We would like to let you know that the consortium of the EU-Horizon 2020 funded project AtlantOS (“Optimizing and Enhancing the Integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System“) and participants of the First International AtlantOS Symposium have released the Paris Declaration calling for an All-Atlantic Ocean Observing System that builds on cooperation through Galway and Belem Statements. The Declaration and the Symposium mark the transition from the EUHorizon 2020 Project AtlantOS to its development into the international All-Atlantic Ocean Observing System.  

The Symopsium, which took place on 25-28 March at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France), was attended by scientists, policy makers, users, funders, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. The participants of this four-day long international meeting not only celebrated the success of four years of AtlantOS project work involving 62 partners from 18 countries and the investment of 20 million Euros, but also, presented a plan and ambition for the next decade of ocean observing in the Atlantic Ocean Basin to deliver on the needs of the Atlantic communities. 

Although the Atlantic is one of the ocean basins with a higher coverage compared to other regions, there are still many gaps where we have no or limited data. One goal of the EU-Horizon 2020 Project on “Optimising and Enhancing the In- tegrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System“ (AtlantOS) was to enhance the observing system in the Atlantic Ocean by transitioning from a loosely-coordinated set of existing ocean observing activities producing fragmented, often monodisciplinary data, to a sustainable, efficient, and fit-for-purpose Integrated All-Atlantic Ocean Observing System as indicated in the Galway Statement.

“Today we celebrate the launch of the international All-Atlantic Ocean Observing System programme that connects countries from around the Atlantic Basin and observing efforts from south of the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean,” states Professor Dr. Martin Visbeck from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany - coordinator of the AtlantOS project. “We spent two years consulting with the Atlantic Ocean community to arrive at a strategic document that outlines the principles of integrated sustained observations as the basis for effective implementation and benefit sharing for the next decade” adds Brad deYoung of Memorial University, Canada, co-author of the AtlantOS Program strategy.

During the Symposium, the AtlantOS Program strategy, also known as the Atlantic Ocean Observing Blueprint, was officially handed over to John Bell who is the Director at the European Commission Directorate General of Research and Innovation (RTD). You can read about the Blueprint process in detail here: http://atlanticblueprint.net/