Lasting three years, EAMNet aims to construct a network linking EO information providers, user networks and centres of excellence in Europe and Africa in the area of coastal and marine observations for sustainable development in Africa. The network will undertake capacity building and maintenance and build upon existing infrastructure and expertise in Africa. The overall aim is to improve the exploitation of EO data for coastal and oceanic monitoring for an Africa-wide observation system, Global Ocean Observing System in Africa (GOOS-Africa). It will provide an interface between European GMES-related core and downstream services and research and development projects (notably MyOcean) and African initiatives like African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) with the emerging GMES-Africa initiative. It will also provide further links with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). EAMNet is coordinated by the Plymouth Maritime Laboratory (PML) with nine other partners in Africa and Europe.

The main role of EUMETSAT in the EAMNet project is to:

- disseminate additional marine-related data to Africa through EUMETCast
- provide user support to set up GEONETCast stations
- monitor data transmissions via EUMETCast
- contribute to the EU-African Union action plan for GMES Africa
- represent EAMNet at GEONETCast demonstration events

Thanks to the EAMNet projects, some MyOcean products (GMES Marine Core Service), essentially ocean colour data, will be available operationally in near-real time to African users. These data and products will complement operational oceanography data (such as Jason-2 satellite altimetry and Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility data) already available through EUMETCast.

The EAMNET partners are:

• PML, UK (project coordinator)
• University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Institute of Marine Research, Portugal
• Danish Meteorological Institute
• EUMETSAT
• Natural Environment Research Council - National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK
• Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar-es-Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania
• University of Ghana
• Météo France - Centre de Météorologie Spatiale, France
• National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt

Further information

EAMNET website

GMES Africa

AMESD

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