SOCIB keynote speaker at the Research and Innovation -RInES-conference.

SOCIB was present at the RInES conference, “Research and Innovation in the service of Economy and Society- EU Neighborhood and the Black Sea region-” http://rines.gr, at Thessaloniki May 29-30, 2014. SOCIB director, Joaquín Tintoré was Key-note speaker, with a presentation on the: “Strategy for future Marine Operational Systems in the SES”.
The importance of new technologies and the associated paradigm change in ocean and coastal observation and in data availability were reviewed, followed by a presentation of the last decade success of the ARGO Program (and now Euro Argo ERIC) for monitoring the state of the large scale ocean circulation, focusing next on the new capabilities, through multi-platform, multidisciplinary and integrated observing and forecasting systems such as SOCIB, capable now to address not only ocean state but also ocean and coastal variability at smaller scales (mesoscale).

SOCIB structure, ongoing actions and results were presented, with special emphasis on already existing scientific achievements as well as on societal applications on sectors of relevance for Blue Growth (tourism, beach safety, marine safety, emergency response, climate variability, etc.).

The importance of new multi-platform observing and forecasting systems (new Marine Research Infrastructures, MRI) as an international trend was reviewed and their ideal nature in the H2020 framework established linked to (1) critical mass, (2) multidisciplinary approaches and (3) integration capabilities, responding by this to science priorities, enhancing technology development as well as responding to society needs. The 3 pilas from H2020, really integrated. An example of innovation in oceanograohy was presented, showing that for gliders, a disruptive innovation in oceanography, the incubation time was reduced to around half the typical one (for gliders, around 10 years). Tintoré discussed the reasons behind this success that lie precisely behind the joint work of scientists, engineers and funding agents, similar in structure to SOCIB initial structure in response to the key 3 drivers.
Specific emphasis was placed on applications for different sectors: marine safety and emergency response, beach safety, tourism, EU IMP and MSFD and MSP implementation, mobile apps, etc. The importance of innovation and MRI was discussed and their role in leading Blue Growth actions (in line with open data principles and Marine Knowledge2020) was also presented and discussed. SOCIB was clearly featured as an example of transfer of knowledge and applications to society.

In summary, it was clearly perceived that MRI bring new possibilities for Blue Growth and jobs, in line with Oceans Innovation Com (from May 2014), because of their key elements: critical mass, multidisciplinary approaches and integration capabilities.

LINKS:
pdf file attached.
pdf Thessaloniki Declaration