AEMET and ICTS SOCIB sign a collaboration agreement in meteorology and climatology

Image of the Balearic Rissaga Forecasting System (BRIFS), developed by ICTS SOCIB together with AEMET and PortsIB, which allows for anticipating the formation and arrival of meteotsunamis or “rissagues” at the port of Ciutadella, in Menorca (Spain).

The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (ICTS SOCIB) have signed a collaboration agreement aimed at promoting and optimizing scientific and technical activities. This agreement seeks to strengthen knowledge of climate and meteorological and oceanographic phenomena in the Balearic Islands, benefiting both the scientific community and society at large. Today, the Monitoring Commission was formally established.

The agreement, in effect since February 24, 2025, and with an initial duration of four years, will allow both institutions to share data and resources in order to improve meteorological and oceanographic forecasting models. Specifically, the agreement sets a framework for cooperation in various areas such as the exchange and access to metocean data, enhancement of prediction systems, promotion of joint research projects, and the implementation of training and capacity-building activities. It also encourages dissemination and knowledge transfer initiatives.

In this context, AEMET provides key atmospheric forcings—such as wind, pressure, temperature, or radiation—essential for the functioning of oceanographic forecasting models and to ensure the reliability of advanced tools like digital twins of the ocean. For its part, ICTS SOCIB contributes metocean data on various Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), including temperature, salinity, currents, and sea level. This information is crucial both for improving atmospheric forecasting in coastal areas and for advancing the understanding of the ocean’s role in climate change, extreme winter phenomena, and marine heatwaves during summer.

“This agreement reinforces the collaboration between AEMET and ICTS SOCIB, consolidating a strategic alliance that benefits both the scientific community and society at large by improving our understanding of climate and meteorological and oceanographic phenomena, and facilitating access to scientific information,” emphasized Joaquín Tintoré, Director of ICTS SOCIB.

“With the signing of this agreement, we continue the existing collaboration between AEMET and SOCIB, which began with a previous agreement signed in 2015. We are now strengthening cooperation between both institutions. This establishes a key synergy that will benefit both research staff and operational forecasting units, by enhancing the exchange of knowledge and resources to improve research into meteorological and oceanographic phenomena in our geographic region,” stated Yolanda Luna, Head of the Development and Applications Department at AEMET.