First International Ocean Colour Science meeting to take place in Darmstadt
The first International Ocean Colour Science (IOCS) meeting will take place in Darmstadt, Germany, on 6-8 May
23 September 2020
06 May 2013
The meeting organised by the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group, in partnership with EUMETSAT and NASA, is attended by some 270 participants from 36 countries, including top scientists from the ocean colour scientific community.. Other meeting sponsors include ESA and CNES, the French space agency.
Satellite ocean colour instruments measure the presence of phytoplankton, tiny marine plants containing the pigment chlorophyll, suspended sediments, and coloured dissolved organic material in the world’s oceans. In the last decade, ocean colour data have been used to monitor water quality, pollution, harmful algal blooms, sediment transport, and to assess the role of the ocean in the carbon cycle in our changing climate. These data are now indispensable to management of marine resources, fisheries, marine and coastal ecosystems.
The EUMETSAT Director-General, Alain Ratier, addressed the opening session today, together with Paula Bontempi, Programme Manager for NASA’s Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Research Programme and David Antoine, Chair of the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group.
Commenting on the role of EUMETSAT in the development of operational oceanography in Europe, Mr Ratier said “We already deliver ocean data from our Meteosat, Metop and Jason-2 satellites, but in 2015 we will also operate the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite on behalf of the European Commission and deliver our first ocean colour data. Our goal will then be to offer a single real-time data stream integrating meteorological and ocean products”.