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Virtual Laboratory · Ocean Monitoring and Assessment
Marine Environmental Indicators
Compute, explore and visualise indicators that help researchers and decision-makers assess changing marine environmental conditions.
Open to EOSC users. This public page is available anonymously. Sign in through EOSC AAI or another supported identity to use the Virtual Lab; no project-membership invitation is required.
Purpose and scope
Turn multidisciplinary ocean data into actionable indicators
The Marine Environmental Indicators VLab helps users monitor and assess the environmental status of marine areas and supports evidence-based ocean management.
It integrates observations, model products and reanalysis data in a unified analytical environment. Users can select spatial and temporal subsets, configure indicator algorithms, perform online statistical analyses, and produce maps, time series and downloadable value-added data. The services focus on the Mediterranean Sea and can address wider ocean domains when suitable datasets are available.
Integrated capabilities
Analyse environmental conditions online
Compute
Execute indicator algorithms and statistical methods on managed cloud-computing resources.
Explore
Use a graphical web application for intuitive, code-free interaction with data and services.
Reproduce
Use Jupyter notebooks for transparent, adaptable and reproducible scientific analyses.
Visualise
Interpret outputs through maps, plots and time series covering marine conditions and extremes.
Download and reuse
Export generated data, images and processing information for reporting and further analysis.
Main services
Four indicators for marine environmental assessment
Each service provides a defined analytical workflow, user-configurable parameters and outputs designed to support scientific interpretation and environmental monitoring.
Service 1 · Marine Heatwaves
Detect, characterise and monitor anomalous surface or subsurface warming events that exceed climatological thresholds for sustained periods.
- Configure area, period and baseline climatology
- Calculate intensity, duration and cumulative intensity
- Generate maps and time-series outputs
Service 2 · Ocean Heat Content
Quantify the heat stored in the ocean water column over selected spatial domains and depth ranges.
- Generate Ocean Heat Content maps and time series
- Track warming trends and interannual variability
- Support climate monitoring and model validation
Service 3 · Eutrophication Indicator TRIX
Assess trophic conditions and nutrient enrichment by combining information related to nutrients, productivity and oxygen status.
- Calculate TRIX values from water-quality data
- Produce spatial products for status assessment
- Support coastal monitoring and management
Service 4 · Storm Severity Index V2
Analyse exceptional atmospheric-wind and storm conditions and relate their severity to potential environmental and coastal impacts.
- Calculate event-based and area-based SSI
- Generate storm-severity maps and time series
- Apply configurable wind thresholds and periods
Data sources
Multidisciplinary marine and climate data
The VLab uses relevant physics, biogeochemistry and environmental data from sources including the Copernicus Marine Service, Copernicus Climate Change Service, SeaDataNet, World Ocean Atlas, World Ocean Database and EMODnet Chemistry.
Coverage, update frequency, licence and citation requirements depend on each provider and selected product.
Access and policies
Open to EOSC users
Anyone may consult this public page and the linked service documentation. EOSC users can enter the Virtual Lab after signing in through EOSC AAI or another identity provider supported by D4Science.
Sign in and generate indicators
No project-membership invitation is required. Use a supported academic or federated identity to access the web application, analytical notebooks and available computing services.
Monitoring, research and decision support
The VLab supports environmental-status assessment, climate and oceanographic research, education, service evaluation and evidence-based ocean-management activities.
Users must review licences, attribution requirements and access conditions attached to input datasets, algorithms and generated resources.
Acceptable Use Policy
Use the environment responsibly, lawfully and for legitimate research, education or innovation activities. Respect security, privacy, intellectual property and computational limits.
Read the D4Science AUPUser Access Policy
The VLab is open to EOSC users authenticating through a supported identity. Access is not restricted to members of a particular project consortium and remains subject to the AUP and operational capacity.
Resource conditions
Integrated datasets, software and documentation retain their own licences, citation requirements and provider conditions. Consult each resource record before reuse.
Responsibility and provenance
Led by the CMCC Foundation
The Marine Environmental Indicators Virtual Lab is scientifically led by the CMCC Foundation and was developed with Blue-Cloud partners and contributing marine-data providers. The scientific team is responsible for the indicator methods, workflows and guidance.
The service is operated on the D4Science infrastructure and is now presented as part of the EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean. D4Science provides the digital environment and technical operation; source-data providers retain responsibility for their resources and conditions.
- CMCC Foundation · VLab lead
- Blue-Cloud scientific partners
- D4Science · Digital infrastructure
- EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean
Blue-Cloud 2026 received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101094227.