Meet the game changers in observation
Plus: get the SCOOP on the open platform bringing cost-effective technology to new users
The role of cost-effective technology in LandSeaLot
- As part of its mission to enhance observation of the land-sea interface area, LandSeaLot is deploying cost-effective technology, an exciting addition to the future of ocean observation
- Cost-effective technology describes affordable, accessible sensors and other devices that measure and collect coastal and marine data
- LandSeaLot is deploying cost-effective technology in pilot sites across Europe, aided by international research teams and citizen scientists
- LandSeaLot is delighted to support and contribute effort to a global initiative that connects technology developers, users and researchers: Solutions for Cost-effective Ocean Observation Platform (SCOOP)
- Visit SCOOP to discover the world of cost-effective technology: https://scoop-ocean.org/
“The coastal ocean is one of the key areas where we are lacking observations. This is where we need to use cost-effective technology to get more data.”
Patrick Gorringe describes current gaps in land-sea observation data, and an innovative tool that LandSeaLot is using to address them: cost-effective technology.
Gorringe is involved in LandSeaLot Work Package Four, which aims to increase observation capacity with the help of emerging technologies and citizen science involvement.
For Work Package co-lead Emilie Breviere, connecting citizen science to cost-effective technologies is key to enhancing land-sea observation across Europe. “There are still a lot of data gaps for us to be able to fully understand what is happening at the land-sea interface. So if we can deploy technologies which are less costly than traditional ones, at a good enough quality, and if they can be deployed with more manpower and help citizens to better understand their environment, then we have a win-win situation.”
“A serious game changer”
Cost-effective technology describes inexpensive, easy to use sensors and other devices that measure physical and biogeochemical parameters like water level and salinity. It comes in many intriguing forms — including temperature sensors the size of bottle caps that can be clipped to a wetsuit, smart buoys that track real-time water conditions, autonomous vehicles that record underwater sound, and droplet-shaped probes that can be cast into the ocean on the tip of a fishing rod. The resulting data can be easily collected and often visualised instantaneously using smartphone apps, personal laptops and cloud technologies.
These devices are designed to be portable, durable and easy to deploy. They can be used by formally trained scientists, naval officials and coastal workers, as well as by divers, surfers and sailors. In other words, they are available to anyone who interacts with, lives or works alongside the coastal area.
With its potential to make observations more affordable and accessible to a wider range of people, cost-effective technology is a revolutionary addition to existing observation efforts. As Gorringe explains, “it’s not about replacing anything, it’s about getting more observations through cost-effective sensors. They don’t weigh much. You can bring them along and deploy them in the ocean yourself if you want! And they collect data in ways, and in places, that we haven’t collected before. So they’re a serious game changer.”
Increasing observation efforts, empowering citizens
Sensors and other cost-effective technology will be tested in the LandSeaLot Integration Labs (LILs): strategically selected regions across Europe with diverse water and weather conditions. Many LILs are working with local organisations, communities and citizen science groups, who will help collect data using devices that are uniquely cheap, accessible and easy to use.
For example, the Tagus and Sado Estuaries LIL in Portugal is working with local aquaculture experts farmers to place small sensors around nearby oyster farms. These will measure water temperature to help scientists, local industry and civic authorities understand how climate change is affecting the ecosystem. The North Aegean LIL in Greece will partner with local fishers to attach sensors to boats and nets, while the Wadden Sea Rhine Elbe LIL will recruit sailors and canoers to observe algae and water quality.
These collaborations are expected to provide researchers with key data, while equipping partners with information that helps them better understand, manage and adapt to their environment.
In many cases, cost-effective technology was designed to respond to everyday needs. Developers often hail from the blue economy activities, or spend their recreational time on the coast. As a result of specific observation technologies needs – both from scientific communities and people who depend on the ocean for their livelihood – many developers have started small businesses to share their instruments more widely. For Breviere, working with developers is always fast-paced: “a lot of them send feedback that they adjusted or updated a sensor, or even changed the name because of a new version of the instrument. So it goes very, very fast.”
Introducing SCOOP: the global platform making cost-effective technology accessible to all
As new technology emerges and demand surges, the need has grown for a centralised platform that can reflect updates, connect sensor developers and users and facilitate the collection and sharing of data. LandSeaLot is delighted to support and contribute effort to a new global initiative that responds to this need: Solutions for Cost-effective Ocean Observation Platform (SCOOP).
SCOOP is an open-access platform that aims to connect cost-effective technology developers with end users and support data sharing, collection and best practices. The recently launched platform features a comprehensive catalog of cost-effective observation technologies, allowing any potential user to browse handy new technologies tailored to specific needs and parameters.
For Breviere, an ongoing challenge of organising the catalogue is the sheer diversity of technology. “They have such a broad range of approaches. We could categorize the instruments by price, but also by how you use them. Do you deploy them from a boat? Or do you control them with a remote control, or attach them to a pier? That is one way to categorize. And then, you
have the instruments that measure the same parameters. Over the next year, we need to find a way to differentiate the instruments. That will give us even more insight into what they can do.”
As well as offering an open-access catalogue of emerging technologies, SCOOP will function as a global platform that facilitates the collection and sharing of data. “SCOOP will have information on what to do with your data and other useful information. It could put a citizen in contact with a specialist in data management, for instance,” Breviere explains. The platform wants to ensure that collected data adheres to FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability) principles, and will facilitate the integration of that data into European and global data infrastructures. The platform has been endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in 2024 and is supported by developments in several European and global initiatives like EMODnet, JERICO, Synchro and CoastPredict.
With input from technology developers, users and data managers, SCOOP aims to increase the awareness and deployment of cost-effective technology among both research and lay communities. This is also a key objective of LandSeaLot. To achieve this, project partners will continue to build connections between the innovators who develop this technology, the people who use it and the initiatives that manage the resulting data.
“It’s all about bridging gaps,” says Gorringe. “It’s about developers who are sharing information with us and are incredibly enthusiastic about the project. It’s about LandSeaLot Integration Labs who are keen to deploy this technology in their areas and start collecting data. It’s about how that data can flow into European and global data aggregators like EMODnet or Copernicus, and to be used by ocean modelers all over Europe and around the world.” With the project still in its early stages, new technology, use cases and collaborations are likely to emerge.
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