By establishing a network of observation buoys and the creation of a specialized operational center for the processing of the data collected and the production of forecasts, POSEIDON is an infrastructure at the leading edge of modern oceanography in Europe. The network of observation buoys records continuously the physical, biological and chemical parameters of the Greek seas. Those data are then transmitted to the operational center where they are sorted and fed into forecasting models.

Data from FerryBoxes on ships of opportunity going on permanent routes are stored inside this database (ferrydata.hzg.de). Parameters are temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a fluorescence, oxygen and different others. The data model is transect oriented. A data portal to access and visualise the data is also provided.

GLODAP is an internally consistent data product for interior ocean “carbon relevant” variables, but in practice this means “everything that is measured from water samples” taken on hydrographic cruises that takes measurements of biogeochemistry, including inorganic carbon measurements. GLODAP was first published in 2004, and a new massively increased version, GLODAPv2, was published in 2016. A new version – GLODAPv2.2018 – will be published in early 2019. GLODAP have three main products: 1) A collection of individual cruise file in a consistent format and 1st level QC, 2) A product that has been bias corrected through 2nd level QC procedures, and 3) an interpolated product on a regular grid.

GO-SHIP, the Global Ocean Ship-Based Hydrographic Investigations Program, is conducting repeat hydrography with high accuracy high precision reference measurements of a variety of EOVs through the whole water column. A selection of continent-to-continent full depth sections are repeated at roughly decadal intervals. The data archive for CTD data and bottle data is currently at CCHDO, although the CTD data from European cruises are available at Seadatanet as well.

EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) is the long term marine data initiative supported by the European Commission since 2009 to ensure that European marine data will become easily accessible, interoperable, and free on restrictions on use. EMODnet Chemistry provides access to standardized, harmonized and validated chemical data collections for water quality evaluation at a regional scale, as defined by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The data portal has adopted and adapted SeaDataNet standards and services, establishing interoperability between the data sets from the many different providers (more than 60 in EMODnet Chemistry network). Concentration maps of nutrients, chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen are computed on a standard grid, providing information at a regular time interval, per season and over several vertical layers, including the deepest one. Dedicated OGC standard services for browsing, viewing and downloading chemistry observation, data and data products for the European waters have been developed, and are actively maintained and monitored.