Europe and Africa linked by sea and satellites
23rd July 2010
A unique
collaboration linking Earth observation information providers, user
networks and centres of excellence in Europe and Africa held its
first meeting at Plymouth Marine Laboratory this week.
The Europe-Africa Marine Network (EAMNet) is coordinated by
Plymouth Marine Laboratory and involves partners from five European
and four African countries. The network aims to build upon existing
marine satellite observation and training programmes and will
provide scientists on both continents with access to large data
sets. The ultimate aim of the network is to engage with end users
in marine and coastal management agencies.
A key part of the programme will be the expansion of the Earth
observation infrastructure around Africa, which will give
scientists access to satellite data on the African seas and oceans.
This will involve installing five receiving systems, which will
form part of a global network of satellite based-data systems and
providing a web portal for data over Africa.
Steve Groom, Project Coordinator for EAMNet commented: “Earth
observation data is of crucial importance in understanding how our
planet and its climate are changing. For example, with global fish
stocks decreasing, the increased monitoring of African waters will
enable us to locate fronts, eddies and upwelling areas, which are
preferential locations for fish stocks. This could result in better
information for managers in an area where the population is
particularly reliant on fish for protein.”
Another key element of the programme will involve training of
scientists and fellowships for exchange of personnel and knowledge
between African and European institutes. A Master’s Degree module
will be developed at the University of Cape Town, which will then
be disseminated to other universities in Africa, resulting in many
newly trained personnel at African universities.
“The EAMNet project will enable us to strengthen existing
training and research programmes in the University of Ghana. It
will also help us to develop links with other institutes both
within Africa and Europe and to learn from their experiences in
order to provide much needed coastal and marine environmental
services in our country.” George Wiafe, University of Ghana.