FOCA - Towards a Chilean SOOP operational monitoring facility...Sales Manager, Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd have experienced increased interest in

FOCA - Towards a Chilean SOOP operational monitoring facility Christopher M. Aiken Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Las Cruces, Chile

Chile possesses an enormous maritime territory that, despite its high economic and social importance, remains sparsely sampled and relatively poorly understood. As the principal limitation upon improved marine observational capacity is financial, the need exists to develop cost-effective ocean monitoring solutions. In this context, SOOP represent a highly convenient platform from which to augment Chile's ocean monitoring capacity. The presentation serves to outline our efforts towards building a SOOP facility aimed at providing operational monitoring of ocean conditions in Chile. Technical and operational aspects of the FOCA (Ferries Observando los Canales Australes) project are discussed, including strategies for its future development. Observations are presented from FOCA and from a pocketFerryBox campaign to the Chilean fjords region that highlight the potential and limitations of SOOP surface observations in this region.

Spectrophotometric seawater pH determination for use in underway measuring systems

Steffen Aßmann Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Centre for Materials and Coastal Research , HZG

Autonomous sensors are required for a comprehensive documentation and characterization of the changes in the marine carbon system. To describe the carbon system two out of four system parameters (pH, DIC, TA, pCO2) have to be determined. The newly developed pH analysis system adds an acid-base indicator dye (m-cresol purple) to a seawater sample. The indicator dye has different extinction coefficients in its acid and in its base state which can be used for spectrophotometric determination of the pH value. If the temperature of the sample is carefully controlled the precision reaches ±0.0007 pH units. The accuracy of the determination is less then ±0.01 pH units compared to certified reference material. The advantage of this method is that no drift occurs. Hence no calibration of the indicator is needed in the field. Only temperature and salinity have to be known accurately. Application of this sensor allows monitoring of seawater pH in autonomous underway systems in a high spatial and temporal resolution.

-4H- FerryBoxFamily:

Typical applications and technical specifications of types of FerryBoxes.

Tobias Boehme

-4H- JENA engineering GmbH, Jena.

During this session the different types of the -4H- FerryBoxFamily will be presented. The different systems offer solutions for special scopes of application. Special attention will be directed to the sophisticated antifouling system and the versatile possibilities of customer selected sensors and analyzers. Some aspects of the LabView based software which integrates the different data formats and standardizes outputs will be demonstrated. This standardized output format allows an easy integration to a lot of databases.

FerryBox: State-of-the-art and future incorporation in an European observational network

Franciscus Colijn, Wilhelm Petersen and Friedhelm Schroeder Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht

The development and use of FerryBox as an observational instrument has been well established during the last few years. New extensions of the system may occur if new sensors become available. Now the system has evolved to maturity and other steps for further incorporation into European observational systems are needed. Within two European initiatives FerryBox has been discussed as an extension to our observational: FerryBox has been presented to the MRI (Marine Research Infrastructure) and taken up in the IOOS, an initiative of DG R&D, and within MODEG (Marine Observation and Data expert group) which runs under EMODNET of DG MARE. Other links to funded or potential funded EU initiatives are JERICO and EMECO. The present state-of-the-art as well as chances to become part of an integrated European observational system will be discussed.

Commercialisation of the FerryBox concept; finding new markets. Justin Dunning Sales Manager, Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd

Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd have experienced increased interest in the implementation of FerryBox type equipment for a number of clients working within different industries, and have serviced this interest by supplying a number of different systems designed to address specific requirements. Addressing the requirements of the Military Sector, the presentation will include details of a FerryBox system which has been installed on the UK Ministry of Defence Ice Patrol Vessel HMS PROTECTOR. The FerryBox system has been designed to gather continuous real-time data of the surface waters through which the vessel travels. This data will be of value both to the MOD and the larger scientific community. The presentation will also cover systems provided to Hamworthy Krystallon, as water monitors for their ship exhaust gas cleaning system. Each system comprises of sensor cabinets monitoring the seawater in-take and out-take so comparison data can be used to determine that the cleaning systems operate within acceptable emissions limits. Parameters measured include polyaromatic hydrocarbons, turbidity, temperature and pH. The latest AquaLine FerryBox system will also be reviewed, detailing such systems as supplied to the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), for use on its new Ice class Arctic and Antarctic research vessel, the ACADEMIC TRESHNIKOV, which operates from Saint Petersburg and includes sensors for the measurement of conductivity, temperature, pressure, Chlorophyll a, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and pH. In conclusion, a review of other FerryBox type systems provided by CTG are presented, with a summary of plans for future systems.

Routine Monitoring in support of WFD and ensuing demands on a FerryBox System in Scottish Coastal Waters

Clemens Engelke Scottish Environment Protection Agency, East Kilbride, Scotland, UK

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is the competent monitoring authority for the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD). SEPA Marine Science collects data to classify the eutrophication status of coastal and transitional waterbodies. However, the data are spatially and temporally limited by the availability of survey vessels and small boats. Additional continuous data is needed to increase the statistical confidence of the data. These data are collected using equipment deployed on buoys and from a FerryBox in the Firth of Clyde on board the MV Caledonian Isles. For this purpose, quality control and assurance procedures on the FerryBox have to reflect best practice already in place for the monitoring buoys. Furthermore, extending the use of FerryBox systems in routine monitoring will require initial costs and implementation timeframe to be addressed. Our goal is an integrated monitoring network of dedicated surveys, marine water quality buoys and FerryBox systems, as well as other modes of remote sensing (e.g. satellite).

