Taking the Pulse of the Ocean
Project in the frame work of the second MeerWissen calls by the GIZ
The Taking the Pulse of the Ocean project is a joint project of the AWI and the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics and Ocean Siméon Fongang (LPAOSF) funded by the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under the umbrella of the MeerWissen programme.All projects are supported by the MeerWissen Secretariat and a group of scientists with expertise in marine and coastal biodiversity at the interface between science and policy. The scientific experts co-evaluate project ideas and advise the Secretariat on strategic and scientific issues that arise within the initiative. Furthermore, they are part of the MeerWissen community and accompany the activities outside and between the partnership projects.
We want to improve access to user-friendly, cost-effective coastal tools and data; we want to close a loop from data to knowledge to action and back to data. By using cost-effective devices to measure temperature, salinity and chlorophyll as proxies for the likelihood of fish occurrence and introducing proven process flows, we want to engage scientists, local authorities and beneficiaries in sharing data through public and easily accessible tools.
We want to establish methods for the use of cost-effective sensors adapted to the needs of the coastal area of Senegal near Dakar in the upwelling system of southern Senegal, by setting up workflows from the regular use of the instruments to data collection and publication, e.g. via a mobile app as a tool.
The beneficiaries of this project are the coastal inhabitants, especially the Senegalese fishing communities, local politicians and educational institutions such as universities and schools, who can access and use the data via smartphone devices.
The expected outcome is a customised workflow that enables sustainable data collection in the designated Senegalese coastal area via app. This concept can also be transferred to other coastal regions, e.g. the Gulf of Guinea.
News
In preparation for the first sampling, the first test site was decided in consultation with local authorities and stakeholders in Senegal. It is located south of Dakar, close to a measuring buoy that is temporarily in operation. This way, the measurement results can be evaluated in a longer context and the accuracies, application problems and open questions about the sensors can be examined. At the same time, this test point is located in an area of fishing relevance.
Cooperation
Prof. Karen Helen Wiltshire
Prof Saidou Sall
Dr. Baye Cheikh Mbaye
Postdoctoral researcher at Institut de recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), UMR 248 MARBEC, Avenue Jeann Monnet, CS 30171, 34200 Sète Cedex-France
Associate researcher at Laboratoire de Physique de l'Atmosphère et de l'Ocean Simeon Fongang (LPAOSF), ESP/UCAD, BP 5085, Dakar-Senegal
Dr. Ibrahima Camara
Researcher at Laboratoire de Physique de l'Atmosphère et de l'Océan-Siméon Fongang (LPAO-SF)
Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique /Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Dakar-Senegal, BP: 5085
Dr. Eva-Maria Brodte
