Title page 1

Contents 1

Introduction 2

Trends and signals 4

A. Core observation technologies and innovations 4

A.1. Autonomous eDNA sampler 4

A.2. Cost-effective and modular sensors 6

A.3. Data fusion - Earth observation and in-situ 6

A.4. Distributed acoustic sensing 7

A.5. Deep learning-enabled imaging flow cytometryc 9

B. Enabling technologies and innovations 9

B.1. Expanding in-situ observation 9

B.2. Data interoperability and integration 10

B.3. Autonomous surface and underwater vehicles 11

Contextual factors 13

Conclusions 15

References 16

Acknowledgements 20

Figures 4

Figure 1. EC President Ursula von der Leyen at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) with presentation of EU DTO, Nice,... 4

Figure 2. A biosampler installed in IRIS, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by INESCTEC and CIIMAR 5

Figure 3. A screenshot of the MyOcean (light) a page is dedicated to ocean data visualisation 7

Figure 4. A conceptual image showing fibre optic cables running along the ocean floor 8

Figure 5. A research vessel with submerged equipment prepared for scientific exploration 10

Figure 6. The Ulyx, and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by Ifremer 11

Figure 7. A fish farm in Greece 14

Figure 8. The hybrid ROV Ariane developed by Ifremer 15

Figure 9. A 'swirling tornado' of Barracudas 16

Boxes 5

Box 1. Other molecular-level sensors 5

Box 2. AI-enhanced passive acoustic sensing 8

Box 3. Particle-based high-frequency observations of plankton 9

Box 4. Artificial Intelligence 12