JERICO: Toward a European network of coastal observatories Patrick Farcy IFREMER, Laboratoire Environnement & Ressources, France

Coastal observation is an essential part of the marine research set of activities and applications. JERICO’s ambition is to design the infrastructure organisation devoted to the automated in situ coastal and shelf seas observation, completing observations from satellites (handled by GMES) and to the automated in situ oceanic systems (such as those developed under the ESFRI projects EURO ARGO, EUROSITES and EMSO). JERICO is a European initiative of 27 organisations to improve substantially the coordination and efficiency of EU regional seas observing systems. It is clearly a process aiming at bringing together the representative European coastal observatory operators, enhancing their coordination and promoting the cost-effective use of their facilities, in order to support the efficient provision of essential research and monitoring networks. The development of high-quality and comprehensive coastal observing systems has only recently moved forward, principally at national and regional level. In this overall context, the JERICO project aims at creating a solid and transparent organization towards an operational service for the timely, continuous and sustainable delivery of high quality environmental data and information products related to the marine environment in European coastal seas, provided by coastal observatories such as Ferrybox, fixed buoys and gliders. JERICO refers to standard I3 structure to define the coordinated activities (i.e. NA, TNA and JRA) embedding 10 work packages, under a coordinated management scheme (WP11). It will promote:

a common strategic vision for coastal observatories, networking activities in organizing workshops to share know-how, best practices in

cooperation, joint research initiatives, to develop new innovative sensors and tools, standardisation, giving a lift to the industrial sector of coastal instrumentation by the

organisation of forums for coastal oceanography, and monitoring services by opening the partner’s infrastructures (Trans-national access activities),

outreach and education. Jerico started in May 2011 and will last four years.

Measuring dissolved gases (CO2 and CH4) with the HydroC™ in flow-through applications and on other platforms – Past

measurements and future advancements P. Fietzeka,b a CONTROS Systems & Solutions GmbH, Wischhofstraße 1-3, Bld. 2, 24148Kiel, Germany

bLeibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Chemical

Oceanography, Duesternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany

The measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) concentrations in the oceans and other water bodies experiences a growing interest. Various scientific questions and industrial applications drive this demand and during recent years have evoked advancements in the field of required sensing technologies. Improvements of instrumentation go along with developments in the field of the corresponding platforms and instrument carriers. Trends in direction of autonomy, versatility, mobility and cost efficient data collection lead to the enhanced deployments of modern mobile platforms such as floats and gliders but also to an increased usage of voluntary observing ships as measuring platforms. Interconnection of platforms and sensors to form networks and maximize the outcome of monitoring endeavors is another trend recognizable within the last years. Sensors of the HydroC™ family for the in situ measurement of dissolved CO2 or CH4 determine gas concentrations optically by means of non-dispersive IR-spectrometry (NDIR). Equilibration of the internal gas headspace is achieved by a flat, thin film membrane module build into the head of the instruments. Their small size and versatility allows them to cope with the above mentioned trends and has lead to deployments on miscellaneous platforms such as research vessels, buoys, ROVs, AUVs and profiling floats. Referenced datasets from the several years lasting development history and track record of the instruments will be presented and discussed. Focus will be put on data collected by the flow-through version of the HydroC™/CO2. Sensor calibration and data processing will be broached as well. Future improvements of the sensors will cover a further miniaturization, reduced power consumption, increased user friendliness and reduced response time.

Autonomous systems for hyperspectral radiometric measurements from ships of opportunity.

Are Folkestad1, Pierre Jaccard1, Kai Sørensen1, Eyvind Aas2 & Dominique Durand1

1) Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Norway 2) University of Oslo, Norway

Hyperspectral radiometric TriOS Ramses sensors have been operating since 2005 on two ships of opportunity (SOOP) in Norwegian coastal waters to measure upwelling water-leaving radiance and downwelling sky radiance and irradiance. In this presentation we will focus on the latest developments within data processing tools, validation of the method, and application of the data. The Ramses sensors are collecting data autonomously for large parts of the year along the ships’ transects with a sampling frequency less than one minute. The large amount of collected data has required the development of a robust and automated processing tool in order to provide useful data for various applications. Raw data files are imported to the processor and thereafter calibrated, re-structured, quality controlled and exported to standardized netCDF format. Systems for automatic data transfer from the ships are currently being developed, and will after implementation enable near real-time delivery of quality controlled data. The Ramses data from the passenger ferry Color Festival (operating between Oslo and Kiel) have been validated by simultaneously collected data during a series of cruises with a research vessel in the inner part of the Oslo Fjord. Results from this inter-comparison will be presented. The processed data will be used in various ongoing projects including e.g. validation of satellite ocean colour MERIS data, and generation of derived aerosol and marine parameters. Results from this work will be presented.

Towards automated measurements of primary production: online measurements of variable fluorescence in the North Sea

Rodney Forster Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Cefas.

Our understanding of gross primary production in coastal seas is limited by a lack of information on optical conditions in the water column, biomass of primary producers, and photophysiological properties of the algae. Whilst the first two parts can be assessed adequately by remote sensing of ocean colour combined with automated in situ measurements (e.g. Ferrybox, gliders…), the status of the phytoplankton is traditionally measured on ship using oxygen evolution or carbon uptake. The measurement of photosystem II electron transport rates using variable fluorescence offers an alternative method which can be automated and used on Ferrybox systems. This talk describes recent work in the EU ProTool project to start routine measurements of photosynthetic parameters in this way. Field sampling was done on a research vessel survey in August 2010. Samples were collected from surface and midwater along eight longitudinal transects from 52°N to 62°N and the prevailing environmental conditions along the survey track were recorded using a FerryBox, and synoptic maps of the North Sea for the period before, during and after the cruise were obtained from appropriate remote sensing and ecosystem model providers. Water samples were analysed on ship with PAM and FRRF variable fluorescence, and compared with continuous measurements of dark-acclimated variable fluorescence using a Turner Phytoflash instrument integrated in a 4H-Jena Ferrybox. The results show strong regional differences in the physiological status of phytoplankton communities, which can be used to inform ecological modelling of the region.

RV Cefas Endeavour FerryBox:- robust QA systems providing operational data for UK Eutrophication Assessments

N. Greenwood, D.B. Sivyer, J. Foden, T. Hull, D.J. Pearce, D.K. Mills Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Cefas.

