Supported by EU4OceanObs, the EU action coordination of the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) works to promote the EU’s international ocean governance objectives and priorities related to the collection and use of ocean observations. The EU action coordinator works with the other G7 FSOI coordinators to form a distributed Coordination Centre that implements the initiative’s activities under the guidance of the G7 FSOI National Focal Points and the Working Group.
Specifically, the EU action coordination of the G7 FSOI
- Monitors and promotes relevant EU-supported programmes, projects and activities within the framework of the G7 FSOI Action Areas, working with communities such as the Copernicus Services, Horizon 2020 / Horizon Europe Research & Innovation programmes, EuroGOOS and European Ocean Observing System (EOOS), the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), and European Research Infrastructures.
- Promotes G7 FSOI activities that are beneficial for Europe and fosters partnerships and linkages between G7 and EU programmes.
- Provides scientific and technical coordination support for G7 FSOI activities.
- Works with the EU4OceanObs Action Coordinator of GEO Blue Planet and the Copernicus Marine Service, both hosted by Mercator Ocean International, as well as other relevant EU and international programmes, to catalyse, facilitate, and coordinate synergies across the ocean observing system value chain. This involves linking stakeholder needs and policy drivers to data collection, data transformation into products and services, data access, interoperability, and sharing, and enhanced use of ocean information by stakeholders and decision-makers.
The EU action coordination of the G7 FSOI is implemented by Mercator Ocean International in Toulouse, France, and headed by Maria Hood. Maria is a chemical oceanographer, specialising in ocean carbon cycle monitoring. She has spent most of her career leading oceans and climate programmes for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, including the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project, the IOC’s ocean acidification activities, and the Ocean Observations Panel for Physics and Climate.
Contact
Maria Hood (mhood@mercator-ocean.fr)
G7 Future of the Seas & Oceans Initiative – EU Action Coordinator at Mercator Ocean International
