The four-year Horizon Europe TRICUSO seeks to enhance every level of the Southern Ocean carbon observation value chain from innovating sensor technologies and expanding observation capacities via autonomous and citizen science platforms, to data products and system governance in support of the WMO Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W).
VOLUME ONE READS
Hello All,
Welcome to our first project newsletter.
TRICUSO is now up and running – lots of exciting activities happening everywhere, new staff being hired and some interesting results beginning to emerge. I wanted to share with you a few thoughts based on the set of meetings in Nice, the One Ocean Science Congress and the United Nations Ocean Conference, which I was privileged to attend. The first point to make is that TRICUSO addresses several of the major challenges we face as a carbon cycle science community. These include how to introduce autonomy into the observing system, building the governance mechanisms to run a system in a more robust way that is tuned into the needs of end users, engaging the private and citizen science sectors in the system, combining multiple observing networks together and implementing technological innovations to reduce costs and increase coverage. Of course we knew all of these were important, but multiple talks in Nice reaffirmed this. What was new in my view was the extreme urgency of action, borne both of the incredible climate impacts we are beginning to see and the need to introduce more national programmes into delivering to the observing system. The EU Commission has recognised the urgency of these points and is looking to programmes such as TRICUSO for ideas, data and information in support of key initiatives such as the Ocean Pact. We will need to think through how to respond to these various challenges and accelerate the advice we can offer as our project progresses. We will keep you updated through our social media and this newsletter.
Richard Sanders,
TRICUSO Coordinator, NORCE
Bergen, Norway
Anchors Aweigh: New Year, New Project
TRICUSO’s newly minted consortium gathered in South Hampton, during the first week of January at NOC to launch the project and ensure a robust maiden voyage. The TRICUSO Team comprises three Research Infrastructures (RIs), leading European marine research centres, universities and private industries – highly capable of guiding TRICUSO to and through the Southern Ocean.
Unpacking our overall objective
In defining how TRICUSO will achieve its key ambition to innovate every level of the ocean carbon observation value chain, we have visualised how and where the project’s activities and results will contribute to the current system. The image bellow has evolved from a figure developed by our colleague Dorothee Bakker (UEA).
Science and Sailing at the Ocean Race Europe
Kiel, Germany, hosted the start of the highly anticipated Ocean Race Europe after a four year hiatus from its inaugural event in 2021. Festivities kicked off on the 6th of August with the opening of the Ocean Live Park offering ocean literacy activities for learners of all ages, and events bringing science, policy, sailing and industry together under the theme: Connecting Europe for a Smart Ocean.
Meanwhile on the pontoon, more specifically from the deck of the Malizia, team member Will Harris was happy to discuss his passion for sailing and science, saying, “We’re lucky that we get to compete in round the world races. But we’re really lucky that we get to contribute to science, to help understand our ocean better.”
Fun Fact: Skippers break off the handles of their toothbrushes to save a couple of grams of weight while they’re racing. So their willingness to carry scientific instruments shows just how dedicated they are to supporting ocean observation.
Innovation in Action: GEOMAR & SubCtech Labs
Behind all the glitz of a major sporting event that is the Ocean Race Europe, TRICUSO colleagues Tobias Steinhoff, Kristin Kampen and Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR) and Jana Fahning (SubCtech) are discussing how best to innovate the scientific instruments installed on IMOCA class racing yachts. They must be light and energy efficient and they must produce high-quality data. The latter requirements have been the focus in recent years for SubCtech but now through the purchase of two OceanPack-RACE® systems, as part of TRICUSO, our partners have the opportunity to test every part of the system to see where improvements can be made to ensure better accuracy of CO₂ measurements. This includes testing the system in a seawater tank to see how temperature and circulation can impact the readings and how best to address it. Given the small number of yachts carrying these instruments during the trial, it is extra important to make sure that they can produce the best possible data.
European Bio-GO-SHIP Initiative
One of TRICUSO’s aims is the development of European Bio-GO-SHIP, a new initiative aligned with the international GO-SHIP programme, and inspired by current Bio-GO-SHIP efforts in the US, Australia and Japan to support sustained and consistent observations of open ocean biology.
TRICUSO’s Sophie Clayton (NOC), Alice Soccodato and Tosca Sala (EMBRC-ERIC) recently invited expressions of interest for an initial scoping meeting to bring together a small group of experienced marine researchers to help define the vision, scope, and initial roadmap for European Bio-GO-SHIP.
TRICUSO First Policy Brief
Creating early awareness of the TRICUSO project, colleague Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR) presented thoughts on how current regulations are hindering ocean observation for societal benefit and how a change could support efficient ocean observation in the European Union for the Ocean Pact. This policy brief was discussed and shared on the 21st of February during a round-table workshop held by DG MARE for input to the European Ocean Pact.
A Chat with Paul Brickle
TRICUSO aims to expand observation capacity in the Southern Ocean, home to consortium partner South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI). We asked our colleague Paul Brickle to share some thoughts on the vast waters down under and why TRICUSO is an important project.
