Blue-Cloud: An Open Science platform for collaborative marine research across the Atlantic and beyond

Blue-Cloud, as a “Future of Seas and Oceans Flagship Initiative” of the EU Horizon 2020 programme, is the thematic entry point to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) for the marine domain, delivering a collaborative virtual environment to enhance FAIR and Open Science in Europe and beyond, with seamless access to services for storage, management, analysis and re-use of research data, across borders and disciplines.

Blue-Cloud deploys a web platform featuring an unprecedented wealth of multidisciplinary data repositories, analytical tools, and computing facilities to explore and demonstrate the potential of cloud-based Open Science, in the context of key European and international initiatives such as the EU Green Deal, the UN Ocean Decade and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The project federates leading European marine research infrastructures (SeaDataNet, EurOBIS, Euro-ARGO, ICOS, SOCAT, ENA, EMODnet, CMEMS) and e-Infrastructures (EUDAT, D4Science, WEkEO DIAS), allowing researchers to combine, reuse, and share quality data across disciplines and countries.

The Blue-Cloud approach for the broad marine community worldwide

Blue-Cloud is also building tight connections with a range of projects and infrastructures in the marine domain, both within Europe and across the globe as in the case of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. According to a recent joint policy brief jointly published with a group of European and Atlantic basin projects in the framework of the EC-funded Horizon Results Booster, under the lead of the EuroSea project, “Widespread use of standards and interoperability of collected data in the domain of ocean science and technology will increase data quality levels and ensure more efficient and sustainable use of ocean data and information.” The Blue-Cloud federated approach taking place at the levels of data, computing and analytical service resources properly responds to this recommendation, and the model can be extended outside the European framework across the entire value chain of ocean information, to ensure sound sustainable ocean management.

The project framework also links to the All-Atlantic Data Enterprise 2030 (AA-DATA2030) Joint Pilot Action, which aims at creating a one-stop, user-friendly transatlantic platform for gathering natural, social, and social-scientific data: the All-Atlantic Ocean Data Space (AAODS). AA-DATA2030 will support transatlantic information and data sharing in the spirit of Open Science and the FAIR/CARE principles. The AAODS will ensure that stakeholders have free access to relevant data, fostering a sustainable stewardship of the ocean.

This webinar will also be a chance to learn more about the Blue-Cloud Hackathon, taking place in February 2022, where teams of marine researchers can test the Blue-Cloud technical framework under four different thematic challenges and also win prizes for working on their solutions.

Agenda (all times CET)

• 15:00 - Welcome and introduction - Sara Pittonet Gaiarin, Trust-IT Services
• 15:10 - The Blue-Cloud Data Discovery and Access Service as a unique search facility for data across regions and providers - Peter Thijsse, MARIS (download slides)
• 15:40 - The Blue-Cloud Hackathon: 7-9 February 2022 - Julia Vera, Seascape Belgium (download slides)
• 15:50 - Introducing the Virtual Labs that demonstrate the Blue-Cloud framework, now available for third party users
  • Zoo & Phytoplankton EOV Products - Patricia Cabrera, VLIZ (download slides)
  • Plankton Genomics - Alexandre Schickele, LOV (watch video)
  • Marine Environmental Indicators - Massimiliano Drudi, CMCC (download slides)
  • Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries / Aquaculture Monitor - Anton Ellenbroek, FAO NFISI (download slides)
• 16:25 - Break
• 16:35 - Panel discussion - Nourishing Blue Economy and Sharing Ocean Knowledge
  • Discussion based on the joint policy brief developed within the Horizon Results Booster, in the context of the AA-Data2030 Joint Action Plan  
  • Moderator: Obakeng Molelu, Coastal and Marine Resource Development-COMRED (Kenya)
  • Toste Tanhua, EuroSea
  • Stéphane Pesant, AtlantECO
  • Dr Georgios Kazanidis, iAtlantic
  • Ivo Grigorov, Mission Atlantic
  • Franck Le Gall, ASTRAL
  • Rocío Castaño-Primo, TriAtlas
• 17:15 - Q&A and conclusions
• 17:30 - End