Cefas has been operating a Ferrybox on RV Cefas Endeavour since January 2009. High frequency observations of physical, chemical and biological parameters are being made in shelf seas around the UK, with data being returned to Cefas in real time. Maintenance of sensor and deployment records and quality assurance are all carried out within an integrated database so that the history of data can be audited. Details of the database and robust quality assurance system will be presented together with examples of data collected on research cruises. Data from the Ferrybox are being combined with observations made over a range of space and time scales to make assessments of ecosystem health such as those required under OSPAR and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Examples of the integration of data from the Cefas Ferrybox, moorings and ships within EMECO (European Marine Ecosystem Observatory) to make assessments of water quality against management thresholds will be presented.

Controlling processes of seasonal and spatial distribution of methane in the surface water of the Baltic Sea based on long term

continuous measurements

Wanda Gülzow, Gregor Rehder, Jens Schneider v. Deimling, Torsten Seifert

Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde, IOW.

Surface water methane and carbon dioxide concentrations are continuously measured with an autonomous system in the Baltic Sea since November 2009. The cargo ship Finnmaid commutes regularly between Travemünde (Germany), Gdynia (Poland) and Helsinki (Finland) on an interval of 2 to 3 days. During the first 20 month of almost intervention-free operation, a total of 300 lines were collected. The analytical setup consists of a methane-carbon dioxide-Analyzer (MCA, Los Gatos Research) joint with an established equilibrator setup (Gülzow et al. 2011). The high spatio-temporal data coverage provided by the instrument allows new insights into the seasonal and spatial distribution of methane in the surface water of the Baltic Sea and the governing controls. Especially in the shallow regions of the Baltic Sea strong variations in surface water methane concentrations could be observed engendered by the seasonal changes of surface water temperatures, stratification during summer, and complete mixing during winter. The strongest seasonal variations could be observed in the western part of the Gulf of Finland. Episodically enhanced methane and carbon dioxide concentrations in the surface waters were observed at the western and eastern coast of Gotland and could be linked to strong upwelling events. The Arkona Basin and Bornholm Basin are characterized by sedimentary methane sources. Together with strong wind events, high water column and surface water methane concentrations might be caused in these areas by spontaneous gas seepage. In the permanent stratified area of the Gotland Basin generally low and moderately variable methane concentrations were observed in the surface water. In fact, this area is the only region, where undersaturation of methane in the surface water was measured. Flux calculations averaged for selected areas illustrate, that the Baltic Sea remains a source for atmospheric methane throughout the year.

The study demonstrates the potential of long-term surface data to get new insights into the seasonality and controlling processes of surface water concentrations and the sea-air flux of methane from dynamic aquatic systems like the Baltic Sea.

OceanPack: Robust, Flexible and Cost-efficient “Autonomous

Underway Measurement System” in Operation B.Sc. Saskia Heckmann SubCtech GmbH, Germany

After many years of mainly scientific use of SOOP Systems there is still a wish for a measuring system which is easy to handle and thereby cost-efficient. Through the multitude of ships which are used as platforms, SOOP Systems have to be modular in their composition and flexible in their configuration. The company SubCtech used their long lasting experience to develop the modular OceanPack System which is nowadays used by public authorities, science and industry. The system approved especially while used in difficult conditions such as high sediment yield (up to 10,000 FTU), growing bio-fouling (the Wadden Sea), waves and spray (27kn Racing Yacht). The initial reason for the development was the statement of a scientist:”Water in, Measure, Water out – That´s all what we need.” At the moment one of the most interesting parameters is the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2). Therefore special LI-COR Analysers are applied which have, equipped with a membrane „Flat-Conductor-Equilibrator“, no need for reference gas and only have low requirements regarding the system design. The new pCO2 OceanPack Systems shall meet demands of common “Underway” Systems and in addition have the handling of simple sensors. The AUMS (Autonomous Underway Measurement System) OceanPack needs only a minimal maintenance and due to the compact design and low usage of energy even small ships can be used as measurement platform with little installation work. Hence, any Ship Of Opportunity can be used, for example racers which measure data in the Southern Hemisphere during around-the-world sailing races in the context of the OceanoScientific® Programme. Because of the scalability comprehensive measurements can be done such as on board the R/V BNS BELGICA. Especially during adverse weather and dredging the water quality is observed and even complex measurements like online nutrient analysis are performed fully autonomous. Daily automatic cleaning allows a long lasting maintenance-free working process – the BELGICA just completed successfully the first three weeks long unattended cruise.

A temperature and salinity transect from an estuary mouth across a shelf sea, based on multi-year ferry measurements

John Howarth, Chris Balfour National Oceanography Centre, NOC, Liverpool

The Liverpool Viking was instrumented between November 2007 and January 2011. The ferry crossed the Irish Sea east/west between the Mersey and Dublin, there and back daily, 6 days a week. The temperature and salinity measurements were checked against measurements from a surface buoy which the ferry passed close by and opportunities were taken to test the robustness of different sensors. Since the ferry departed at a fixed time, 10:00 / 22:00, and physical processes are dominated by the semi-diurnal tides, interpretation of some aspects of the record was complicated by aliasing over a spring / neap cycle. The measurements have been used to study:

a) Near shore gradients on the approaches to the Mersey. b) The dominant temperature seasonal cycle along the route and the much weaker

salinity seasonal cycle. c) The relation between the shallower waters in Liverpool Bay and the deeper waters in

the St. George’s Channel (the western section of the route).

A celebration of 9 years of work on the MV Pride of Bilbao (2002 to

2010) - monitoring and scientific highlights.

