Research & Innovation
Driving cutting-edge advances in Ocean monitoring, modelling, and forecasting to empower sustainable decision-making.
A new era of Ocean Prediction
The Ocean is rapidly changing. To safeguard marine ecosystems, address climate change, and foster sustainable Ocean practices, we need unprecedented accuracy and speed in Ocean monitoring and prediction. Mercator Ocean is meeting this challenge by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its modeling systems, leading innovation with the development of the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO).
AI is revolutionizing how we understand and predict ocean dynamics. By learning from vast amounts of historical data, recognizing patterns, and generating rapid forecasts, AI offers new possibilities for:
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Faster computation
Producing forecasts in seconds instead of hours. -
Enhanced accuracy
Improving Ocean current prediction accuracy. -
Broader data integration
Seamlessly incorporating diverse data streams. -
Reduced resource requirements
Runs efficiently on GPU computers, using significantly fewer resources than traditional HPC centers.
Mercator Ocean: Strengthening existing capabilities
Building on decades of expertise in physical oceanography, data modeling, and simulation, Mercator Ocean is integrating AI to strengthen its existing capabilities. We are harnessing AI’s capacity to process vast amounts of Ocean data from diverse sources, including satellite observations, in situ sensors, and reanalysis datasets (like GLORYS12 – GLObal ReanalYSes at 1/12 of degree).
These historical reanalysis datasets, refined over decades, serve as ideal training grounds for AI models, which require substantial and well-curated historical data to decipher complex Ocean dynamics.
Flagship AI system: GLONET
Mercator Ocean’s flagship AI-based forecasting system, GLONET (GLONET : GLObal Neural Network), exemplifies this approach. Trained on years of reanalysis data, it simulates Ocean currents, temperature, and salinity across 21 vertical levels at a global scale, delivering 10-day forecasts rapidly.
Compared to traditional models, GLONET delivers a significant improvement in Ocean current predictions and provides new opportunities for scenario analysis and climate response simulation.
European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO):
Powering Ocean Intelligence
The European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO) is a transformative initiative providing an advanced digital replica of the Ocean to support informed decision-making for sustainability and resilience. This interactive platform enables users to observe current Ocean conditions, analyze historical changes, and explore future scenarios through sophisticated “what-if” simulations.
By integrating data and services from the Copernicus Marine Service and EMODnet into a unified digital framework, the EU DTO leverages European scientific excellence and assets to deliver actionable Ocean knowledge. At its core, the DTO combines vast data resources, advanced models, and AI-powered tools, making Ocean information accessible to policymakers, researchers, industry, and the public.
Mercator Ocean plays a central role in building this infrastructure, leading the integration of data and modeling services, and contributing expertise in Ocean forecasting and operational AI models such as GLONET. With AI as a core enabler, the EU DTO is redefining how Europe monitors, understands, and responds to the evolving marine environment.
Compared to traditional models, GLONET delivers a significant improvement in Ocean current predictions and provides new opportunities for scenario analysis and climate response simulation.
Horizon Europe: Investing in Ocean Innovation
Mercator Ocean actively participates in more than 20 EU-funded Horizon Europe projects. These collaborative initiatives foster groundbreaking research and technology development in Ocean observing, modeling, and forecasting. They contribute to a deeper understanding of Ocean processes, development of advanced digital tools, and informed strategies for addressing global challenges.
Key initiatives include for example:
- EDITO (European Digital Twin Ocean): In Phase 1, EDITO validated its potential by integrating diverse data, models, and tools. Phase 2 will expand the platform’s reach, ensuring accessibility for non-experts while enhancing its services for researchers and institutional contributors. Key initiatives include scaling the cloud-native infrastructure, integrating high-resolution data into a unified Core Catalogue, and implementing robust validation for third-party contributions. By 2030, EDITO envisions a fully operational DTO platform, serving as a global benchmark for digital ocean solutions.
- DTO-BioFlow (Integration of biodiversity monitoring data into the Digital Twin Ocean) will target the current challenges in the collection, harmonisation, accessibility, and analysis of marine biodiversity relevant data, the integration of these data and analytical tools into DTO architectures, and the applicability of a functioning DTO biodiversity component to address policy-relevant use cases.
- FOCCUS project (Forecasting and observing the open-to-coastal ocean for Copernicus users) specifically addresses and enhances the coastal extension of Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service to better serve coastal users and Member States.
- NECCTON (New Copernicus Capabilities for Trophic Ocean Networks) is transforming the European capability to predict and protect the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. New models and products for fishes, pollution, biogeochemistry and benthic habitats will enable the Copernicus Marine Service to better inform policymakers, managers and publics on the sustainable management of the Ocean.
- SEACLIM project (European SEAs CLIMate impact prediction through regional models) provides detailed predictions of decadal-to-multidecadal changes in marine environments using regional ocean models, indicators and climate services demonstrators to pave the way for a new service line in the Copernicus Marine Service.
- CoCliCo (Coastal Climate Core Services) develops an open-source web platform informing users on present-day & future coastal risks with the goal of improving decision-making on coastal risk management and adaptation, by establishing an integrated core service dedicated to coastal adaptation to sea-level rise.