(Pictured above: Radar installation at Għar Lapsi ... how it looks!)
Every day and every moment, we are constantly watching and measuring the sea for you. Besides the daily commitment of scientists and research staff at the Physical Oceanography Research Group within the Dept. of Geosciences at the University of Malta, specialised equipment installed at selected stations on the coast and offshore, are sensing the sea and churning out data on essential variables describing the state of the sea (waves, currents, temperature salinity and sea level) and the atmospheric conditions (wind, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, humidity, solar radiation and rain).
Sensors using latest technological systems take routine measurements, in some cases detailed in time to the second, providing regular data at set intervals and giving us repeated snapshots of meteo-marine conditions as these evolve in time. This data is channelled in real time on our web portals, streaming data flows, and delivered free of charge to users as it is generated.
But discrete stations are not enough to give the whole picture. A robust computing infrastructure is daily running numerical models to interpolate data in between, and provide the whole spatial synoptic fields horizontally, and in 3D with depth, to cover the full scale of changes in the sea as they evolve in time and space. We create the movie of the sea that enables us to see conditions now and in the future, enabling us to provide forecasts on how the sea will look like in the coming hours and days.
Apart from third party data derived from regional and pan-European networks, the daily data production locally by the Physical Oceanography Research Group amounts to 53MB for observations and 2.7GB for models. This is a tremendous flow of data that is expected to double by 2022 through the efforts of the Group in the ongoing Complementary Action C16 of the LIFE RBMP project, LIFE 16 IPE MT 008: Optimising the implementation of the 2nd RBMP in the Malta River Basin District.
This data chain is an essential backbone for the nation. Our projects are endeavouring to enhance it with a wider range of datasets to also cover the biochemical parameters, to improve on the data quality following set standards, and to provide further added value products that target the needs of national stakeholders, users and the general public. The prime characteristic of our data services is the operational real-time delivery of data. Delivering data on the spot, when and where it is needed, entails a remarkable effort that pays to users who need the data on the instant to aid decision-making, supporting their operational activities, enhancing their own products and service deliveries, and supporting economic exploitations through innovative added value applications. Data is also the essential ingredient for our relationship with the sea. In this era of digitalisation, the elaboration of marine data becomes a cutting edge aspect of economic excellence and competitiveness. Marine data serves also to monitor the state of health of the sea, and keeps the sustainability of marine resources under control against over exploitation and irreversible impacts like climate change.
The , coming to an end next October, has made a further great push forward to this mission. It is partially funded under the Italia-Malta Programme 2013-2020, and one of the very few led by a Maltese institution, delivering important assets to the nation. After three years of activity and against the many impediments imposed by the COVID pandemic, it has achieved a number of deliverables.
The CALYPSO HF radar system for the operational monitoring of sea surface currents and waves has been incremented by three units to a total of seven radars covering a marine area of 13,000 square kilometres around the Maltese Islands and the south-eastern Sicilian coast. An has been set up with key units installed in the major ports in Malta, Gozo and Southern Sicily intended to primarily offer safer navigation for the entry and exit of large ships in the harbours. The project also offers operational services with meteo-marine data provision and visualisation through the and the KAPTAN smartphone app.
Prof. Drago leads the CALYPSO South project with the support of key academic members of the Physical Oceanography Research Group, namely Dr. Adam Gauci for marine data acquisition systems including the CALYPSO HF radar and PORTO networks, Dr. Joel Azzopardi for computing activities and research, and Dr. Anthony Galea for numerical modelling. Key research support staff include Ms. Audrey Zammit for data management and web development, and Raisa Galea De Giovanni for data analysis and operational support. The combination of such expertise places the Physical Oceanography Research Group as a model on how team research at University can be achieved to deliver at high standards in leading marine research. It further puts our University on the forefront as a key member in , an alliance of six universities set to build the European University of the Seas.
An inauguration event and press conference about CALYPSO South are being held at the Għar Lapsi Reverse Osmosis Plant on 12 August 2021 at 10:00. Due to COVID restrictions, only a few persons can attend physically the event, but you are invited to follow by live streaming online through the University or the .
For more information write to Prof. Aldo Drago or visit the .
About the Physical Oceanography Group
Initiated 28 years ago (ex-Physical Oceanography Unit) and led by Prof. Aldo Drago, the Research Group conducts specialised marine studies, promotes training of marine professionals and public awareness as well as provides support mainly in operational oceanography focusing on the sustainable use of ocean space and resources, their management and regulation as well as the promotion and conservation of the marine environment. It is the national entity responsible for oceanographic data management and undertakes applied and fundamental research in coastal meteorology, hydrography and physical oceanography with a main emphasis on the study of the hydrodynamics of the sea in the vicinity of the Maltese Islands. It participates in international cooperative research ventures, delivering operational services from real time observations of the sea and numerical forecasting of the marine environment.
FIG 1: Evolution of the CALYPSO HF radar network – an Italy-Malta trans-boundary collaboration
Figure 2: Typical sea surface current maps delivered operationally by the CALYPSO HF radar system
