AquaBioSens aims to drive the decentralisation of tools for the measurement of aquatic hazards and pollution. We will produce and demonstrate new handheld devices to measure contaminants of emerging concern, microbial biohazards and heavy metals. The aim is to make monitoring more efficient and widely accessible, supporting the EU Mission to “Restore our ocean and waters by 2030” Mission, and specifically the Destination “Clean Environment and Zero Pollution”, as well the Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive. We will achieve this by developing novel analytics based on cutting-edge techniques: i) immunoassays to measure organic contaminants, ii) isothermal environmental RNA quantification for harmful microalgae and fecal coliform bacteria, and iii) two novel whole cell biosensors based on genetically modified diatom microalgae and fish gill epithelia for multiplexed heavy metals quantification and toxicity assessment. These will be coupled with state-of-the art sensors such as acoustic biosensors, multichannel fluorimetry and organ-on-chip microfluidic devices. Low-cost fabrication strategies will ensure that the developed technologies are accessible to end-users, such as industry operators and government inspection agencies responsible for environmental monitoring. New digital real-time data feeds will enable seamless data flows from sensors to the web, including a dedicated live dashboard. The prototype devices will be demonstrated and validated in potentially polluted coastal and freshwater environments in the UK, Ireland and Greece, with the support of local government inspection agencies. Together with measures to disseminate results widely to the international community, stakeholders and citizen science groups, we will maximize exploitation with a view to commercialize the new technologies in future.

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.

OCEAN:ICE will assess the impacts of key Antarctic Ice Sheet and Southern Ocean processes on Planet Earth, via their influence on sea level rise, deep water formation, ocean circulation and climate. An innovative and ambitious combination of observations and numerical models, including coupled ice sheet-climate model development, will be used to improve predictions of how changes in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets impact global climate. It will make new circumpolar and Atlantic observations in observational gaps. It will assimilate these and existing data into improved ice sheet boundary conditions and forcing, producing new estimates of ice sheet melt and impacts on ocean circulation, including the Atlantic Meridional Overturning circulation. It will develop, calibrate and assess models used to predict the future evolution of the giant ice sheets. It will reduce the deep uncertainty in the impact of their melt on societally relevant environmental changes on decadal to multi-centennial time scales. OCEAN:ICE will assess the potential for passing ice sheet 'tipping points' and their consequences for ocean circulation and climate. OCEAN:ICE will raise the profile of European research through its extensive network of international collaborators, who provide scientific and logistical support. It will directly contribute to the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance through observations, logistical collaboration and analysis. It will significantly advance the state-of-the-art in coupled ice sheet-climate modelling and directly contribute to international climate assessments such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and World Ocean Assessment. It will link organically to European data centres to disseminate its data, following FAIR and INSPIRE principles. It will deliver improved assessments of European climate impacts from the melting ice sheets, with actionable risk and timescales, to policymakers and the public.

The Southern Ocean regulates the global climate by controlling heat and carbon exchanges between the atmosphere and the ocean. It is responsible for about 60-90% of the excess heat (i.e. associated with anthropogenic climate change) absorbed by the World Oceans each year, and is also recognised to largely control decadal scale variability of Earth carbon budget, with key implications for decision makers and regular global stocktake agreed as part of the Paris agreement. Despite such pivotal climate importance, its representation in global climate model represents one of the main weaknesses of climate simulation and projection because too little is known about the underlying processes. Limitations come both from the lack of observations in this extreme environment and its inherent sensitivity to intermittent small-scale processes that are not captured in current Earth system models. The overall objective of SO-CHIC is to understand and quantify variability of heat and carbon budgets in the Southern Ocean through an investigation of the key processes controlling exchanges between the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice using a combination of observational and modelling approaches. SO-CHIC considers the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean as a natural laboratory both because of its worldwide importance in water-mass formation and because of the strong European presence in this sector already established at national levels, which allow to best leverage existing expertise, infrastructure, and observation network, around one single coordinated overall objective. SO-CHIC also takes the opportunity of the recent re-appearance of the Atlantic Sector Weddell Polynya to unveil its dynamics and global impact on heat and carbon cycles. A combination of dedicated observation, existing decades-long time-series, and state-of-the-art modelling will be used to address specific objectives on key processes, as well as their impact and feedback on the large-scale atmosphere-ocean system.