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Strategic roadmap

This roadmap outlines the implementation of OHIS to address major scientific, technical, and societal challenges related to offshore in situ ocean observation, in alignment with national and European priorities.

Phase 1 (2025–2028): Establishing technical, scientific, and organisational foundations

  • Facilitate the existing working group on oceanic carbon (pH/CO₂), in coordination with ODATIS and ICOS ERIC. Establish a cross-cutting working group dedicated to metrology, calibration, and data validation, in collaboration with the Fr-OOS and other marine Research Infrastructures (notably EMSO ERIC and Euro-Argo ERIC), to define common best practices.
  • Identify and prioritize key technological developments, including sensor miniaturization, automation of observation systems, and integration and qualification of new biogeochemical and biological sensors on existing platforms.
  • Launch strategic optimization studies of the observation network through OSE/OSSE experiments, in collaboration with the LEFE ('Les Enveloppes Fluides de l'Environnement' - Environmental Fluid Envelopes, a CNRS call for proposals) GMMC program and Mercator Ocean. Support will be provided through PhD and postdoctoral contracts in partnership with CNES, doctoral schools, and university research schools within the OHIS perimeter.
  • Strengthen synergies with the Fr-OOS and ILICO to clarify and enhance the complementarity of coastal-to-offshore observation systems and ensure continuity in observational coverage.
  • Consolidate the operational plan for rationalizing offshore cruises, improving the use of transit time and underway measurements (e.g., TSG, hull-mounted ADCP), and leveraging multiparametric observations within the context of the progressive decarbonisation of operations.

Phase 2 (2029–2031): Consolidation, technological deployment, and strategic optimization

  • Strengthen the metrology working group, producing operational recommendations adopted by all national marine RIs to ensure data interoperability and integration into international systems (e.g., EOOS, AtlantOS).
  • Deploy validated technological innovations from Phase 1, significantly increasing the number of autonomous platforms equipped with new biogeochemical and biological sensors. The approach will prioritise sustainability through reduced environmental impact, enhanced energy autonomy, and eco-designed materials.
  • Conduct advanced OSEs and OSSEs supported by artificial intelligence to refine and optimize the observation network, reduce redundancies, and address critical observation gaps.
  • Develop and operationalize multiparametric networks for the systematic monitoring of subsurface currents, air-sea fluxes, and physicochemical properties at the ocean-atmosphere interface, integrating opportunities from pelagic and fisheries research cruises.
  • Engage actively in the EOOS initiative and Oceans Pact to reinforce European and international cooperation, ensuring coherent and integrated ocean observation at a continental scale.

Phase 3 (2032–2035): Long-term sustainability, European integration, and strategic impact

  • Fully integrate new platforms and validated technologies into European and global networks, contributing to the development of Digital Twins of the Ocean.
  • Establish and operationalise a reference network for subsurface ocean currents, internationally validated and continuously fed by OHIS observations.
  • Transition to a fully integrated low-carbon operational model for observation planning, in alignment with European and national environmental commitments.
  • Achieve long-term establishment of a coordinated reference infrastructure within the Fr-OOS, positioning OHIS as a key national and international actor in offshore ocean observation.