The Client
The Copernicus Marine Service, through its user engagement programme.
The research conducted in MOLL-e MALONE is supported by the Copernicus Marine Service National Collaboration Programme (2022–2028).
MOLL-e MALONE
A Monitoring and Forecasting Coastal Service in support of cockle and mussel aquaculture for the Arousa Bay, integrating environmental data from Copernicus Marine and local providers as the Coastal Observatory of Xunta de Galicia.
January 2025 - July 2026
Aquaculture sites (cockles and mussels)
Meteogalicia local forecast (Salinity)
The Challenge
The main MOLL-e MALONE goal is to deliver a coastal operational service that integrates information from high resolution models and different local in-situ observational data sources, through an specific User Interface platform to support acuaculture activities in the Ria de Arousa.
The challenge is to ensure that MOLL-e MALONE Service application provides actionable information in zones and specific locations of interest for bivalves’ (cockles and mussels) production, aiming to minimize potential gaps/barriers in the use of environmental data, and its combination with socioeconomical data to support decision-making and a better management of local aquaculture activities.
MOLL-e MALONE aims to improve water quality assessment in the Ria de Arousa, by integrating Copernicus Marine products with coastal models and local in-situ observations provided by the Coastal Observatory of the Xunta de Galicia by its partner institutions: MeteoGalicia, Intecmar and CETMAR. The offering of variables from ocean, atmospheric, and hydrological datasets through the MOLL-e MALONE User Interface will provide actionable insights for bivalve production optimising aquaculture practices, delivering a one-stop shop for environmental data.
Uses Cases
MOLL-e MALONE proposes to develop the following two use cases:
Use Case 1:
- Aim: Analyse relationships between high changes in Temp&Sal and bivalve’s production.
- Impact: Useful info & tool for shellfish resource management.
- Stakeholder: Intecmar
Use Case 2:
- Aim: Build a platform to show relationship between changes in Temp, Upwelling Index, currents, and phytoplacton concentration with mussels growth in Ría de Arousa. Using available mussel growth data (through ropes data from sensors at rafts) provided by TransformAR Project.
- Impact: Useful tool for mussel aquaculture managerment.
- Stakeholder: Centro Tecnológico del Mar (CETMAR).