Atlantic Interactions b.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:37 Page 1 To be distributed at the 2nd High-Level Industry-Science-Government Dialogue on Atlantic Interactions, Florianópolis, Brasil, 20-21 November, 2017 NOVEMBER 2017 A PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC DIPLOMACY: JUNE 2016 - NOVEMBER 2017 Integrating Space, Climate, Oceans and Data Sciences through North-South / South-North Cooperation Towards the Atlantic International Research Center (AIR Center) miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 1 To be distributed at the 2nd High-Level Industry-Science-Government Dialogue on Atlantic Interactions, Florianópolis, Brasil, 20-21 November, 2017 NOVEMBER 2017 A PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC DIPLOMACY: JUNE 2016 - NOVEMBER 2017 Integrating Space, Climate, Oceans and Data Sciences through North-South / South-North Cooperation Towards the Atlantic International Research Center (AIR Center) miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 2 miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 5 miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 6 miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 8 miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 9 AtlAntic interActions The 1st year of a process of scientific diplomacy 9 the atlantic ocean is central to the economies Gilberto Kassab State Minister of Science, Technology, Inovations and Comunications, Brazil The Atlantic Ocean is central to the economies of its bordering nations and essential for global aspects such as climate, fisheries, agriculture, tourism, transport, mining and oil and gas. Not less important is its role in climate change, especially since it is the least studied ocean, but central to climate patterns in the region and in the world. Brazil has an Atlantic coast that covers approximately seven thousand kilometers and requires adequate management, based on the best scientific knowledge available. The Enlightenment Era mobilized the power of reason and opened the way for philosophy to bring light into darkness, knowledge into the imaginary, allowing the development of science in all its nuances, at a time when great explorers unraveled the Atlantic and broke new worlds and their richness. Today, a blue enlightenment comes to do justice to the Atlantic Ocean, uniting continents for science and breaking new knowledge still hidden from man. Brazil has become an international exponent in oceanic and space science. This national effort is based on the greatness of our scientific pioneers, but it could not be done without international cooperation on issues of mutual interest and benefit. We have recently taken an important step in this construction. The European Union organized the conference A New Era of Blue Enlightenment to foster cooperation in the Atlantic as a whole. I had the honor of signing the Belem Statement with my colleagues Naledi Pandor of South Africa and Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation. The Belem Statement should be a reference for new initiatives of interna- tional cooperation in scientific research in the Atlantic. I also had the pleasure to launch with my South African colleague the South-South Framework for Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the South and Tropical Atlantic and the Southern Oceans. Both instruments will be a sure path to the ideal goal of understanding the "one Atlantic Ocean". Strengthening the international cooperation in the Atlantic, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications has been actively participating in the initiative launched and coordinated by my friend Manuel Heitor, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal: the Atlantic International Research (AIR) Center, demonstrating the efforts that Atlantic countries are making towards integration. In April, the Portuguese organized the first AIR Center summit in the Azores, where representatives from many countries negotiated the proposal for a new international center for research in oceans and space. Brazil is very proud to be co-leader of the initiative, which, among many actions, aims to promote a network of ocean observatories in the Atlantic Islands. We welcome all Atlantic friends to the next AIR Center summit in Florianópolis, which has unique historical relationships with the Azoreans. With Portugal, the ocean that has never separated us will always be a topic of scientific-technological diplomacy. The Portuguese nation has given significant examples, which has been of great value for what is built in the Brazilian model. We should not miss the opportunities for international cooperation that the Atlantic offers us. The ocean bathes us with identity, progress and action. Space is our next frontier of knowledge. The synergy with other nations must be continually sought and improved. It is inevitable to see how much we are linked by the sea and how much the sea offers us in terms of strengthening our societies and economies, just as it is inevitable to think of the new tools that space research gives us and access to this new world. Finally, we have advanced, together with the Academia, in an alliance in science and technology of the Atlantic through intense South-South and South-North scientific cooperation, from Antarctica to the Arctic, from the deep sea to space, an effort never before made and that will serve greatly for the Future We Want. miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 10 miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 11 AtlAntic interActions The 1st year of a process of scientific diplomacy 11 nigeria´s space facilities for the ocean studies Ogbonnaya Onu Minister of Science and Technology, Federal Republic of Nigeria The Federal Republic of Nigeria, in her desire to explore space for peaceful and sustainable development, commenced preparations in the early nineteen eighties through infrastructural and human capacity development. These resulted in the establishment of the National Centre for Remote Sensing (NCRS), Jos, Plateau State, in 1995. By 1999, the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) was established to fast-track the development and application of space science and technology programmes for the socio-economic benefits of Nigeria, particularly in the areas of security, energy, environment, agriculture, communications, ocean studies among other fields. 2. The National Space Research and Development Agency operates six Centres of Excellence and seven Advanced Laboratories. These include: i. Centre for Satellite Technology Development (CSTD), Abuja, FCT; ii. National Centre for Remote Sensing (NCRS), Jos, Plateau State; iii. Centre for Space Science and Technology Education (CSSTE), Ile-Ife, Osun State; iv. Centre for Space Transport and Propulsion (CSTP), Epe, Lagos State; v. Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics (CGG), Toro, Bauchi State; vi. Centre for Atmospheric Research (CAR), Ayingba, Kogi State; vii. Advanced Space Technology Applications Laboratory (ASTAL), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State; viii. Advanced Space Technology Applications Laboratory (ASTAL), Kano; ix. Advanced Space Technology Applications Laboratory (ASTAL), Ife; x. Advanced Space Technology Applications Laboratory (ASTAL), Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; xi. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laboratory, Uburu, Ebonyi State; xii. Aerospace Engines Laboratory, Oka-Akoka, Ondo State; and xiii. Aeronautics Engines Laboratory, Gusau, Zamfara State. miolo 1 • 2 edição.qxp_Layout 1 09/11/17 22:39 Page 12 AtlAntic interActions The 1st year of a process of scientific diplomacy 12 These centres work in constellation to deliver space services to the country and beyond. NARSDA also collaborates with other Research Centres and Universities in and outside of Nigeria to provide space related services. 3. The research activities of NARSDA in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) show the ease of understanding the ocean through the application of space infrastructure. Some of these space infrastructures and their contributions to ocean studies include: The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Data Receiving Programme: The Ground Receiving Station (GRS) has been receiving data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite since March 2006, using its 0.8m Circular Antenna. Presently, the Ground Receiving Station manages these acquired satellite data for cloud analysis and environmental monitoring. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Data Receiving Programme: The real-time TERRA and AQUA data reception from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) satellite commenced in March 2010. MODIS has 7 ocean viewing bands at a resolution of 1 km. These bands are used to derive several ocean colour products such as chlorophyll concentration, sediment and dissolved organic matter concentrations daily. TERRA MODIS data is used to obtain daily chlorophyll charts of the West African regional waters. The daily charts are averaged over a month to produce a grid of regional chlorophyll data. The monthly averaged values are used to study the seasonal variations of chlorophyll concentration in the regional waters. On a daily basis, NARSDA tests for anomalous changes of chlorophyll concentration at each grid point against the corresponding monthly averaged concentration. Data obtained from this research are made available to relevant organizations / institutions for various purposes. Some of these institutions and purposes are: no. orGanizations usaGe 1 Nigeria Air Force Cloud high and moisture 2 Federal University