Ocean Real-Life Data Collection Use Case

Healthy Oceans & Water Mission

The Ocean, Streaming Live

Every second at sea, research vessels sense an ocean we rarely see.

The Standardised Sensor Streams Use Case turns live data from vessels like the RRS Discovery into open, FAIR-by-design ocean science,flowing straight from sea to shore.

At a glance

Pilot Period

M6 – M40

(Feb 2026 – Dec 2028)

Partners Involved
Domain

Oceanography / Environmental

Location / Study Sites

Atlantic Ocean (research vessels, ocean glider deployment zones)

Participants / Scale
  • Underway sensors aboard research vessels (e.g. RRS Discovery) 
  • ~1 observation per second per sensor
  • Near real-time streaming from sea to shore (NOC / BODC)​
Previous
Next

Main Goal

The main goal of the Standardised Sensor Streams use case is to implement the continuous, near real-time collection of underway observations, such as temperature, salinity, and depth in the Atlantic. We seek to improve the scientific understanding of ocean variability and its influence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). This collection is designed to support the transition to autonomous platforms and automated workflows using RESTful APIs (including SensorThings API), ensuring that high-quality data is available for broad reuse in climate research and stakeholder decision-making while adhering to the FAIR principles.

Domain Challenges

  • Competing time pressures: Principal Investigators planning expeditions aboard research vessels such as the RRS Discovery or RRS James Cook face heavy time constraints, so Data Management Plans are often treated as a low priority.
  • Duplicated effort, lost data: PIs must manually re-enter the same information across disconnected tools like the Marine Facilities Planning (MFP) tool and the Autonomy Deployment Form (ADF), while observations from trial programmes and low-TRL sensors are frequently never curated, keeping valuable data out of the wider research community.
  • Fragmented metadata and weak repository links: Gathering metadata across diverse marine instruments is difficult, and without versioned DMPs or automated submission to repositories like BODC, plan changes at sea go unrecorded, causing published metadata to drift from what actually happened.

Keywords

ocean, seas, near real time data, MQTT, sensorThingsAPI, Atlantic, research vessel, autonomous ocean

Key Figures & Facts

Data types

High-frequency acquisition of near real-time (NRT) oceanographic data during research vessel operations, such as:

  • Temperature
  • Salinity (Essential Ocean Variables)
  • Depth
Platform
  • Research vessel,
  • Autonomous vehicles
Monitoring period
20/08/2026 – 09/09/2026
aligned with the scheduled research vessel deployment and pilot implementation.
 
Expertise

NOC brings expertise from other projects:

Use Case Implementation Phases

May–December 2026
Data Collection Without RAISE
A "business as usual" baseline cycle using existing tools and workflows. Underway oceanographic data is collected aboard research vessels as normal, with the existing data management methodology documented for later comparison, establishing the reference point against which the impact of RAISE Suite will be measured.
May–December 2026
January–March 2027
SDK Integration & RAISE Onboarding
The RAISE Suite SDK is integrated into the vessel's data collection environment. The team onboards to the RAISE Portal, creates a machine-actionable Data Management Plan (maDMP), describes datasets and algorithms with FAIR-aligned metadata, and connects the sensors to the SDK's automated ingestion pipeline.
January–March 2027
From March 2027 onwards
Data Collection with RAISE
The same campaign is repeated, now powered by RAISE Suite: sensor streams are captured automatically via the SDK and managed and analysed directly on the RAISE Portal. The cycle ends with the publication of a FAIR-compliant oceanographic dataset on the RAISE Portal and EOSC, alongside a scientific publication on the pilot's results.
From March 2027 onwards

Use Case Outcomes

Open Ocean Datasets

FAIR Data, Previously Inaccessible

Open, FAIR oceanographic datasets released to the research community — including observations that were previously lost or inaccessible.

A Reusable Toolkit

Validated SDK and Cruise DMP Template

A validated RAISE Suite SDK integration with research vessels, plus a machine-actionable "Cruise DMP" template that other oceanographic expeditions

Powering EOSC Ocean Services

Feeding Essential Ocean Variables Monitoring

A direct contribution to EOSC ocean data services, supporting the monitoring of Essential Ocean Variables across the wider marine community