David Hydes, Mark Hartman, Susan Hartman, Jon Cambell, Boris Kelly Gerreyn, Mohammed

Qurban, Charlene Bargeron, Toby Tyrrell, Helen Smith, Zongpei Jiang and Denise Smyth

Wright

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK

A FerryBox system was implemented on the route operated by P&O Ferries Ltd between Portsmouth and Bilbao at the start of the EU FP6 FerryBox project in 2002. It operated with only minor breaks until the route was terminated in 2010. In addition regular manned sample crossing were undertaken both for calibration and to support both long and short term projects. Here we will briefly review the progress and evolution of the work and highlight some of the key findings. Such an extensive programme would not have been possible without the involvement a large number of students from the Centre. The ready availability of the ship enabled the development of and testing of other equipment such as an advanced robotic sampling system. The work also benefited from parallel activities on board of the SAHFOS Continuous Plankton Recorder survey and the ISAR sea surface temperature measurement groups. The FerryBox concept offers the promise of being able to make consistently performed observations over extended periods, as generally few scientific studies are able to attempt this. A founding study was the assessment of the variation in plankton populations between 2003 and 2004 and now more recently assessment of the variability of sporadic intense blooms of Karenia Mikimotoi. At the same time observations of salinity discovered that rivers on the French Atlantic coast are important in determining the salinity of the English Channel. Measurements of oxygen were shown to provide a useful measure of biological production giving a direct estimate in terms of carbon unlike observations based on chlorophyll-fluorescence. This study has evolved into the routine use of oxygen optodes for making autonomous measurements. Monthly sampling for nutrients has enabled significant year to year changes in concentrations to be identified and suggest that a so called “Russell Cycle” as seen in the MBA data sets dating back 50 years is a real feature of conditions in the English Channel. Recently much of the work has had a focus on air-sea exchange of CO2 and ocean acidification. We have identified that benthic production by echinoderms may be an important control of the alkalinity in shallower waters while cross thermocline transfers of nutrients may support continued draw down of CO2 into stratified ocean waters in summer months. For coccolithophores we have found contrary to expectation that a greater degree of calcification appears to take place in winter when the calcite saturations state is at a minimum. A key part of the concept is also finding effective ways of visualising the data - this will be discussed in the accompanying poster presented by Mark Hartman.

Ferrybox Data and Quality Control Implementation in MyOcean Pierre Jaccard Norwegian Institute for Water Research, NIVA

MyOcean is the implementation project of the GMES Marine Core Service, aiming at deploying the first concerted and integrated pan-European capacity for Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting. Ferrybox data within MyOcean are handled by the In-Situ Thematic Assembly Centre (TAC), whose role is to collect oceanographic measurements from all possible sources, and to calibrate, validate, edit, archive and distribute them. MyOcean thereby facilitates operational delivery of Ferrybox data from any vessel on a standard format and with harmonised quality control system and flags.The main roles of NIVA within MyOcean are (i) to develop the necessary tools for managing and quality control Ferrybox data (real-time and delayed mode) as well as distribute these to the global distribution unit, (ii) define quality control procedures for bio- geo- chemical sensors for implementation in MyOcean, and hereby in (i). NIVA is the production unit of quality controlled Ferrybox data. The presentation will provide a status of this work and a description on how it has been implemented. This part will include first an overview of the management framework which lies on the bottom of the system and make it possible to fulfil these tasks. Secondly, a description of the quality controls applied on the Ferrybox data (all sensors, including bio- geo- chemical ones) will be given, with special focus on how local and small variations in measurements are being handled. MyOcean’s ambition is to gather and deliver all Ferrybox data available from all European waters. The audience will also be informed about the current status of the integrated and missing ships. Finally, the practical steps to follow for accessing these data will be presented.

Participation of SYKE/Alg@line in European projects

Seppo Kaitala, Jukka Seppälä, Petri Maunula, Seija Hällfors, Kari Y. Kallio Finnish Environment Institute SYKE / Marine Centre

SYKE/Marine Research Center coordinates Alg@line ferrybox co-operation project including 4 national regional centres and 2 Estonian research institutes, EMI and MSI. Besides that SYKE and Swedish Meteorological institute (SMHI) is establishing a new line from Kemi (Bothnian Bay) to Göteborg covering the whole Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Proper and Danish Sounds. SYKE in cooperation with national environment centres operates 3 ferrybox lines; from Hesinki to Travemünde, from Helsinki to Stockholm via the Archipelago Sea and one along the Finnish Coast of the Gulf of Finland. The ferrybox systems include termosalinograph, fluorometers for chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, CDOM and turbidity and automated sequence water sampler. SYKE also participates in MyOcean, Aquamar, Waters, Jerico, Cobios and Protool EU FP7 projects and European Space Agency MarCoast project.

FerryBox on the route Gothenburg-Kemi-Oulu-Lübeck-Gothenburg - operational oceanographic and algal bloom

monitoring of the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat Bengt Karlson SMHI / Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) operate a FerryBox system on the ship TransPaper on the route Gothenburg-Kemi-Oulu-Lübeck-Gothenburg covering most of the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat and a salinity range of c. 3-25 psu. The system includes flow through sensors and two automated water samplers. The ship arrives in Gothenburg once a week where service and collection of water samples is carried out. One of the objectives is monitoring of algal blooms in general and Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB’s) in particular. Phycocyanin fluorescence is used as a proxy for the biomass of cyanobacteria. Since only some of these are harmful microscopic analysis of water samples is also carried out. Also other parameters such as CDOM and chlorophyll fluorescence, salinity, temperature, turbidity, oxygen are measured using in flow sensors. In air sensor for temperature, irradiation and air pressure are also part of the system that sends data in real time. A new development is the measurement of pCO2 using a system from General Oceanic’s and measurement of pH using a novel method based on fluorescence. The system will be described and experiences from 2010-2011 will be reported.

