AQUASPECT Workplan

AQUASPECT addresses key challenges in the integration of advanced plankton imaging data into regional Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) frameworks. The project focuses on the development and commercialisation of the UVP6m (WP2), deployed alongside the UVP6 and complementary quantitative imaging tools across three representative European marine regions: the Belgian North Sea, the Western Baltic Sea, and the Balearic Sea (WP3).

Building on existing monitoring programmes, AQUASPECT adapts and extends current data pipelines to integrate new sensor technologies into regional DTO architectures (WP4). The resulting harmonised datasets support the development and application of ecosystem health indicators relevant to EU marine policies, including the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (WP5).

Each regional deployment contributes to a policy-relevant use case: analysis of (sub-)mesoscale dynamics through the integration of glider data in the Balearic Sea, development of MSFD indicators in the North Sea, and strengthening stakeholder engagement and long-term time series value in the Baltic Sea. By leveraging existing infrastructures and addressing critical monitoring gaps, AQUASPECT delivers transferable methodologies and open-access tools that support scalable and sustainable DTO implementation across Europe.

WP1 - Project Management and Coordination

WP2 - Instrument Development and Testing

WP3 - Instrument Deployment and Field Monitoring

WP4 - Data integration in the European and regional DTOs

WP5 - Data exploitation for better regional understanding

WP6 - Stakeholder engagement, outreach and communication