13 May 2026
Welcome back to the NODC data stewards Megan Ann French and Catalina Reyes Suárez, who presented the EU-funded projects EMODnet Chemistry and Blue-Cloud 2026 at the EGU 2026 General Assembly.
Organised by the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the meeting brings together around 20,000 researchers each year from the full range of subject specialisms to facilitate synergies and share new ideas. This year, the meeting took place from 3 to 8 May in Vienna, Austria, the established location of the event.
French explained in a poster how the use of standardised vocabularies supports findability, interoperability, and reuse of data. In particular, she showcased the vocabularies used by the EMODnet Chemistry project. The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) was established in 2009 and is the European Commission (EC) in situ marine data access service. EMODnet represents a network of organisations grouped into different consortia, one for each of the following themes: Bathymetry, Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Seabed Habitats, and Human Activities. EMODnet Chemistry is the component dedicated to data on eutrophication, ocean acidification, and contaminants, including marine litter. EMODnet Chemistry uses the standardised, hierarchically mapped vocabularies of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Vocabulary Server (NVS), managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre, for indexing and annotating meta(data). The BODC Parameter Usage Vocabulary (P01) is one of the most important in use. Composed of other vocabularies, P01 describes variables by providing information on the target chemical object (S27 vocabulary), such as cadmium, a specific property, such as concentration, and the medium in which the variable has been measured. The SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary (P02) and EMODnet Chemistry chemical groups Vocabulary (P36) are used to group P01s. The poster illustrates recent changes in P02 and P36 implemented by the EMODnet Chemistry working group focused on vocabulary alignment and improvement.
French: “This work resolved numerous mapping issues for EMODnet Chemistry, allowing all chemical substances to be mapped, making more data findable and interoperable in EMODnet. It also increased alignment with the vocabularies of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Overall, these efforts improve EU marine data management and support alignment with other EU frameworks.”
Watch the poster From Principles to Practice: Community-Driven Approaches to FAIR and Open Data in Earth and Environmental Sciences
Suárez reported on the efforts of the Blue-Cloud 2026 project to harmonise, integrate, and validate large marine in situ data from various sources, and on the use of these data in virtual research environments.
Blue-Cloud is a virtual platform where experts in marine science, computer science, and data management collaborate to improve data and metadata in line with Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) principles. Since 2019, Blue-Cloud has established a federation of multidisciplinary marine data archives and developed and integrated tools for interoperability, quality control, visualisation, and data analysis, which can be used securely and tailored from any location.
Suárez provided insight into the Blue-Cloud workbench for Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) in ocean chemistry, such as temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, nutrients and dissolved oxygen, which are critical for assessing eutrophication and ocean acidification. In particular, the workbench for eutrophication integrates Copernicus, World Ocean Database and EMODnet Chemistry's validated datasets with Beacon, a high-performance data-lake solution that enables rapid sub-setting and harmonized delivery of multi-source data. The workbench employs webODV for exploration, initial validation and subset extraction, to support quality control and product generation.
Watch the presentation Blue-Cloud 2026 workbenches for Essential Ocean Variables: advancing harmonization and big-data workflows for eutrophication in marine science.
Starting this year, Blue-Cloud is integrated into the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the federated European environment where researchers can find, access, share, and reuse data, tools, and services, promoting open research practices across disciplines and countries.
Suárez: “This is an extraordinary recognition, testifying to the results of almost ten years of collaboration and, above all, ensuring new technological, computational, and scientific resources for further development, available to the marine science community across Europe.”
Besides our colleagues, we wish to thank all data stewards, data scientists, marine scientists, and ICT experts from dozens of European organisations, whose hard work and dedication over the years have made these projects cornerstones in implementing the main EU directives to safeguard and sustainably manage marine resources.