Ferrybox observations Tallinn-Helsinki as a valuable data source for marine research and environmental state estimates

Villu Kikas, Aet Meerits, Nelli Rünk, Taavi Liblik, Andres Trei, Inga Lips, Urmas Lips Marine Systems Institute, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia 15A, 12168 Tallinn, Estonia

Ferrybox measurements are carried out between Tallinn and Helsinki in the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea) in a regular basis since 1997. In 2006 a new flow-through system was installed, which measures autonomously water temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a fluorescence and turbidity, and takes water samples for further analyses at a pre-defined time interval. In January 2010 a device measuring pCO2 was added to the system on board ferry “Baltic Princess”. The water sampling is conducted on a weekly basis at 17 locations along the ferry route to measure nutrient concentrations (NO2+NO3 and PO4, in spring), chlorophyll a content and phytoplankton species composition and biomass. It has been shown that this autonomous monitoring method is a cost-effective way to monitor and assess the state of the marine environment. Our aim is to show on the basis of data collected in spring-summer 2010 that the Ferrybox technology can be successfully applied to follow the rapid changes of state variables in a very dynamic estuary. Information on vertical stratification as well as vertical dynamics of phytoplankton and nutrients was gathered using measurements on board research vessel “SALME”. In addition to classical CTD profiles and water sampling, a towed undulating vehicle, measuring temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a and phycocyanin fluorescence, was used. The vertical distribution of temperature, salinity and Chl a fluorescence was measured also by a moored water column profiler deployed close to the ferry line. Vertical profiles acquired at the buoy station were transmitted after every profiling conducted with a time step of 3 hours in the layer from 2 to 45(50) metres. The following results, contributing to improve the existing understanding of the ecosystem functioning, are highlighted. In the course of the spring bloom the surface layer nitrite-nitrate concentration decreased in proportion with the phosphate concentration. The obtained ratio between the consumed NOx and PO4 (molar ration 14:1) until the NOx depletion in the surface layer indicates that the phytoplankton nutrient uptake during the spring bloom is close to (but less than) the Redfield ratio. More rapid decrease in the nutrient concentrations was observed in the southern part of the gulf where the bloom started earlier and was more intensive. It is shown that the observed temporal increases of phytoplankton biomass (Chl a) in the surface layer can be related to different processes making additional sources of nitrogen available for phytoplankton growth. A secondary peak in the spring bloom was observed in relation to the ascent of the thermocline in late May causing also uplift of the nitracline. In July two main groups were dominating in the phytoplankton community – cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. The former took advantage most probably by using atmospheric nitrogen. The dinoflagellates (e.g. Heterocapsa triquetra) are capable of vertical migration and, thus, may transport nitrogen (NO3) from the deeper layers to the euphotic zone. We analyze the links between mesoscale hydrophysical processes and the occurrence of sub-surface maxima of phytoplankton biomass using Ferrybox data and vertical profiles acquired by the towed undulating vehicle. We suggest that both the vertical migration and layered structure of phytoplankton distribution should be taken into account when assessing the productivity/state of a sea area.

Scientific data acquisition by ocean-going sailing yachts: The OceanoScientific® Programme

Martin Kramp Association ROSS (Research-OceanoScientific-Sport), Salining One

The aim of the OceanoScientific® Programme is to use sailing yachts as fully automatic acquisition and transmission platforms of a set of oceanographic and meteorological parameters at the ocean-atmosphere interface. The routes of regularly starting around-the-world ocean races hardly change and lead in ocean areas that have been scarcely or not at all scientifically explored. Major parts take place between and south of the continental capes (Horn, Good Hope and Leeuwin) where data from the ocean-atmosphere interface are crucial for climate research. Even if participating racing yachts have already been equipped with scientific sensors in the past, the possibilities were so far always very limited because of the competition and onboard conditions on unique prototype vessels. In 2006, SailingOne launched with the support of the French Sailing Federation (FFVoile) the serial production of a new one-design class, called SolOceans, which from the beginning combined the sportive aspects of an ocean racer with the scientific need for data from said areas: Fully in carbon, these 16 meters long high-tech yachts for single-handed racing allow for the deployment of various oceanographic and atmospheric sensors and were labelled Navires A Voile d'Observation Scientifique de l'Environnement - NAVOSE® (sailing vessel for scientific observation of the environment). Thanks to the support of a growing number of international scientific partners such as IFREMER, Météo-France, INSU-CNRS (all France), IFM-GEOMAR (Germany) and the University of Maine (USA), the first prototype of the scientific equipment, called OceanoScientific® System (formerly OceanoScientific® Kit) was declared operational in 2009. The initializing parameters were (i) wind speed, (ii) wind direction, (iii) air relative humidity, (iv) air temperature, (v) sea level pressure, (vi) SST, (vii) SSS, and (viii) pCO2. It was tested in December 2009 in heavy weather between France and Portugal. The results of the test were highly positive and were presented in June 2010 at the conference OCOSS in Brest and in November 2010 published by the French journal REE. Meanwhile, the OceanoScientific® Programme takes place under the patronage of two French ministries (Research, Ecology) and a second version of the OceanoScientific® System has been developed which is now completely autonomous from the other ship systems. Further parameters have been integrated: (ix) photoactive radiation, (x) fluorescence and (xi) pH. In November 2011 (xii) turbidity will follow. The vessels of the SolOceans One-design Class will not only participate in races around-the-world, such as Vendée-Globe and Velux-5-Oceans, but also additional scientific races, called OceanoScientific® Challenges, which will be organized in the entire Atlantic Ocean and will use scientific reference buoys (such as PIRATA - Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic) as waypoints. With this agenda, the SolOceans One-design Class will be sailing in the Southern Ocean every year from 2012 to gather scientific data during the so-called OceanoScientific® Campaigns. The next test sails are scheduled from December 2011 to February 2012 between France and the Cape Verde islands.

The PROTOOL project: a tool for automated primary production measurements of phytoplankton

Jacco C. Kromkamp and Greg Silsbe

Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for Estuarine and Marine Ecology, the Netherlands.

To understand (changes in) aquatic ecosystems knowledge of primary production is essential. Normally this is done by measuring the rate of incorporation of radioactive labeled 14CO2. This 14C-technique is cumbersome, expensive, and not really suited for monitoring purposes. As a result there is very limited number of long term time series describing changes in primary production. In the FP7-EU program PROTOOL we currently developing a new methodology for automated measurements of primary production, based on the combination of a number of optical techniques: 1): the variable fluorescence approach to measure photosynthetic quantum efficiencies, 2): the optical cavity technique to measure algal absorption (PSICAM), and 3: spectral reflectance to measure water quality parameters like chlorophyll concentrations and light attenuation coefficients. Ideally our PROTOOL products should be combined with ferryboxes. During this presentation I will give a short overview of the methodology and software developed and present some promising data showing the results of the prototypes tested in various marine waters with emphasis on the measurements of changes in photosynthetic efficiency and primary production estimates.

