A Growing body of evidence indicates that the marine environment and human health are inextricably linked. These linkages encompass both risks to health and wellbeing, and a range of potential benefits and opportunities. However, much of this early evidence has been established in the US, under the rubric of the integrative meta-discipline of “Oceans and Human Health” (OHH). Far less is known about these issues in other parts of the world, including the European context which faces its own set of unique challenges and opportunities. Building on the early leadership shown by members of the consortium mapping these issues in Europe, the Seas, Oceans and Public Health in Europe (SOPHIE) consortium brings together an international multidisciplinary European team of marine, health, social and economic science experts and practitioners to explore these relationships in the European context. By including a broad range of interdisciplinary partners from both marine and health sectors, SOPHIE can demonstrate reach across disciplines and communities in Europe and internationally. Responding directly to the BG-06-2017 call, SOPHIE’s primary aims are to: a) deliver a clear, evidence-informed Oceans and Human Health Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) within the European context, based on extensive involvement by diverse stakeholders; and b) ensure that the structures needed to develop and implement this SRA are in place and will exist as a legacy beyond the life of the project. These aims will be achieved by: (i) systematic synthesis of the current evidence base; (ii) developing and coordinating a European community of OHH stakeholders; (iii) identification of innovative solutions to sustainably reduce risks and promote benefits; (iv) scenario modelling and horizon scanning; (v) knowledge exchange through bespoke training and skills programmes; and (vi) a global OHH Conference to present SOPHIE’s findings and enhance European leadership and global cooperation in OHH research

Observations from ships, and in particular water column measurements, remain the backbone of much Oceanographic Science, including fisheries, regional oceanography, and global climate science. Every coastal country in Europe has a programme of such observations that feeds data into evaluations in support of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive with these programmes being organised into both regional clusters and serving as contributions to wider international networks. In 2019, as part of the OceanOBS conference, networks identified gaps in their requirements for support and here we propose a programme to address these requirements within the context of the European RI landscape. The proposed new services and access opportunities based on the network needs presented at OceanOBS are: • shared facilities such as training, best practices, access to capability and access to equipment through a European Marine Equipment Pool (EMEP) • data curation to ensure fit for purpose data systems and metadata for both real-time and delayed mode quality-controlled data • secondary quality control to increase consistency and add uncertainty estimates to observations. These will be refined by broad consultation with data originators, governments, funders and end-users. In addition, pilot activities will both provide immediate support to the networks and help to refine a statement of requirements. These requirements will be compared to the set of services already available within the European RI Landscape and on the basis of this a new structure for supporting European Hydrography proposed. Possible models range from complete service delivery within existing RIs and the establishment of no new structures through to the creation of an RI with a set of services unavailable elsewhere.

CS-MACH1 aims to overcome existing barriers to citizen science empowerment, such as accessibility, recognition, trust, and sharing of marine citizen science data, by establishing and managing a Marine Citizen Science Data Network (MCSDN) of and for citizen science initiatives, community representatives, cost-efficient technology developers, data management experts, and scientists. To support the production of FAIR data and the integration of citizen science data into EU platforms like EMODnet, CS-MACH1 will produce standards, best practices for deployment and data management, observation protocols for using cost-effective devices, and training materials to guide citizen science coordinators in managing their data flow. The value chain of the MCSDN will be demonstrated by addressing local challenges in real-world use-cases, co-designed with end-users and used for beta testing innovations and the proposed data flow. The scientific and societal impacts of the MCSDN will be demonstrated through the validation of Digital Twin Ocean models, policy workshops, and extended dissemination of results to attract and empower a larger number of marine citizen science actors and citizen scientists. A roadmap outlining strategies for a continuous workflow will ensure the sustainability of the project's outcomes and the legacy of the network.

The EU Mission to restore our Oceans and Waters by 2030 relies on robust, reliable and ideally real-time biodiversity data. The analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) extracted from water or sediment, represents a major source of innovation in aquatic ecosystem monitoring with great potential to support the EU Mission. The central limitation for the routine implementation of eDNA-based methods are incomplete, disconnected and non-standardized reference libraries for taxonomic assignment as well as a lack of harmonised metadata. To support the coordination of the EU Mission Ocean strategy, eDNAqua-Plan will 1) collect information on existing projects, initiatives and infrastructures for aquatic monitoring in the EU and associated countries, 2) provide an overview of all national and international activities of standardization and interoperationalisation of methods and data workflows and 3) assess the relevance and feasibility of the creation of a digital ecosystem of eDNA repositories and an integrated and dynamic reference library of marine and freshwater species that is open-access and based on FAIR principles to support future aquatic biodiversity monitoring programmes and mapping initiatives. The interdisciplinary eDNAqua-Plan consortium comprises 18 partner institutions from 11 countries, and one international (UN) institute, with complementary expertise in marine and freshwater monitoring, eDNA analysis as well as data science. The consortium cooperates with the large EU research projects and infrastructure such as EMODnet, BIOSCAN-Europe, the Ocean and Water knowledge system, LifeWatch, and international systems (ELIXIR/EBI and OBIS) etc. to maximise synergies and interoperability internationally. Possible implementation will be demonstrated by use cases from national and transnational water monitoring programs. Based on this, eDNAqua-Plan will deliver a roadmap for harmonized aquatic monitoring using eDNA tools in Europe and beyond.

LandSeaLot will link together in situ, model and earth observations (EO) and connect related communities, citizens and initiatives such as Copernicus, ESA, EEA, GEOSS, EMODnet and the European Digital Twin of the Ocean. These observations will be used in a gap analysis to co-design a common land-sea interface observation strategy and an implementation plan. LandSeaLot participants will simultaneously work on improving: in situ and EO capabilities, models to reduce the model/observations gap and the integration of model, in situ and satellite data. Observation capacity will be increased through tested, improved and guided use of low-cost technology by citizens, facilitated by the network of European marinas. The technologies selected will be piloted in Integration Labs (ILs) together with improved and integrated in situ and EO observation techniques and model outputs. LandSeaLot ILs will cover selected areas in the Black, Aegean, Mediterranean, Atlantic, North and Baltic Seas, with a range of catchment, tidal and meteorological regimes. Experts and citizen science leaders will work in the ILs together with JERICO-RI, DANUBIUS-RI and ICOS-ERIC, and with regional policy makers and managers to tailor integrated observations that will provide them with information to manage societal challenges. These will include assessment of the lateral carbon flux and stock, plastics transfer, nutrients impact on primary production and eutrophication, supporting biodiversity conservation, improving modeling capability and supporting climate change adaptation (storm surge, floods, heat waves, coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion). Data generated in the ILs will be made FAIR available via EMODnet and interoperability, and semantic solutions for existing, international data flows will be developed. Relevant communities will be engaged by workshops, conferences, training, a high-tech summit and by a communication strategy including videos and policy briefs to ensure LandSeaLot’s legacy.