Sweden – SCOOT

C2B2 – Co-Creating Better Blue

Baltic Sea, Citizen Science, Data, Environmental management, Innovation, People, Sweden, Workshop / January 17, 2023 January 18, 2023

In December 2022 came the news that Mistra (the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) will fund the new programme C2B2 – Co-Creating Better Blue. The consortium behind C2B2 include many actors from the network around SCOOT and Ocean Data Factory Sweden. The programme C2B2 is initially funded for 4 years.

The maritime domain and the blue economy are in an exciting and transformative period, not least manifested by the rapid expansion of offshore installations. Both challenges and opportunities abound… C2B2 identifies co-creation as the most important tool for sustainability in human activities at sea. 38 maritime actors from industry, academia, public sector and civil society will start working together in C2B2, and the programme will be open for more to join. Feel free to contact C2B2 programme director Torsten Linders.

Mistra’s expectations are clear:

Sustainable blue economy and governance should be at the center of the research program. An ecosystem-based approach should be the basis for and constitute an essential part of the understanding, management and governance of existing and potential future human activities, primarily outside coastal areas. Methods and instruments that can minimize conflicts and identify synergy effects are of particular importance in this context, for example marine spatial planning. Industrial operations at sea can be of great importance for the development of a sustainable blue economy, provided that the operations are planned and conducted in a sustainable manner. Not least new innovative companies could have a role in this transition.

Central to the C2B2 approach is the LivingLabs co-creation methodology, applied to the development of three demonstration cases to trigger transformative changes towards participatory ocean governance, involving relevant sectors and actors in Sweden’s three marine basins (Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Proper, Kattegatt-Skagerrak).

We have to start thinking differently about the marine environment, and we have to do it together!

Uta Wehn, Associate Professor at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education Scientific Director of C2B2 and leader of WP4 Co-creation of participatory ocean governance in LivingLabs

The programme C2B2 has been designed under the leadership of Uta Wehn during her time as Adlerbert visiting professor in marine citizen science at the University of Gothenburg. The programme is built around three pillars:

Open ecosystems & climate science,
Open, data-driven
innovation & emerging technologies,
Ocean governance & adaptive management.

Uta Wehn will be the Scientific Director and leader of WP4 Co-creation of participatory ocean governance in LivingLabs.

We have so many important actors already in the programme, spanning the relevant sectors. This means we have a real chance of making a difference for the sustainable blue economy.

Mikael Lind, Senior Research Advisor at RISE Leader of WP2 Open, data-driven innovation & emerging technologies

Maritime Cluster annual conference 8 December

ASV, Citizen Science, People, Platform, SP SeaCat, Sweden / November 7, 2022 January 10, 2023

December 8 it is the time for the annual conference of Maritime Cluster of West Sweden. This year we highlight some of the most discussed sustainable trends right now: Offshore wind power, sailing cargo vessels and citizen science. SCOOT is co-hosting the event together with Region Västra Götaland, University of Gothenburg, Chalmers, RISE, SMTF, Ocean Data Factory Sweden and SSPA. The conference language is mainly Swedish.

Venue: Lindholmen Science Park, Gothenburg.
Register here!
Info in Swedish at Maritima Klsutret.

Preliminary Programme

08.30 – 09.00 Registration and coffee

Block I

09.00 – 10.00 Offshore wind power
• Overview and current status – including the permit process
• The state of technology in offshore wind power

10.00 – 10.30 Morning coffee

10.30 – 11.00 Offshore wind power (continued)
• The actor perspective – an actor on the international market
• The political perspective

11.00 – 12.00 Wind propulsion
• Overview and current status
• Technology overview of wind-assisted and wind-driven ships, with examples from ships in operation
• The supplier perspective of system solutions for wind propulsion
• An example of a concept for a wind-powered ship
• The cargo owner’s perspective on wind-powered ships

12.00 – 13.00 Mingle lunch

Block II

13.00 – 14.00 Maritime citizen science
• What is marine citizen science? Current examples from Ocean Data Factory Sweden.
• Test here and now! Deployment of an autonomous measuring sensor with the help of a surface-moving robot.
• Where does this lead? How do we build knowledge about the sea?
• What knowledge about the sea do we need?

14.30 – 15.00 Maritime Cluster in West Sweden: The future?
• Information, discussion and input from the participants about wishes for the cluster’s future development.

15.00 – 15.30 Afternoon coffee

New R/V Skagerak delivered at SCOOT’s doorstep

Platform, R/V Skagerak, Research vessel, Sweden / June 23, 2021 June 24, 2021

It has been a long journey, since the new R/V Skagerak was ordered by the University of Gothenburg back in 2013… But now she is ready! And SCOOT is glad to see her right outside of our space.