Preliminary results of a study of episodic events in the Baltic Sea on the basis of Ferry-Box and satellite information

Maria BARTOSZEWICZ1, Katarzyna BRADTKE2, Mirosław DARECKI3, Natalia DRGAS4, Piotr KOWALCZUK3, Wojciech KRAVNIEWSKI4, Adam KRBbEL2, Włodzimierz KRZYMILSKI4, Łukasz LEWANDOWSKI4, Elcbieta ŁYSIAK-PASTUSZAK4, Hanna MAZUR-MARZEC2, Sergio das NEVES4, Sławomir SAGAN3, Katarzyna SUTRYK2, Barbara WITEK2 1Institute of Marine and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of GdaMsk, ul. Powstania Styczniowego

9b, 81-519 Gdynia, Poland, 2Institute of Oceanography, GdaMsk University, ul. Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland.

3Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. PowstaMców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot,

Poland., 4Institute of Meteorology and Water Management - Maritime Branch, Al. Waszyngtona 42, 81-342

Gdynia, Poland A project was developed to observe episodic events in the Baltic Sea, by combining in situ and satellite information. The system was composed of an autonomic “Ferry-Box” module, installed on a commercial passenger ferry between Gdynia and Karlskrona. This module provided online measurements of temperature, salinity, oxygen and chlorophyll-a fluorescence and additionally discrete water samples were collected at pre-selected geographical locations. Phytoplankton community structure, hepatotoxins and neurotoxins produced by algae were analysed in the discrete water samples and the samples' toxicity was tested with microbiotest using Artemia franciscana. Nutrients and chlorophyll-a are also determined in discrete samples. The in situ information was combined with multi-sensor satellite imagery to determine the extent of algal blooms and to follow the evolution of other rapid environmental events, e.g. hydrological fronts or as it happened the flood lpume. The paper presents some results of the project obtained in 2008 and 2010.

Real Time Data Management and Services in the Mediterranean SOOP/VOS programmes

Giuseppe M.R. Manzella, Franco Reseghetti

Environment Energy Innovation, ENEA, UTMAR, Italy

The possibility to use XBT measurements in an operational system was demonstrated by a pioneering work of Flierl and Robinson. Successively, XBTs have been used in the Ships Of Opportunity Programme (SOOP) to provide information of the thermal content of ocean upper layer. These data are still constituting the major source of information for the study of the climate variability in the oceans. In September 1999, a Ship Of Opportunity Program was launched in the Mediterranean as part of the Mediterranean Forecasting System project. In this framework, an innovative real-time data management system was developed. Purposes and role of an operational XBT sampling system were defined in the period 1999 - 2000, mainly for new methodologies in data transmission and quality control. In particular, data were transmitted in full resolution (instead of sub-sampled profiles, as allowed by the previous techniques), and the quality control procedures included all the steps defined for delayed mode data. The coastal data collection and management system is still at an implementation phase, although the high priority given to the management of the coastal areas. Data have been collected in coastal areas in the Adriatic, processed in reference laboratories and delivered to a data centre where they were controlled with gross range checks and their formats homogenised. A central data and information management system provides the access to data. Although the limitation in number of parameters collected (XBT temperature profiles for the large scale monitoring system and CTD+O2 for the coastal areas), the data allows the description of interactions between shelf and deep-sea waters. The recent literature has evidenced errors associated to the historical data, especially XBTs. These errors are associated to a lack of continuous checks on data quality, as initially done by Flierl and Robinson. In this talk are analysed the methodologies and technologies used in a Ship Of Opportunity Programme in the Mediterranean, and show the results of many different intercalibration exercises. Once assured the quality of data, these are distributed to the users (mainly the forecasting centres, but alos to scientists). Recently the Mediterranean SOOP has been implemented with a VOS program. Commercial hips are collecting meteorological data in the framework of the EUMETNET initiatives.

High frequency measurements of hydrological and biological parameters in the Western English Channel: Evidence for a Karenia

mikimotoi bloom in july 2010. P. Morin1, E. Macé1, S. Raimund1, P. Jégou2, Y., Aoustin2, T.J. Smyth3, M. Hoebeke1, T. Cariou1, Y. Bozec1, 1 Chimie Marine, Observatoire Océanologique de Roscoff, CNRS & Université P. et M. Curie Paris VI,

Place G. Teissier, 29682 Roscoff cedex, France. 2 RDT/DMSI, Ifremer Centre de Brest, 29280 Plouzané, France

3 Plymouth Marine Laboratory, The Hoe, Plymouth, U.K.

Two new ferry box systems have been installed on Brittany Ferries M.V. “Armorique” and “Pont Aven” since may 2010 and February 2011. Two complementary sampling strategies have been chosen for an optimal spatio temoral coverage of the western European seas. A high frequency spatio temporal sampling is realized with M.V. “Armorique” ferry box along two daily transects in the Western English Channel between Roscoff and Plymouth whereas a spatial coverage of the Western English Channel, Celtic Sea and bay of Biscay with a weekly sampling is realized with M.V. Pont Aven along transects between U.K., France, Ireland and Spain (Portsmouth and Saint Malo, Roscoff and Plymouth, Roscoff and Cork and between Portsmouth and Santander lines). The two ferries are equipped with the same systems and sensors. Six parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, turbidity and CDOM) are sampled with a 1 minute frequency. Data transmission to the Roscoff data base is made automatically at the arrival of ferries in the ports and data are made available through a website. Data are then transmitted to the Coriolis data center for data assimilation in operational oceanography. Preliminary results from the two ferry box will be presented. During july 2010, a phytoplankton bloom has been sampled in the Western English Channel. The phytoplankton species at the origin of this bloom has been identified as the harmful phytoplankton species Karenia mikimotoi. Examples from PREVIMER data assimilation for prediction of the temperature and salinity surface fields in the western English Channel and bay of Biscay will be presented.

