Mercator Ocean serving EU priorities
Mercator Ocean International actively supports the European Union’s agenda for a green and digital transition. Understanding the current state of the Ocean and predicting its future are essential for achieving the EU’s ambitious sustainable development goals. With extensive experience collaborating with various Directorates-General, Mercator Ocean plays a vital role in advancing blue and digital innovations.
Mercator Ocean is engaged in several key initiatives that align with EU priorities. Through these initiatives, we are committed to advancing Ocean science, fostering sustainable practices, and integrating diverse expertise to support the health of our Ocean.
At the forefront of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” Mercator Ocean aims to safeguard marine and freshwater ecosystems. This mission emphasizes collaboration across various programs, including the Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report, EDITO, and EU4OceanObs.
EU Mandates
As an entrusted entity of the European Union, Mercator Ocean is responsible for operating key programs and services that provide essential data, information, and expertise for the Ocean community.
Copernicus Marine Service
Since 2014 Mercator Ocean implement and operate the Copernicus Marine Service for the European Commission’s Directorate-General on Defence, Industry and Space.
Copernicus Marine is one of the six thematic services of Copernicus, the EU’s flagship Earth observation programme, providing free, regular and systematic authoritative information on the state of the Blue (physical), White (sea ice) and Green (biogeochemical) Ocean, on a global and European scale. It provides key inputs that support major EU and international policies and initiatives and can contribute to combating pollution, marine protection, maritime safety and routing, sustainable use of Ocean resources, developing marine energy resources, blue growth, climate monitoring, weather forecasting, and more. It also aims to increase awareness amongst the general public by providing European and global citizens with information about Ocean-related issues.
WEkEO
In 2018, the EU Commission launched an initiative called DIAS (Data and Information Access Services) to provide a single access point to all Copernicus data including the Sentinel portfolio, alongside high-powered processing resources, tools and other relevant data. As key organisations in the Copernicus Programme, EUMETSAT, ECMWF, EEA and Mercator Ocean were selected for their long-standing experience to develop the Copernicus WEkEO service for environmental data, virtual processing environments and skilled user support.
Coastal Hub and Arctic Hub
Within the Copernicus programme of the European Commission, Mercator Ocean implements the Coastal and the Arctic Hubs, two web portals dedicated to providing essential coastal and Arctic data and information. These platforms offer interactive maps and access to Copernicus data, serving as a centralised resource for evidence-based decision-making and the promotion of sustainable management practices in coastal and arctic areas.
Learn more about the Coastal Hub and the Arctic Hub
European Digital Twin of the Ocean
The European Commission launched the development of the European Digital Twin Ocean (DTO) at the One Ocean Summit in February 2022. A main element of the EU Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters, the European DTO’s ambition is to create a virtual replica of the Ocean, revolutionising our knowledge and providing a safe and controlled environment to simulate scenarios, monitor and analyse impacts. The EU DTO will integrate satellite and in situ observations, advanced modelling powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning and supercomputing, as well as socio-economic and commercial dimensions and is built through two sister projects presented below. Mercator Ocean will lend its full expertise and extensive experience to the EC and play a leading role in the development of the EU DTO.
EDITO Infra is a 2-year Horizon Europe project tasked with building the operational core infrastructure for the European Digital Twin of the Ocean. The project, jointly implemented by Mercator Ocean with VLIZ, the Flanders Marine Institute, will upgrade and integrate key service components of existing EU Ocean observing, monitoring, forecasting, and data programmes – namely the Copernicus Marine Service and the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) – into a single digital framework, complementing their existing services. Linked to Geant, Europe’s high-speed research network, which enables high speed connections to the other European big data assets and High-Performance Computing (HPC) centres, EDITO-infra will facilitate the sharing of and access to supercomputing, cloud processing capabilities and software resources. With an operational demonstration of capabilities expected by 2024, the project will lay the foundation for the further development of the EU DTO and hosting the deployment of multiple DTO applications towards a thriving digital marine knowledge ecosystem for society.
EDITO Model Lab (a 14 partner consortium coordinated by Mercator Ocean) is a 3-year Horizon Europe project (2023-2026) developing the next generation of Ocean models and artificial intelligence-enriched simulation techniques to be integrated into the EU public infrastructure of the European Digital Twin Ocean (EDITO-Infra). The project will demonstrate the feasibility to connect and interoperate on a common platform a large variety of Ocean model components allowing for global, regional-to-coastal model configuration and the co-development of new simulations and scenarios for enhanced on-demand Ocean forecasting and Ocean climate prediction capacities.
