EuroGOOS

This webinar series is designed for the EuroGOOS community to introduce the services and Virtual Labs developed within Blue-Cloud 2026.

The Coastal Currents from Observations Virtual Lab in Blue-Cloud 2026 enables users to generate integrated ocean surface current maps by merging data from multiple sources. It uses direct and indirect current measurements, including High Frequency (HF) radar, drifter observations, and geostrophic currents derived from satellite altimetry. The integration relies on the DIVAnd (Data Interpolating Variational Analysis in n dimensions) method, which applies physical constraints such as coastline boundaries, horizontal divergence, and momentum balance to improve the reliability of the output.

The main feature of the Virtual Lab is a customisable service delivered through Jupyter notebooks. Users can select a coastal region—depending on data availability and the extent of HF radar coverage, typically ranging from 50 to 200 km offshore—and produce gridded surface current maps in NetCDF format. These maps support Lagrangian simulations, allowing the visualisation of artificial drifter trajectories from user-defined release points. The output also serves as input for the MEDSLIK-II oil spill model, which will be deployed in a Docker container to simulate pollutant dispersion scenarios.

Agenda

14:00 - 14:05 Welcome by EuroGOOS

14:05 - 14:10 Sara Pittonet, Blue-Cloud 2026 Coordinator

14:10 - 14:20 Introduction to the five Virtual Laboratories of the Blue-Cloud project, Cyrielle Delvenne, Marine Project and Data Manager at VLIZ

14:20 - 14:40 Abel Dechenne, University of Liège (Keynote and moderator)

14:40 - 14:50 Igor Atake, Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC)

14:40 – 15:00 Lorenzo Corgnati, EuroGOOS High Frequency Radar Co-Chair / HF Radar Node

15:00 - 15:30 Discussion and Q&A

Blue-Cloud 2026 Ocean Observers Webinars - Coastal currents from observations

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