HCMR Ferry Box System

Manolis Ntoumas

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Oceanography

In the framework of MFSPP and MFSTEP projects a Ferry Box System (-4H- JENA engineering GmbH) was installed onboard Kriti II, an 192 m ferry covering daily the 150 n.m route between Piraeus – Heraklion. The system was in operation in the period 2002-2003 under the European network for Ferry Box. The measured parameters were temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a and turbidity and were used both for the setup and validation of models as well as for the assimilation in the operational POSEIDON forecasting system. During the last five years the system has been offline as the ship was directed to different routes before moved to shipyard for maintenance and reconstruction works. After discussions with the ferry boat company operating the particular route the existing Ferry Box will be installed in the new Ferry Boat with a significant upgrade on the existing parts and sensors.

Optimization of sustained in situ spectral reflectance measurements from moving vessels

John Olsson Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE

Sustained in situ reflectance measurements provide the strongest link between in-water biological, chemical, and physical processes and basin-scale remotely sensed observations. They are, however, sensitive to errors caused by sun glint, non-flat sea surfaces, and changing cloud conditions. Maintaining the optimum viewing geometry with respect to the solar azimuth greatly increases the temporal coverage of reflectance measurements. We provide the first description of an automated platform that optimizes the sensor viewing angle on a moving vessel, with regard to sun position and ship course. A single sensor set mounted on the bow of a ship resulted in first test in 85% coverage under the optimal azimuth angle of 135° and fewer than 1% of measurements at poor angles (<90°). Continous, automated reflectance measurements demand robust filtering routines to remove observations obtained under unsuitable lighting conditions. The most common and most detrimental condition is changing cloud cover. Under a broken sky and a non-flat sea surface it is rarely possible to correct the water-leaving radiance signal for sky radiance reflected on the water surface. We propose a new optimization technique for this correction that is not dependent on a relation with wind speed or estimates of cloud cover, but depends on the removal of spectral features of the downwelling sunlight from the reflectance product.

FerryMon: Unattended ferry-based water quality monitoring to evaluate human and climatically-driven ecological change in the Neuse River-Pamlico Sound Estuarine system, North Carolina,

USA Hans W. Paerl, Karen L. Rossignol, Rodney Guajardo, Nathan S. Hall, Alan R. Joyner, Benjamin L. Peierls. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, NC 28557

The Pamlico Sound System (PSS) is the USA’s second largest estuary, and its largest lagoonal ecosystem. It exemplifies the impacts of climatic perturbations such as hurricanes and droughts, and human development, including nutrient over-enrichment, eutrophication, algal blooms and hypoxia. In combination with an established Modeling and Monitoring Program (ModMon; www.unc.edu/ims/neuse/modmon/), a fleet of North Carolina DOT ferries has been conducting unattended monitoring of water quality, habitat and ecological condition of the PSS. FerryMon (www.ferrymon.org) deploys a multi-parameter YSI 6600 multi-sensor sonde (temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll a fluorescence) coupled to automated ISCO discrete sampling of nutrients, organics, diagnostic algal photopigments and molecular indicators, to assess water quality in a near real-time manner. In addition, the US NSF has supported the recent deployment of Algal Online Analyzers and CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) sensors. A portion of the ferries’ intake water is diverted through an in-line plenum and automated water collection system for both real-time and subsequent laboratory analyses. The data are then sent via internet to the laboratory’s computer, where they are recorded and verified. On a weekly basis these data are added to the long term databases of the ferry routes. Data are then statistically analyzed, compiled and sent to our webpage. Data have been collected since 2001, allowing for short and long term trends to be detected. The data have been formatted into Geo-Databases. Ferrymon’s data base is integrated with other data sources , including; USGS stream gage data, NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (NC-DENR) Division of Water Quality ambient water quality monitoring, NASA & EPA remote sensing data and information from parallel State and federally-funded research projects, to clarify the dynamics of this ecologically and economically important estuarine system. For example, continuous monitoring has enhanced our ability to detect and quantify exceedances of “acceptable” chlorophyll a concentrations (40 ȝg/L) in order to evaluate the US EPA/NC-DENR mandated Total Maximum Daily Nitrogen Load (TMDL) for the Neuse River Estuary, and it reveals when, where and how algal blooms develop. Bloom detection can be coupled with onboard ISCO sampling to aid in detection and characterization of potentially harmful algal blooms, and is being used to show the spatio-temporal variability of parameters across ferry transects. Ferrymon’s technology is readily transferable to other estuarine, large lake and coastal ecosystems served by ferries, other “ships of opportunity”, moorings and platforms. Improvement in hydrologic and environmental observing platforms will support interdisciplinary studies aimed at identifying and quantifying anthropogenic and climatic drivers of ecological change in large waterbodies, which have traditionally been difficult to assess. FerryMon is also training high school, undergraduate and graduate students, technicians and post-doctoral researchers; the next generations of environmental scientists and engineers.

FerryBox systems at HZG: Experiences and applications on different platforms and integration in a coastal observing system

Wilhelm Petersen Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Coastal Research, GERMANY

In 2002, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany, started to develop and operate automated monitoring systems called “Ferrybox” on Ships of Opportunity to continuously record oceanographic, chemical and biological in-situ data. A pre-operational FerryBox network is integrated in the German Coastal Observation System COSYNA to enable a synoptic description of the key state variables of coastal seas and their physical, chemical and ecological drivers and responses in the German Bight (North Sea). In addition to mobile platforms such as ferries or merchant ships FerryBoxes have been also installed aboard research vessels and fixed platforms. This presentation summarizes the operational experience gathered since the beginning of this deployment and reflects on the potential and limits of FerryBox systems as a monitoring tool. It shows the experiences of FerryBox systems on different platforms and in different areas. A further part relates to the instrumental performance, constancy of shipping services, and the availability and quality of the recorded in-situ data Data examples will show the added value operating a FB aboard research vessels. Other applications highlight the use of FerryBox data on fixed routes for observation of both long-term and short-term variability in water mass stability and algal dynamic. Through the assessment of technical and scientific performance it is evident that FerryBox systems have become a valuable tool in operational oceanography that helps to fill gaps in coastal and open ocean observation networks.

