Funder identifier: 502885 (Other contract id)
Acronym: MERSEA
Period: April 2004 till March 2008
Status: Completed
Thesaurus term Information systems
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| Institute | Top | - Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), more, partner
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| Abstract | MERSEA aims to develop a European system for operational monitoring and forecasting on global and regional scales of the ocean physics, biogeochemistry and ecosystems. The prediction time scales of interest extend from days to months. This integrated system will be the Ocean component of the future GMES system.
At the core of the system is the collection, validation and assimilation of remote sensed and in-situ data into ocean circulation models that allow for the self consistent merging of the data types, interpolation in time and space for uniform coverage, now casting (i.e. data synthesis in real-time), forecasting, and hind casting, and delivery of information products.
The project will develop Marine Applications addressing the needs of both intermediate and end-users, whether institutional or from the private sector, with the objective to improve the safety and efficiency of maritime transport and naval operations; to enable the sustainable exploitation and management of ocean resources (offshore oil and gas industry, fisheries); to more efficiently mitigate the effects of environmental hazards and pollution crisis (oil spills, harmful algal blooms); to improve contribution to ocean climate variability studies and seasonal climate prediction and its effects on coastal populations ; to improve national security and reduce public health risks; and to advance marine research with the aim to better understand the global climate, the ocean and its ecosystems.
The project will lead to a single high-resolution global ocean forecasting system shared by European partners together with a coordinated network of regional systems for European waters which will provide the platform required for coastal forecasting systems. During the project the main preoperational systems will be transitioned towards operational status and three of the centres will converge on a single ocean model framework suitable for both the deep ocean and shelf-seas. |
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