Ocean Flagship

The main goal of the proposed SSF Ocean Flagship is to increase scientific cooperation between all countries and institutions actively involved in the marine research in the Svalbard area. At present the individual elements of the ocean observing system in Fram Strait and the European Arctic are mostly project-related and therefore relatively dispersed and independent. Moreover, the information flow between different players in ocean observations is rather limited. To increase the coordination of research activities, in particular those based on in situ observations and thus requiring complex field operations and significant infrastructure, the Ocean Flagship will be established as a platform for sharing the knowledge and experience and exchanging information about all aspects of ocean research around Svalbard. The joint web platform with contributions from all partners of the Ocean Flagship will ensure open sharing of metadata, data and other types of operational information related to marine research around Svalbard and in the European Arctic. Optimizing the implementation and use of infrastructure for long-term ocean monitoring will contribute to reducing of the environmental impact of field operations in the Svalbard maritime region.