, assemble and use them efficiently. The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) is a network of organisations set up in 2007 by the European Commission in the framework of EU’s Integrated Maritime policy to address the fragmented marine data collection, storage and access in Europe. This paper introduces EMODnet in the context of EU’s Marine Knowledge 2020 Strategy and highlights some of the main features of the EMODnet Data Portals, as well as those being developed by the EMODnet central portal. Finally, the paper zooms in on the features and endeavours of one specific EMODnet activity: the EMODnet portal with access to near-real time and historical data of physical parameters.

The EMODnet — Physics is a Marine Observation and Data Information System that provides a single point of access to near real time and historical achieved data. It is includes systems for physical data from the whole Europe (wave height and period, temperature of the water column, wind speed and direction, salinity of the water column, horizontal velocity of the water column, light attenuation, and sea level) as monitored by fixed stations, ARGO floats, drifting buoys, gliders, and ferry-boxes. It does provide discovering of data sets (both near real time and historical data sets), viewing and free and open downloading of the data from more than 4400 platforms. Moreover, the system provides full interoperability with third-party software through WMS service, Web Service and Web catalogue in order to exchange data and products according to the most recent interoperability standards. Recent developments ensure the compatibility to the OGS-SWE (Sensor Web Enablement) standard for the description of sensors and related observations using OpenGIS specifications (SensorML, O&M, SOS).

Recently the European Commission undertook steps towards a European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) in order to standardize method for observing and assessing the grade of the Member States seas and improve access to high quality data. Since 2008-2009, European Commission, represented by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), is running several service contracts for creating pilot thematic components of the ur-EMODNET: Biology, Bathymetry, Chemistry, Geology, Habitats, and Physics. The existing EMODnet-Physics portal (www.emodnet-physics.eu) is based on a strong collaboration between EuroGOOS member institutes and its regional operational oceanographic systems (ROOSs), and the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs), and it is a marine observation information system, it includes systems for physical data from the whole Europe (wave height and period, temperature of the water column, wind speed and direction, salinity of the water column, horizontal velocity of the water column, light attenuation, and sea level) provided mainly by fixed stations and ferry-box platforms, discovering related data sets (both near real time and historical data sets), viewing and downloading of the data from about 500 platforms. (www.emodnet-physics.eu/map) and it contributes towards the definition of an operational European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet).

The Australian Ocean Data Centre Joint Facility (AODC-JF) was established to provide a modern, whole-of-government approach to ocean data management in Australia. The AODC-JF vision was "To put in place, by June 2011, an interoperable, online network of marine and coastal data resources, including data from the six AODC Joint Facility partner agencies, supported by standards-based metadata, which will serve data to support Australia's science, education, environmental management and policy needs: Australia's digital ocean commons." Building upon the publicly funded, open source, and scalable information infrastructure of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) which includes the software tools, the IMOS Ocean Portal and the GeoNetwork Metadata Entry and Search Tool (MEST), this vision is now achievable. This paper will articulate progress in establishing the AODN.