A new chapter in the well-established collaboration between ESA and CNR-ISMAR to improve scientific understanding of the Mediterranean Sea under the banner of open science.
A major step forward in Mediterranean Sea research was taken last week, April 7, with the inauguration of the Data Analysis Laboratory (MeDAL) for Open Science in the Mediterranean at ESA‘s ESRIN Science Hub. The launch of the new initiative was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Intent by Simonetta Cheli Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programs and Mario Sprovieri Director of the National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR).
The MeDAL initiative marks a new chapter in the well-established collaboration between ESA and CNR-ISMAR aimed at improving the scientific understanding of the Mediterranean Sea, a region critical to the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, but increasingly under pressure from climate change, pollution and coastal overdevelopment. At the heart of the MeDAL initiative is a commitment to open science and knowledge exchange.
In recent years, CNR-ISMAR has been a leading partner in several ESA-funded projects (e.g., CAREHeat, 4DMED, MiTHO). Some visiting researchers from CNR-ISMAR have been hosted at ESA and several are involved in Mission Advisory Groups (e.g. Harmony, CHIME, CIMR).
The enhanced collaboration will increase the exchange of researchers, visiting researchers and research fellows and will include the organization of workshops, training and educational activities. These efforts will support joint scientific studies of the region’s evolving physical, biological and chemical processes.
A key outcome of the workshop will be the development of a high-resolution, multivariate, data-driven 4D dataset describing the state of the Mediterranean Sea. This open-access dataset will become a scientific reference and benchmark for future studies of the Mediterranean, enabling a more holistic approach to understanding this complex marine environment.
Link of interest: https://eo4society.esa.int/2025/04/14/esa-and-cnr-ismar-inaugurate-the-advanced-mediterranean-lab/
