EOOS Operations Committee meets again and elects new Chair

The EOOS Operations Committee held its second meeting on 10 March 2021 to discuss the next steps for the implementation of the EOOS Strategy.

Laurent Delauney

Experts from OceanOPS and the GOOS bio-eco panel were invited to inform the Committee about their work in EuroSea project which facilitated the brainstorming of ideas on how to map infrastructures and observing networks, and integrate biological observations into existing observing systems. Additionally, members discussed the potential role of National Committees as coordination bodies with examples provided by some nations.

The Committee adopted their revised Terms of Reference which were sent to the EOOS Steering Group for final approval.

Importantly, members of the committee elected their new Chair, Laurent Delauney. Mr Delauney is the coordinator of the EU project JERICO-S3 and the scientific and technical coordinator of the EU project JERICO-DS. He is also involved in the coordination of the application to the ESFRI Roadmap of JERICO (Joint European Research Infrastructure for Coastal Observation), and is the Co-Chair of the EuroGOOS Technology Plan Working Group.

“I am very honoured to chair the EOOS Operational Committee. I take this role very seriously and intend to do my best to get things done and ensure that everyone involved is satisfied with the work. I am convinced that the Operations Committee will do its best to raise to the challenge to implement the vision of EOOS with members of the committee as the main driving force” says Mr. Delauney.

He will now take the reins of the Operations Committee from EuroGOOS Secretary General Inga Lips and steer the Committee towards implementing the EOOS Strategy. He plans to harness the experience of existing coordination bodies such as EuroGOOS and relevant European research infrastructures and will use outputs from relevant projects such as EuroSea and others to help implement EOOS.

His first steps will be to:

• Define a roadmap of the EOOS Operations Committee work over the next three years,
• Ensure that outputs from relevant projects are considered in the Operations Committee work, and
• Communicate with nations and other relevant stakeholders about the value of ocean observations and the need for sustained funding.

Dr Inga Lips will support the Operations Committee as Vice-Chair and EuroGOOS will continue to provide administrative support to the Committee.

A report of the second meeting will be produced with identified actions and recommendations to continue the work of the Operations Committee with the valuable support of the EuroSea project.