Interannual and decadal variability of surface pCO2 in the North Atlantic - data from the UK to Caribbean line and the wider SOCAT

database

Ute Schuster

School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

Sea surface pCO2 and the air-sea flux of CO2 show substantial interannual and decadal variability in the North Atlantic, not only in their annual mean, but also in their seasonal cycle. Detailed results will be presented from the mid-1990s and from the early 2000s onwards, based on measurements between the UK and the Caribbean onboard Voluntary Observing Ships made during the previous EU CarboOcean and the current EU CarboChange projects. The potential underlying biological, chemical, and physical mechanisms causing this variability will be discussed, including mixed layer depth, surface circulation, and biological activity. This will be put into a global context by drawing on the data collection in the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas, SOCAT, in which sea surface pCO2 and related parameters have been collected from all ocean basins from 1968 onwards.

Results from the final year of PoB operations in the Bay of Biscay and English Channel

Denise Smythe-Wright National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK

Between February and September 2010 NOC staff travelled on the Pride of Bilbao ferry over the 3 day transit period, manually collecting sample for taxonomic identification and enumeration and plant pigment analysis. Together with the standard ferrybox outputs this has resulted in a comprehensive data set covering

monthly or 2-weekly pigment concentrations for 24 individual pigments,

monthly or 2-weekly microscope algal counts

3-day repeat light measurements from sensors on the ship’s mast.

3-day repeat standard CTD, oxygen and fluorometer measurements

As expected the data set shows temporal and spatial variability in oceanographic and biological conditions, with colder waters to the north and during the early part of the year, low salinity water off the coast of Ushant and a series of patchy phytoplankton blooms. The latter have been characterized by the pigment and microscope counts, which show the presence of a variety of species throughout the period including, a diatom bloom of Nitzschia with some Eucampia and Coscinodiscus in the Bay of Biscay in April/May and a substantial HAB bloom of Karina Mikimotoi in the English Channel in July. We will present the data set and discuss its implications.

The Norwegian Ferrybox Network after 10 years of operation

Kai Sørensen, Are Folkestad and Pierre Jaccard Norwegian Institute for Water Research, NIVA.

The Norwegian Network of Ferrybox system has been in operation in 10 years from the first ship started in 2001 between Denmark and Norway. New ships and routes have over this decade been introduced to the network and cover now the area from Kiel in Germany to New Aalesund at Svalbard. The ships operates in both open waters and coastal areas and are used in different application as marine eutrophication (Water Framework Directive), harmful algal bloom warnings (Aquaculture), satellite product validation (European Space Agency) and are now a part of the pan-European MyOcean project (GMES). During the period the infrastructure and data has been used and developed through several national and international projects. This has been possible due to relative stable shiproutes, good collaboration with the ship owners, gradually technical development, and a good calibration and maintenance system. The Norwegian Ferrybox system is based on technical design developed at NIVA using different commercial sensors. The experience from 10 years of operation, the calibration and maintenance of sensors, the sensor integration in the system and data transmission on the ship and to between ship and land will be presented. The Ferrybox network are used in national coastal monitoring programs and are from 2011 a part of the Water Framework pilot project where Ferrybox data and satellite data will be used. Development and validation of satellite products has for many years been an important task for the Norwegian Ferrybox network using calibrated sensor data, automatic water sampling as well as deck mounted radiance sensors. The presentation will show the benefit of using high frequent measurement and sampling for marine monitoring and satellite data validation. The use of new advanced sensor technology in the Ferrybox systems for environmental monitoring and in climatic studies will be demonstrated.

Prediction of Ocean State Estimate by assimilation of temperature and salinity data. A case study for the Baltic Sea

Joanna Staneva (1), Johannes Schulz-Stellenfleth (1), Sebastian Grayek (2), and Emil V Stanev (1) (1) Institute for Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, Geesthacht, Germany (2) Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany

Integrated ocean observing systems closely link in-situ and remote measurements with numerical models enabling the reconstruction and forecast of key state variables with full spatial coverage. Such a nowcast/forecast model system has been developed for the North Sea-Baltic Sea as an integral component of the COSYNA (Coastal Observation System for Northern and Arctic seas) project. It is used to produce nowcasts and short-term forecasts of the circulation and physical properties in the North Sea/Baltic Sea One of the expectations is that the model can provide consistent temperature and salinity three-dimensional fields to fill in the gaps in observation and satellite observations and eventually produce reliable physical components to be used in further bio-geochemical/management/fishery applications. The three-dimensional primitive equation model GETM (“General Estuarine Transport Model”) is used to simulate the circulation and salinity and temperature fields for the North Sea-Baltic Sea system. The horizontal resolution is ca. 5km and it has 21 sigma layers. The atmospheric data from the German Weather Service (DWD) are used for the metereological forcing. This work presents a framework of the nowcast/forecast system, which includes an algorithm to assimilate temperature and salinity derived from measurements (such as FerryBox, MARNET stations, etc.) as well as satellite derived sea surface temperature (SST) in the Baltic Sea

The numerical performance of the Baltic Sea model with the data assimilation method based on Kalman filter appears to be efficient enough to be used in an operational ocean forecast system. For the assessment of forecast skill of the regional ocean model we compare the free run and assimilation run with independent data from observations. Model-data comparison shows that the reanalysis produced by the data assimilation fairly well represents the physical properties in the Baltic Sea. The overall root-mean-square errors between temperature and salinity fields of reanalysis and observation are significantly reduced after the assimilation. for the inter-comparison period. Furthermore, seasonal variation in temperature is well reproduced and the predicted synoptic variation is significantly correlated with its counterpart from the mooring measured temperature Of particular interest is the question how long the information from the measurements used in the model predicted system has an influence on the forecast.