FerryBox systems: State-of-the-art in Europe and future development

Abstract

The current state-of-the-art of FerryBox systems are presented, and their usage as part of European observing systems such as Alg@line in the Baltic Sea or the coastal observatory COSYNA in the North Sea is discussed as well as data management systems. An overview of diverse FerryBox measurement activities is provided, covering the wide and varied potential for utilizing FerryBox data. One innovative technical component is the application of newly developed sensors suitable for FerryBox systems that focus on biogeochemical processes. This component could fill currently existing gaps of robust biogeochemical observations in the oceans and may create, together with the high spatial and temporal resolution of FerryBox systems, the possibility for new insights into physical and biogeochemical processes that were impossible to study before. Such new insights could contribute to the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and include observations of the coastal carbonate system and its interaction with climate change or eutrophication and productivity.