The collaborative international project will develop a platform that will integrate existing data with information generated by coastal observations, new and existing sensors at sea, oceanographic models, and mobile apps.
The European Union (EU) has awarded the international ODYSSEA consortium €8.4 million to develop an interoperable and cost-effective platform that fully integrates networks of observation and forecasting systems across the Mediterranean basin.
The ODYSSEA platform will collect information from databases maintained by agencies, public authorities, research institutions, and universities. The 4.5-year project aims to make Mediterranean marine data easily accessible and tailored to the needs of multiple maritime sector end-users. These include wind farms, mariculture, ocean energy, oil and gas extraction, undersea cables, ports and shipping, policy makers, and others.
ODYSSEA will develop a network of coastal observatories, deploy novel in-situ sensors at sea, employ oceanographic modelling, and integrate existing mobile apps for citizen and scientist networks. Advanced algorithms will be used to organise, homogenise, and integrate large quantities of data to provide tailored information services.
The ODYSSEA platform will provide on-demand information services, including forecasts, through a public portal. Capacity-building activities are also included to maximise the exploitation of these information services, creating business and research opportunities across the Mediterranean Sea basin.
ODYSSEA is comprised of 28 partner organizations from 14 EU and non-EU countries across the Mediterranean. The consortium includes research institutes, universities, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and SMEs.
ODYSSEA will hold its opening conference in the city of Kavala, Greece, from June 6–8, 2017.
About ODYSSEA
ODYSSEA is an EU-funded project intended to make Mediterranean marine data easily accessible and operational to multiple end-users. The project aims to develop, operate, and demonstrate an interoperable and cost-effective platform that fully integrates networks of observing and forecasting systems across the Mediterranean basin.
The platform will collect data from the many databases maintained by agencies, public authorities, and institutions of Mediterranean EU and non-EU countries, integrating existing Earth observation facilities and networks in the Mediterranean Sea.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 727277. This publication reflects only the author’s views, and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
