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A new integration step within European research fleets: launching
of the EUROFLEETS2 project
Gathering more than sixty scientists and research fleets operators from all
European eco-regions, the Kick-off Meeting of the European project
EUROFLEETS2 was held in Brest, France, on the 19th to 21st of March 2013, at
the invitation of the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea
(Ifremer) and the French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV).
Thirty-one research organizations, research fleet managers, universities or
industrialists, from 20 Members States or Associated Countries of the European
Union, participate to the EUROFLEETS2 project whose main objective is the
integration of research fleets, currently essentially managed at national level.
This project amplifies the effort initiated since 2009 with EUROFLEETS, which
ends in August this year. Again coordinated by Ifremer, EUROFLEETS2 has a
strong operational component.
This project receives significant funding from the European Commission (€ 9
million of a total budget of approximately € 10.8 million) over four years.
Participants to the EUROFLEETS2 Kick-off Meeting
Ifremer / M. Gouillou
EUROFLEETS2 is organized into three complementary activities (trans-national access,
joint technological research and networking) promoting information sharing, identification
of new collaborative frameworks, development of common software tools and also testing
innovative integration schemes.
Trans National Access offers the opportunity, fully funded by EUROFLEETS2, to
international scientific groups to access Research Vessels on basis of scientific excellence
of the cruise proposals. After seven European calls for ship-time organized within
targeted maritime regions, these scientific groups will embark on 8 Global/Ocean and 14
Regional European Research Vessels distributed all over European and world seas and
oceans, including for France Marion Dufresne and its giant piston corer and Pourquoi pas
?. Two new initiatives are also planned in EUROFLEETS2: the first aims to attract
scientific leaders and/or non traditional end users to make proposals for a flagship
project involving several vessels (“Super-integration” call for ship-time), the second
makes available an original set of five underwater vehicles or scientific embarked
equipment.
Joint Research, through dedicated actions, contributes to more modern infrastructures
and enriched information services. Three key activities are considered: the definition of
Regional Research Vessels guidelines and generic designs, the development of innovative
functionalities for underwater systems, and the implementation of data acquisition
www.eurofleets.eu
systems in standardized formats, contributing to a higher interoperability between
Research Vessels.
Networking Activity, will consist in working groups for a better coordination of European
research fleets. It will aim to establish a common strategic vision including Polar research
fleets, experiment new integration schemes like the virtual fleets and strengthen links
with industry. Floating universities will complement the actions already undertaken for
the training of young European scientists.
The long-term objective of EUROFLEETS2 is to prepare the insertion of a group of
innovative and inter-operable Regional Research Vessels in the ESFRI roadmap
(European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures).
Geographic distribution of the 31 beneficiaries of the EUROFLEETS2 project
www.eurofleets.eu