FAIAL, AZORES, MAY 19, 2025 – The final conference of the Horizon 2020-funded NAUTILOS project marked a major milestone in advancing ocean observation technologies, strengthening open-access data practices, and promoting citizen science across Europe.
Held as a hybrid event, the conference brought together over 80 in-person and remote participants including policy makers, marine scientists, early-career researchers, citizen scientists, EU Commission representatives, and stakeholders from related EU initiatives. The goal: to reflect on the project’s achievements over the past four years and to explore its legacy and lasting impact.
A Strong Message from the European Commission
During the session, Zoi Konstantinou, Project Officer at DG MARE, delivered a compelling keynote address highlighting the broader importance of the NAUTILOS project within the EU’s marine policy landscape. She emphasized the urgent need for Europe to reinforce its efforts in sustainable ocean observation and called for greater alignment and collaboration across initiatives.
“NAUTILOS demonstrates what is possible when innovation, science, and public engagement come together,” she noted, underlining how the project’s integrated approach offers a model for future EU-funded ocean observation efforts.
Innovative Technologies with Real-World Impact
NAUTILOS delivered more than 10 cutting-edge ocean sensor technologies, with 11 already on the way to be commercially available and two entirely new to the market. These tools are designed to be cost-effective, modular, and suitable for deployment in a wide variety of marine environments, from coastal zones to the deep ocean. Applications include microplastic detection, dissolved oxygen measurement, marine mammal acoustic monitoring, and tagging technologies for large marine animals.
“Some are already being used commercially and by researchers across the globe,” said Catarina Lemos (CEiiA // Centre of Engineering and Product Development), NAUTILOS Technical and Innovation Manager and leader of the Exploitation and Impact work package. “The sensors were tested in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans, often in collaboration with industry and local communities.”
Citizen Science at the Core
A hallmark of NAUTILOS has been its emphasis on public engagement. The project developed a wide array of citizen science tools and platforms such as “Marine Creatures” project on Zooniverse, the NIR scanner for plastic classification, marine litter tracking devices, and the Citizen Science app for data collection. These initiatives enable citizens, students, divers, and fishermen to contribute directly to scientific research.
Dr. Evа Chatzinikolaou (Hellenic Centre for Marine Research), Citizen Science activities leader, emphasized, “By involving people directly, from children to professional fishers, we not only raise ocean literacy, but also collect valuable, fair-quality data that feeds into EU-wide marine databases like EMODnet.”
Commitment to Open Science and Capacity Building
NAUTILOS championed open-access data principles from the outset. Data collected through the project is accessible via the NAUTILOS portal and is being integrated into major European repositories.
Antonio Novellino (ETT S.p.A.), NAUTILOS’ Data Manager, noted, “We aligned our data practices with evolving European Commission standards, ensuring transparency, reusability, and long-term accessibility.”
As Sandra Sá (EurOcean), leader of the Outreach, Communication and Dissemination initiatives, put it: “Doing is better than saying”. In that spirit, NAUTILOS supported the next generation of ocean professionals through two summer schools endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade and the development of nine e-learning modules. These courses equipped early-career ocean professionals with practical skills in marine monitoring, data handling, and sensor deployment.
“Capacity building is a way of empowering individuals with essential skills by connecting crucial skills to effective marine research and innovation,” Sandra added.
A Strong Network of European Ocean Initiatives
The event showcased the collaborative nature of Europe’s ocean observation landscape. Several EU-funded initiatives and projects were represented, highlighting shared challenges and opportunities in ocean monitoring, prediction, and data governance. Among them were:
- Conor Delaney, Technical Data Coordinator at EMODnet, who emphasized the importance of open data and praised NAUTILOS for its strong contribution to making marine data more accessible.
- Enrique Alvarez, Technical Coordinator at the Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean Prediction (DCC-Ocean Prediction), who offered insights into the future of ocean forecasting and the role of interoperable data systems.
- Viviana Piermattei, scientist at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), spoke on the importance of observing and predicting the global coastal ocean, and the integration of observational networks.
- Patricia Lopez Garcia, Science Delivery Lead at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre and representative of the TechOceanS project, discussed innovative ocean sensing technologies and ongoing collaborations with NAUTILOS as a sister project.
This was further enriched by presentations by Rui Martins, Regional Director of Maritime Policies (Azorean Government), highlighting the Azores’ strategic role in European ocean innovation through the OCEANIDS project, and Patrick Gorringe, from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, presenting the SCOOP project, which aims to connect cost-efficient sensor developers, data managers, and users to strengthen FAIR-compliant marine data collection and sharing.
The event concluded with a presentation by Nina Zugic, a member of the NAUTILOS External Advisory Board and an expert in innovative education and research ethics. She introduced a forthcoming white paper on the use of AI in EU-funded projects, underscoring the need for responsible, ethical approaches to innovation and scientific research.
A Legacy That Lives On
Although the project officially concludes, its legacy is just beginning. Many of the NAUTILOS technologies will continue to be commercialized and deployed in ongoing research, while its citizen science tools remain freely accessible. Project partners are also exploring new synergies and future initiatives to build on this foundation.
Watch the Final Conference here.
For more information, including access to NAUTILOS results, tools, and training resources, visit: https://nautilos-h2020.eu/
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