SOCIB presents its ocean observing and forecasting system at the CMBR conference

On May 12-13, the director of the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB), Joaquín Tintoré, participated in the CMBR web conference on Blue Growth organised by the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (HCMR/IMBBC). The conference was aimed at bringing together prominent experts and stakeholders to present and discuss current challenges and opportunities in the field of blue growth, with emphasis in the Eastern Mediterranean. As part of the conference programme, the SOCIB presented the Multi-Platform & Integrated Ocean Observation and Forecasting in response to science and society needs (see presentation via Youtube).

According to organisers, blue growth arises as a major opportunity to address the current global grand challenges of decreasing availability of resources and increasing inequality of wealth, as well as the need for mitigating environmental and ecological damage, including climate change. In this context, SOCIB brings 10 years of nearshore to open ocean integrated observing from events to climate delivering scientific excellence with impact on society. As a marine research infrastructure, “we provide competitive open access to facilities and generate free, quality controlled and FAIR data; we contribute to the state of the art scientific priorities associated with understanding ocean variability at different interacting scales, from events to climate; and we furthermore respond to societal challenges, developing applications, tools for decision support, and services,” highlighted Tintoré during his presentation.

In his address, the director of SOCIB also stressed the institution’s commitment to a Responsible Research and Innovation -RRI-, as well as to an enhanced society engagement on blue growth in an international framework given by United Nations initiatives such as the 2030 Agenda and the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). In addition, Tintoré emphasized the importance of multi-platform and integrated ocean observing systems as key elements for major scientific breakthroughs and real innovation initiatives for blue growth and achieving healthy and sustainable oceans, in line with SDG14 (Life Below Water) and the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

More information (conference recordings)