EMECO

The FerryBox and EMECO meeting held at the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton.

More than 60 marine experts from around the world attended the FerryBox meeting that was held at the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton from 29th to 30th September 2008 and was co-hosted by Chelsea Technologies Group. An EMECO (European Marine Ecosystem Observatory) workshop was held on the 1st October 2008 following the FerryBox meeting.

FerryBox systems contain automated sensors and samplers for measuring biological, chemical, and physical variables, which are placed on commercial ferries and ships of opportunities (SOOPS). Sensors and samplers are placed in a continuous flow system, through which seawater is pumped during sailing and provide real-time measurements that can be transmitted by back to shore by telemetry.

The FerryBox meeting had a truly International flavour, with presentations from Japan and Korea, the Untied States, and Western and Eastern Europe. The first European FerryBox programmes began in the Baltic Sea and have since spread to the North Sea, Irish Sea, Bay Biscay, the Mediterranean. The lengths of the routes range from 10 km to global.

European labs now operate over 30 routes and more are planned. The expansion of the FerryBox and SOOPs network has demanded significant technological advances since the European FerryBox Project began in 2002. Sensors and the systems in which they are used have become more robust to the marine environment and now require lower maintenance. David Hydes (NOCS) spoke about SNOMS (Swire NOCS Monitoring System) which has been funded by the Swire Group Trust. This has been specifically designed so that it can be maintained by the ships crew and to provide global observation of pCO2 in the oceans.

Expansion and improvements in FerryBox systems and marine environmental sensors in general has revolutionised marine monitoring, which in turn, has led to advances in science. Herman Ridderinkhof (Netherlands Institute of Sea Research, Netherlands) reported that recent Ferry observations in the Marsdiep inlet between the isle of Texel and Den Helder in northern Holland has changed our understanding of sediment transport into the Wadden Sea. Ute Schuster (University of East Anglia, UK) reported that integrated assessment of ship observations has improved our understanding of trends in the uptake of CO2 into the Atlantic Ocean since the 1980s. GKSS and the German engineering company, 4H have also developed the portable "Pocket FerryBox", which can easily be transported and used on smaller boats and in remote locations around the World.

Wilhelm Petersen of GKSS in Germany and David Mills from CEFAS in the UK led discussion on the further development of the FerryBox concept as part of integrated network of observing systems. Wilhelm presented the ICON and related COSYNA projects, describing plans to develop an integrated monitoring programme for the German Bight. David went on to describe the EMECO initiative and its bottom-up approach towards integrating of physical, chemical, and biological data collected over many years to meet the needs of policy makers, researchers, and modellers alike.

The theme of data integration continued in the EMECO workshop. The EMECO initiative continues to grow in enthusiasm and support with significant interest from the Baltic States, countries surrounding the North Sea and English Channel, and the Irish. As a result of the meeting, the partners have a number of plans for products that will demonstrate the benefits of EMECO's bottom-up approach to integrating observations for research, policy, and modellers.