The Ministry of Science and Innovation and PLOCAN have renewed the agreement for Spain’s participation in the EMSO-ERIC European Research Infrastructure Consortium, dedicated to European multidisciplinary deep-sea research.
The research work undertaken in connection with EMSO-ERIC provides real-time and long-term data for monitoring threats such as climate change, resource sustainability and habitat destruction.
EMSO infrastructure, dedicated to European multidisciplinary deep-sea research, is included in the 2021 ESFRI Roadmap on Large Scale Research Infrastructures.
The construction of Research Infrastructures is being financed by various EU countries, and the goal is to study the ocean through the creation of a pan-European observation infrastructure that draws on existing infrastructures.
In Spain, the implementation of the commitments required for membership of EMSO-ERIC falls to the General Secretariat for Research of the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN).
The renewed agreement will enable PLOCAN to promote the participation of Spanish public and private R&D agencies in tasks related to EMSO-ERIC’s objectives and capabilities.
EMSO Canary Islands
The EMSO Canary Islands infrastructure, ESTOC (European Station for Time-Series in the Ocean, Canary Islands; 29°10’ N, 15°30’ W) is an open-ocean monitoring station.
It is located within the weak southward return flows on the eastern edge of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. The ESTOC is located offshore 100 km north of Gran Canaria, in an area deep enough to encompass the main water masses of the eastern subtropical North Atlantic, including the deep waters of the North Atlantic (except AABW).
ESTOC is located windward of the Canary Islands to avoid the wake effect of both the main currents and winds (Canary Current and northeast trade winds), and sufficiently far from coastlines and islands to serve as a reference for satellite images and altimetry.