Newsletter July 2023 | Volume 1
Welcome to EuroGO-SHIP
It is with great pleasure that we launch the first EuroGO-SHIP newsletter. Welcome and thank you for your interest in this European Action.
The three-year HORIZON EUROPE EuroGO-SHIP seeks to enable the European community conducting ship-based hydrographic observations at sea to provide higher quality and more sustainable data flows to a broad range of end users, more effectively. The project is funded under the call HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-01: Research infrastructure concept development. Â
Our quarterly newsletters will provide regular updates on relevant project activities, including stakeholder consultations towards a more comprehensive understanding of the needs of hydrography communities around Europe. Â
We hope you will support this important community dialogue by inviting your contacts to sign-up to this newsletter! Â Â Â
EuroGO-SHIP set sail in December of 2022 when we held a virtual kick-off meeting, bringing together our team members from the 14 organisations making up the consortium to discuss the work plans, outline the processes and develop the right foundation for collaborating across 11 nations in Europe and its surrounding seas and Ocean. Read more about the Project objectives and its partner organisations on the EuroGO-SHIP website.
Since the kick-off, we have had a productive six months seeing core work in full swing across all six work packages. In this newsletter, you can learn about the important work being conducted in the pilots on research cruises, read about initial consultations with stakeholders via existing networks and at conferences and meetings across Europe, and explore one of the project’s early deliverables: the Initial Scope of Shared Facilities.
EuroGO-SHIP closed out its first six months with the inaugural Annual Meeting, which was held in Constanța, Romania, along with the Black Sea Workshop focused on the needs of this regional community conducting observation in the Black Sea. Read the highlights here.
With the successful completion of the work done to date, I believe that EuroGO-SHIP is on track to achieve its goal of delivering enhanced Ocean observation and new services for the ship-based hydrography community in Europe. Â
We look forward to updating you again in the October Newsletter. In the meantime, please stay tuned to the EuroGO-SHIP website News Section for regular updates.Â
Enjoy reading and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. We are interested in your feedback and welcome any comments. We are especially interested to know if there is anything you feel should be added or would like to contribute to our Initial Scope of Shared Facilities report. Â
Please write to us here.
Dr. Elaine McDonagh
EuroGO-SHIP Project Coordinator
NORCE, Bergen, NorwayÂ
First Annual Meeting: 27-29 June Constanța, Romania
Constanța, Romania with its historic port and maritime tradition, was the ideal setting for the first time the EuroGO-SHIP team gathered together in person to present work to date and plan the further implementation of the important EuroGO-SHIP project.
On the Water: EuroGO-SHIP Research Cruise Activities
Ship-based hydrography is one of the oldest traditions of hydrographical scientific research and has remained the cornerstone of the knowledge value chain that enables a better understanding of the marine environment, contributing to scientific excellence. EuroGO-SHIP ship-based activities are leveraging research cruises operated by partners in the EuroGO-SHIP consortium. Â
During the first six months of the project, there have been three pilot activities performed on cruises in support of the EuroGO-SHIP objective: Concept Demonstration Best Practices and Pilot Activities. Two of the pilots were designed to directly inform a best practice for salinity analysis and one for a best practice in nutrient sample stability. Each one demonstrates one of EuroGO-SHIP’s key aims toward achieving Pan-Euro Coordination —making the EU hydrographic system stronger than the sum of its component parts to maximise the return on the collective investment.Â
23 March - 9 April | Salinity Analysis in the Mediterranean
EuroGO-SHIP cruise research activity kicked off in March when the research vessel G. Dallaporta, operated by CNR, left port in Marina Di Carrara, Italy. During the cruise, a total of 124 salinity samples were collected, of which 1/3 were analysed on board by CNR, 1/3 were shipped to the Marine Institute in Ireland and 1/3 to NOC in the U.K. for salinity analysis and comparison.
5-25 of May | Investigating Long Term Nutrient Preservation Techniques in the North Atlantic
EuroGO-SHIP was able to leverage an opportunity to join the RRS James Cook as it sailed from Southampton on the 5th of May as part of a long-term survey programme by NOC Southampton at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) station, beyond the shelf edge in the North Atlantic.
26 June | Sharing equipment and training across nations in the Black Sea
A pilot training exercise took place in ConstanČ›a, Romania aboard the Mare Nigrum, a research vessel operated by partner GeoEcoMar, involving the use of a salinometer to conduct observations in the Black Sea. Â
The Initial Scope of Shared Facilities Report
In May, EuroGO-SHIP submitted the first scientific deliverable of the project, the Initial Scope of Shared Facilities. This report frames the work of effectively sharing infrastructure as well as stakeholder engagement activities and the development of a viable Research Infrastructure model.Â
If you have any comments on the report, if you feel that something should be added or you would like to contribute to the scope of our shared facility goals, please write to us here.
We are interested in your feedback. Â
As part of its objective to co-design new services through direct consultation with key stakeholders, the EuroGO-SHIP team has had a productive period raising awareness for the project at conferences, consulting with existing RIs, and accessing the needs of the ship-based hydrography community in Europe and its wider support system. Read on for the who, what, where and when…Â
Sep 13Â
Eurofleets+ Final Conference, Brussels, BelgiumÂ
Sep 21Â
EuroSea High-Level Conference hosted by the IOC in Paris, FranceÂ
Oct 3-5Â
EuroGOOS International Conference, Galway, IrelandÂ
Oct 26
ICES Working Group on Oceanic HydrographyÂ
Nov 2023
MonGOOS General Assembly and Workshop, Morocco
June 2024
2nd EuroGO-SHIP Annual Meeting will be hosted by CNR in Venice, Italy