Overall, a berth at Nya Varvet in Gothenburg is the best alternative, as the quay can be easily adapted and there is proximity to university activities such as the SCOOT project and organisations such as MMT and SMHI.

Göran Hilmersson

Dean and head of the ship steering group

In an era of of robotics and accelerating automation of ocean observations, one might wonder if crewed research vessels really represent value for money? Sebastiaan Swart, director of SCOOT and head of the ship user group at University of Gothenburg, explains:

– Robots are great for going where ships cannot, like under a glacier, and for making long endurance missions. But research vessels are still indispensable. There are a multitude of ocean data collection that require a combination of advanced technology and human hands and eyes. For this we need vessels like the new Skagerak. In the future we will see ever more robots collecting ocean data, but we will not see fewer research vessels.

More about R/V Skagerak:

News post at University of Gothenburg’s web.
Info, specifications and booking of the new R/V Skagerak.
SMEs in western Sweden are advised to contact SCOOT about using the new R/V Skagerak.

AUV Ran back in Sweden: Join the collaboration, tests and operations in 2021!

AUV, Demo, Hugin, Innovation, Platform, Ran, Sweden / January 7, 2021 March 30, 2021

In 2019 SCOOT’s flagrobot AUV Ran became first to conquer the depths under the ‘doomsday’ Thwaites Glacier. In 2020 Ran’s greatest achievement was the mapping of subsea landslides in the 2000 metres deep Kaikōura Canyon off New Zeeland (read news at NIWA and see their nice Ran pop video below!).

Now Ran is back in Sweden, and as always SCOOT makes her available for entrepreneurs, innovators and SMEs. First out is a group of SMEs during an intense mission week in early February on the Swedish west coast.

Let us know if you want to join the collaboration/testing/operations, already in February and in the planned June session. We are not looking for AUV experts only. We are looking for anyone with ideas for utilising or collecting ocean data!

AUV Ran cooperates with start-up company Marflow AB

AUV, Hugin, Platform, Ran, Sweden / July 14, 2020 July 15, 2020

SCOOT’s flagrobot AUV Ran is one busy two-tonne-piece of equipment. From the Southern Ocean to the Baltic Sea, and later this year off to New Zeeland. However, last month a window of availability opened… Startup company Marflow AB with founders Erik Nordborg and Glenn Hederot jumped on this opportunity.

Erik explains:

“Marflow aims to investigate and map ocean currents with very high accuracy. Precise measurements of the oceanic conditions in both time and space are valuable to us but indeed difficult to achieve in reality. AUV Ran will however allow us to do just that, studying ocean currents along with numerous other parameters with a spatial coverage that we have not been able to do before.”

“Marflow are very excited and happy for this opportunity to try AUV Ran and to discover what we can actually achieve with a tool like this. Before launching, Anna Wåhlin helped us setting up a course for Ran to follow. It was really impressive seeing AUV Ran navigating so accurately along this predefined route in relatively confined waters –all the time logging valuable data.”

Join ODF Sweden in the The Koster seafloor observatory!

Biodiversity, Citizen Science, Data, Data Factory, Environmental monitoring, Koster Marine National Park, ROV, Video / March 6, 2020 December 21, 2021

Ocean Data Factory Sweden (coordinated by SCOOT) is now stepping into a truly demanding territory: Automated species recognition in subsea images. See the promo video and join the The Koster seafloor observatory online on Zooniverse!

About The Koster seafloor observatory

At the Koster seafloor observatory we want to know how climate change and human activities influence Sweden’s marine ecosystems.

For the last 20 years, we have used Remotely Operated Vehicles and cameras to monitor the Kosterhavets National Park (click images above for example videos!). A highly-diverse and unique marine reserve in the south of Sweden. Now, we need your help identifying the habitat, species, and presence of litter recorded in over 3,000 hours of underwater videos.

Your answers will allow us to filter out crucial information from the recordings and study how the fauna on the sea floor has changed in response to warmer waters, fishing activities, and changes in environmental protection.

Submerge yourself among large sponges, starfish, and cold-water corals to help us understand the health of the Koster’s sea floor and how we can better protect it.

Words from project owner Victor Valdes

The researcher

“We are excited to bring you a new way to dive into Sweden’s first marine national park. By classifying the underwater videos you will explore our unique marine biodiversity and enable us to better understand the health of Sweden’s marine ecosystems.”

Learn more!