Highlights from the 11th FerryBox workshop

The 11th FerryBox Workshop took place on 28-29 September, 2022, at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon in Geesthacht, Germany. The workshop highlighted the progress within the FerryBox community during the 20 years since the EU FerryBox project started (November 2002) which was, in fact, coordinated by Hereon, which was known at the time as GKSS.

The participants included research scientists, stakeholders and industry partners from more than 15 countries in Europe and beyond. Some of the newest developments within the community were highlighted, including the initiatives towards expanding the research network, the newest technological developments, and data and communication tools.

Andrew King, Research Manager in the Marine Biogeochemistry and Oceanography section at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and co-chair of EuroGOOS FerryBox Task Team, and Dina Eparkhina, Senior Policy and Communications Officer at EuroGOOS, showcased opportunities to use (near)-real time in situ data for public engagement. The EuroGOOS UN Ocean Decade project ‘Scientists for Ocean Literacy‘ was highlighted as well as NIVA’s console displaying FerryBox data aboard ferries. After the talk, the FerryBox community provided feedback. It was recognized that FerryBox data is valuable to explain to the public the importance of measuring water quality, harmful algal blooms, and temperature, among others.

The workshop was supported by EuroGOOS, Horizon 2020 JERICO-S3 and EuroSea projects, and industry partners 4H Jena Engineering GmbH, SubCTech GmbH, and Kongsberg.