The Copernicus Marine Service, Demonstrated in the Myocean2 Project
Bahurel, Pierre1; Bell, M.2; Johannessen, J.3; Le Traon, P.-Y.4; Pinardi, N.5; Podaire, A.1; She, J.6; Dorandeu, J.1; Dorandeu, J.1
1Mercator Ocean, FRANCE; 2Met Office, UNITED KINGDOM; 3Nansen Environment Research and Scientific Centre, NORWAY; 4IFREMER, FRANCE; 5National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology, ITALY; 6Danish Met Institute, DENMARK

MyOcean (2009-2012) and MyOcean2 (2012-2014) are the implementation projects of the Copernicus Marine Service for ocean monitoring and forecasting. Co-funded by the European Commission in the framework of the FP7 Space program and a group of 60 partners representing the leading centres in Europe for operational oceanography, these projects have already achieved a successful demonstration of pan-European integration, operation and uptake by users of a pilot Marine Service for Copernicus. The mission is clear: provide to any user reliable and fully assessed information on the ocean, based on the combination and assimilation of earth observation space and in situ data into global and regional ocean models. Essential marine variables – currents, temperature, salinity, ice, sea level, biochemistry, … – are made available on all oceans on an open and free basis for real time analysis and forecasts and past reanalysed periods. Whereas the MyOcean1 project was focussed on the full-scale pan-European integration of the production systems, the MyOcean2 project will further develop the single “core” service to users (see www.myocean.eu), its performance, reliability and responsiveness to users’ feedbacks. After a first 18 months of operation, the MyOcean marine service was already used in April 2012 by 1000 intermediate users, themselves service providers for downstream sectors. After one year of operations, MyOcean2 has already doubled to 2000 users with a well-balanced distribution over the different targeted application areas. With this strong encouragement from users, MyOcean2 partners prepared the ECOMF structuring initiative to propose in the Copernicus operational phase a sustainable service organization. The presentation will illustrate the marine service as implemented today, its performance, its organization and its practical uptake by users in different areas.