Eurofleets+ D5.2 Report and recommendations from International Workshop 1

Deliverable D5.2 "Report and recommendations from International Workshop 1" compiles the key outcomes and suggestions raised during the 1st International workshop, entitled "Combining fixed and mobile ocean observing systems and their link with satellite observations". This workshop was organized online by the Eurofleets+ project on the afternoon of April 13th, 2021. The workshop aimed at connecting fixed and mobile ocean observing infrastructures' operators and stakeholders for the benefit of greater coordination and integration, that would undoubtedly translate into efficiency and more and better data for improved services to societal challenges concerning climate change for example. The event had five invited speakers after a short introduction on the Eurofleets+ project, its objectives and future plans to evolve towards a distributed Infrastructure for the long-term and sustainable coordination of the Research Vessels (RVs) in Europe (EUROFLEETS RI). The first two invited speakers represented the European Commission (EC) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). The EC representative briefly outlined the strategy, trends and priorities of the 9th European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon Europe, 2021-2027) in the environmental-marine domain. The EUMETSAT representative briefly outlined the strategy, trends and priorities of Horizon Europe in the space domain in relations to the marine one. The other three invited speakers came from fixed-point and mobile research infrastructures (RIs: EMSO ERIC and EuroARGO-ERIC) and from a project dealing with gliders (GROOM-II). To stimulate discussion during the workshop, four key concepts towards an interdisciplinary framework of excellent science with fit-for-purpose technology were proposed in line with the Horizon Europe objectives and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). The workshop was announced through the Eurofleets+, EurOcean and EMSO ERIC websites and distributed to all related networks, requesting the registration via Evenbrite. This process was very successful with 218 registered including participants form non-European countries (e.g., Africa and Asia), during the meeting the attendance reached peaks of over 140 participants.