Where will we go in the Southern Ocean?
Autonomous floats and fancy racing boats are being enlisted to trial the light-weight sensing systems that TRICUSO is enhancing for the effective measuring of surface pCO₂ in the under-observed waters of the Southern Ocean. In the region west of South Georgia Island, the RV Pharos will deploy a wave glider and Argo Floats during two expeditions in the autumn of 2026 and 2028 and IMOCA class racing yachts taking part in Round the World Ocean Race, will take measurements while traversing the Southern Ocean.
Fun Fact: Did you know that penguins are as common as pigeons in the Falkland Islands and therefore not regarded as magical as they are to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere?
TRICUSO has been surfing the outreach waves since the project kick-off at both high-impact conferences and special events.
The Importance of the Deep Carbon Sink
When it comes to understanding the ocean carbon flux, everyone agrees there is not enough data…
TRICUSO’s partners Siv Lauvset (NORCE) and Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR) joined their GLODAP colleagues for an intense workshop toward the delivery of GLODAPv3 2025, which culminated in an insightful event in Brussels, and the opportunity to introduce TRICUSO to stakeholders from international and intergovernmental organisations, initiatives and projects.
GOOS Ship Observations Team Meeting
Tobias Steinhoff (GEOMAR) gave a presentation at the GOOS Ship Observations Team Meeting focused on CO₂ work as part of SOCONET and TRICUSO. The event took place in Brest, France, in April.
TRICUSO on the International Stage
Richard Sanders (NORCE) introduced the TRICUSO concept during a session at UNOC in Nice this past June: Research infrastructure to sustain, expand and share ocean observations, data, monitoring and modelling, part of the Research Infrastructure Session.
GOOS Observations Coordination Group
In April, Maciej Telszewski (IO PAN) gave a presentation describing the role TRICUSO can play in supporting the development of SOCONET within the context of GOOS and WMO G3W.
ENV Colloquium 2025
Dorothee Bakker (UEA) introduced the TRICUSO project during an informative talk titled, Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas v2025 for quantification of ocean CO₂ uptake – a community synthesis to the School of Environmental Sciences at UEA. The ENV Colloquium is a full day of fun talks on research to bring the school together.
Open Day on the RV Alkor - 9th of August
Anyone visiting GEOMAR’s Research Vessel The Alkor during the Ocean Race Europe festivities in Kiel had a chance to become acquainted with TRICUSO through the strategically placed roll-up. Special thanks to our colleagues at GEOMAR for the promotion.
TED Talk: Listening to the Ocean’s Climate Clues
Louise Delaigue (Imev-Mer) produced an insightful TED talk during the EDHEC Global MBA conference, which was held on the 6th of May as part of Nice’s “Year of the Sea” initiative, highlighting the importance of ocean-related research and innovation. Louise focused on sensor development of interest to our project and community.
The Royal Society Meeting - Marine Biodiversity Loss, Fishing, and Climate Change
London, UK: 8-9 December 2025
Wearing his OceanICU coordinator hat, Richard Sanders will be co-chairing a discussion meeting at The Royal Society in London exploring the link between biodiversity loss and climate change, which is often overlooked when it comes to the ocean. This session will address this gap to recognise the role of ocean life in climate change mitigation and food security. The event is free to attend and both virtual and in-person attendance is available.
Ocean Sciences Meeting
Glasgow, UK: 22-27 February 2026
TRICUSO colleagues Cathy Wimart-Rousseau, Pablo Trucco-Pignata (NOC) and Louise Delaigue (Sorbonne University) will be co-chairing a session: The Southern Ocean Carbon Sink: processes, observations, and change in Glasgow next year. Stay tuned for more information in our next newsletter.
Imagine you are strolling along the docks and you spot a shiny penny. Do you stop and pick it up? Most people do because the value of feeling lucky far outweighs the monetary score.
If you have read all the way to the end of this newsletter, we would like to give you a shiny penny, or sorts. It’s a chance to engage with our fun facts, become a TRICUSO MASTER and to be entered in a drawing for a special surprise.
Each volume will have a short challenge, and your name will be entered in the hat each time you play. The drawing will take place at the Annual Meeting in January 2026 – and we hope to make this an annual event.
All you have to do is answer the questions below, based on stories in this newsletter, and send your answers to comms@tricuso.eu.
1. True or False? Sailors break the handles off of their toothbrushes when competing in a race.
2. What is the name of the TRICUSO partner located in the Southern Ocean?
3. Where are Penguins as common as Pigeons?
A) Australia B) Norway C) Falkland Islands
4. How many OceanPack systems did TRICUSO purchase?
A) 8 B) 1 C) 2
5. True or False? TRICUSO’s overall objective is to enhance every level of the Southern Ocean carbon observation value chain.
Thank you for reading our first newsletter. The next volume will be out in November.
