The European project Metrology for integrated marine management and knowledge transfer network (MINKE) held a work session within the framework of the 14th edition of the Glider School hosted by the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN)
MINKE, led by the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish Research Council (ICM-CSIC) and joined by a consortium of 16 European marine research infrastructures, including PLOCAN, brings together 16 key European research infrastructures in marine metrology.
The main objective of the project is research in marine metrology to coordinate its use and development and propose an innovative framework for oceanographic data quality for the different European actors in charge of monitoring and managing essential ocean variables (EOVs) and marine ecosystems.
International leading companies in the development of marine sensors joined the working session, including the Canadians RBR Global, marine sensors for water quality measurements; Ocean Sonics, passive acoustic detection; PROOCEANUS, for CO2 measurements, and ROCKLAND SCIENTIFIC for turbulence; together with SEICHE (ocean sound), United Kingdom; NORTEK (ocean currents), Norway; and HYDROPTIC (plankton detection), France.
Data quality is a key element in ocean and coastal observation systems to provide reliable measurements to develop evidence-based environmental policies. MINKE not only addresses data quality, but also focuses on all dimensions of data quality, with special emphasis on those related to metrological factors.
XIV edition of the PLOCAN Glider School
The MINKE`s workshop was held in the context of the 14th edition of the Glider School organized by the PLOCAN‘s Ocean Vehicles Unit (VIMAS), as an international initiative to promote and advance the knowledge and development of autonomous marine vehicles and the consolidation of PLOCAN as a gliderport facility in the North Atlantic.
Students from different countries participated in the 14th edition: Canada, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Brazil, USA, Spain, from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and technicians from the world’s leading glider manufacturers (SeaExplorer, Teledyne, AutoNaut, Sailbuoy, etc.) from both surface as profilers of the water column, with marine sensors being in this edition a main chapter of the training (Seiche, RBR, Rockland Scientific, Ocean Sonics, Hydroptic, ProOceanus, etc.) as well as telemetry systems (CLS).
The Glider School brings together the five main ocean-glider technologies: Slocum, SeaGlider, SeaExplorer, SailBuoy and Autonaut, recently incorporated into the PLOCAN fleet, together with renowned international operators sharing their experience.
The Glider School keeps its objective of training technicians and pilots of autonomous marine gliders and the science payload evolution, presenting the new generation of instruments associated within these ocean-observing technologies, and scientific applications, services for the Blue Economy or the contribution to regulatory strategy for unmanned maritime navigation in Spain in the international context.
