Mercator Ocean co-authors key articles in the IOC-UNESCO State of the Ocean Report 2024
Experts from Mercator Ocean International (MOi) joined over 100 members of the scientific community from 28 countries to contribute to the State of the Ocean Report 2024. The report, published by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO), aims to represent a key resource for policymakers, researchers, environmentalists and the public […]
Digital Ocean Forum 2024: Launch of the European Digital Twin Ocean Pre-Operational Platform
The Digital Ocean Forum (DOF) 2024 marked a pivotal moment with the launch of the first European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO) pre-operational platform. This event, held on June 13 in Brussels under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, was co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Research and […]
New report highlights the need for updated climate data for better decision-making
An international team of more than 50 leading scientists, including Mercator Ocean’s Karina von Schuckmann, oceanographer specialised in Ocean climate, has presented the second edition of the Indicators of Global Climate Change report. Published in the journal Earth System Science Data, the report includes up-to-date estimates of key climate change indicators. Among the key findings, […]
New study led by Mercator Ocean expert highlights potential of miniaturised tags for tracking young sea turtles
A new paper published in the international peer-reviewed journal Animals has shed light on new technologies to track sea turtles during their so-called “lost years”. Led by Tony Candela, oceanographer and marine ecosystem modeler at Mercator Ocean, the study describes the results of 3 years of experiments in which scientists equipped 160 young specimens of […]
New study reveals climate change’s toll on fish populations and calls for sustainable fisheries
A new study, led by Dr Angus Atkinson, the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, sheds light on a pressing concern: climate change is silently undermining the Ocean’s capacity to sustain fish populations. Co-authored by Mercator Ocean International’s oceanographer Maria Grigoratou and 9 authors from 6 different countries, the research uncovers a hidden amplification mechanism when changes in […]
Exploring Mercator Ocean’s partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Mercator Ocean International (MOi) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have been closely cooperating on a broad range of initiatives since the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2022. Areas of mutual interest include the development of global Ocean and coastal observation initiatives, the promotion of enhanced environmental management in developing economies […]
Launching the OceanPrediction DCC Website: Empowering the Global Ocean Prediction Community
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre (OceanPrediction DCC) website, a significant milestone in Mercator Ocean International’s (MOi) mission to enhance global cooperation surrounding Ocean prediction. As a pivotal component of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the OceanPrediction DCC, implemented by MOi, strives to […]
New Paper Co-Authored by MOi Oceanographers Reports Record-Breaking Ocean Heat Content Levels In 2023
A new research paper in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment “Ocean Heat Content in 2023” has provided insight into the worldwide increase of Ocean Heat Content (OHC), which indicates the quantity of energy absorbed by the Ocean at varying depths and locations. The authors, who include Mercator Ocean oceanographers Karina von Schuckmann and Audrey Minière, […]
Strengthening collaboration with the marine stakeholders and Ocean data users in Africa
In the framework of the GEO Blue Planet initiative, Mercator Ocean International in collaboration with UNEP organised a four-day workshop from 4 to 7 March 2024, entitled, “Ocean observation and prediction for coastal sustainability in Africa”. The workshop took place at the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON), bringing together 58 participants from 17 countries representing […]
Enhancing Coastal Observation and Forecasting with FOCCUS
Mercator Ocean International is part of a 19-member consortium set to implement the EU-funded FOCCUS project kicking off on 6-8 March 2024 in Berlin – at the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Wissenschaftsforum. FOCCUS (Forecasting and Observing the Open-to-Coastal Ocean for Copernicus Users) is part of the 2023 Horizon Europe calls for Space supervised by HaDEA, the Health […]
NECCTON project – officially endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade
The NECCTON project, which stands for “New Copernicus Capability for Trophic Ocean Networks”, is a pioneering four-year initiative funded under the Horizon Europe, the ambitious EU research & innovation framework programme for 2021-2027. NECCTON received an official endorsement by the UN Ocean Decade as project of the Marine Life 2030 programme, reconfirming its commitment to […]
2023 was an unusual year for sea ice extent. What to expect from this season’s Arctic and Antarctic sea ice?
This time of year, maximum and minimum sea ice coverage is expected in the Arctic and in the Antarctic, respectively. At opposite seasonal cycles, the north and south poles reach their freezing and melting peaks every year between February and March. Scientists at Mercator Ocean International (MOi) have been monitoring seasonal sea ice changes using […]