EU4OceanObs aims to catalyse essential partnerships between European and international infrastructures and programmes across the ocean observing value chain towards coordinated fit-for-purpose global ocean observations. This is accomplished through key partnerships in the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative (FSOI) and GEO Blue Planet Initiative, as well as by supporting European engagement in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Since November 2020, Mercator Ocean International has been responsible for implementing the EU4OceanObs initiative on behalf of the European Commission. The project entered its second phase (2023–2027) under a contribution agreement between the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and Mercator Ocean International
Within this framework, Mercator Ocean manages the EU coordination action of GEO’s Blue Planet Initiative (global office) and the G7 FSOI coordination centre, catalysing partnerships between European and international infrastructures to deliver a coordinated and fit-for-purpose Ocean observing system.
INTPA - Directorate General International Partnerships
The International Partnerships directorate of the European Commission (DG INTPA) formulates the EU’s international partnership and development policy. Mercator is entrusted by INTPA to develop and implement several activities, including:
- Ocean Prediction Enhancement in Regions of Africa (OPERA): Launched in January 2025, this project strengthens African ocean prediction capabilities and fosters cooperation at national, regional, and pan-African levels. OPERA aims to develop fit-for-purpose forecasting services, tools, applications, and services essential for the sustainable management of ocean resources, disaster risk reduction, and the growth of sustainable blue economies.
- Ocean Prediction for Costa Rica (OP4CR): Also launched in January 2025 and running through December 2026, this project strengthens Costa Rica’s digital ocean capacities and integrates the country into global networks of ocean prediction experts.
- Mercator Ocean and INTPA collaborate on Sargassum-related initiatives, through the GEO Blue Planet initiative, focusing on both the challenges and opportunities presented by its presence in marine environments.
EU Partnerships
To achieve our mission and extend our impact, Mercator Ocean collaborates with a wide range of European partners. These collaborations enable us to leverage diverse expertise, share resources, and build a stronger global Ocean community.
The collaboration between the Copernicus Marine Service and the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) exemplifies the EU’s commitment to enhancing ocean knowledge through coordinated in situ observations and digital services. Together, they provide high-quality marine data essential for understanding ocean dynamics and informing policy decisions.
The Copernicus Marine Service excels in monitoring the ocean using satellites, in situ observations, and numerical models, while EMODnet focuses on collecting data from various sources, including research institutions and national agencies. This partnership forms a robust global system for in situ ocean monitoring, ensuring that marine data is comprehensive, reliable, and easily accessible.
Additionally, this collaboration supports the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO), a key initiative within the EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters. By integrating data from both services, the DTO enhances our understanding of the ocean’s current state and future forecasts. This initiative not only strengthens marine monitoring capabilities but also provides the digital infrastructure necessary for predictive modelling, fostering informed decision-making and promoting sustainable management of ocean resources.
EuroGOOS is an association of national governmental agencies, research organizations, and private companies committed to oceanography within the intergovernmental Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), representing one of the UNESCO-IOC GOOS regions.
To ensure sustained observations in Europe’s seas, EuroGOOS identifies priorities, enhances cooperation, and promotes the benefits of operational oceanography. These efforts underpin a suite of fit-for-purpose products and services designed for marine and maritime end-users.
Recognizing their shared goals, Mercator Ocean and EuroGOOS solidified their partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on September 8, 2022. This collaboration is dedicated to advancing Ocean observations and forecasting, bolstering initiativies such as the Copernicus Marine Service and the development of the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO), and the OceanPrediction DCC
The European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) brings Europe diverse Ocean observing communities together to foster collaboration, strengthen coordination and integration, promote sustained Ocean observing and understanding while attracting marine innovation and development. EOOS is an initiative of EuroGOOS, the European Marine Board and JPI Oceans.
The EOOS Steering Group (SG) serves as the highest governing body, responsible for approving all strategic and implementation decisions related to EOOS. Co-chaired by EuroGOOS and the European Marine Board, the Steering Group guides the overall governance, drives the implementation of EOOS, and fosters engagement with key stakeholders to maintain support and alignment with international initiatives such as GOOS. Pierre-Yves Le Traon represents Mercator Ocean International and the EU Copernicus Marine Service within the Steering Group, ensuring strong links between operational oceanography, policy, and the broader European Ocean observing community.
European Marine Research Infrastructures
European Marine Research Infrastructures are the key players in the collection of in situ Ocean data in Europe. They are either legal entities such as ERICs or projects supported in particular by funding from the infrastructure pillar of the European Commission framework programmes.
European MRIs federate national research infrastructures or nodes. They form the backbone of the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) and its contribution to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS).
They cover the following components:
- Profiling Argo floats with the Euro-Argo ERIC
- Fixed platforms for deep sea observations with the EMSO ERIC
- Coastal observations with the JERICO RI in relation with the DANUBIUS RI
- Research vessels with Eurofleets+ and EuroGO-SHIP
- Marine biodiversity observations with genomics experimental approaches with the EMBRC ERIC
- CO2 observations for the marine component of the ICOS ERIC