As part of the Ocean20 social engagement track and an endorsed activity by the UN Ocean Decade for Sustainable Development, a hands-on workshop based on accessible technologies, data and ocean modelling was developed by Gustav Rautenbach, Jethan d’Hotman, Juan-Jacques Forgus, Tamaryn Morris and Jennifer Veitch, and supported by Nicole du Plessis and Safiyya Sedick, all based at SAEON’s Egagasini Node. 

The aim of the workshop was to empower young scientists, technicians and professionals through capacity development initiatives that support the growth of the Blue Economy.

The workshop was hosted on two occasions in 2025. The first took place during the South African Marine Science Symposium (SAMSS) in Cape Town from 8 to 12 September, and the second during the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) Symposium in Mombasa, Kenya, from 27 September to 3 October. Thirty enthusiastic participants took part in the workshops across the two events, representing a wonderful mix of universities and institutions across the region.

The workshop was conducted over two sessions:

1. Accessible technologies and data

While the definition of low cost is different for everyone and every region, ocean observing technologies are traditionally very expensive and complicated to use. This makes them inaccessible to many people around the world, especially those in low-income regions. As part of these workshops, we spent the morning showcasing some of the accessible ocean technologies, open data platforms and projects where all these technologies are being used. Many (if not all) of these instruments are open source, meaning anyone could build them and at a fraction of the price of the commercial alternatives. One of the mechanisms being developed is that of COLaB (Coastal Laboratory in a Box), which was presented by Professor Greg Cowie of the University of Edinburgh.

Over recent years, the ocean sciences community have taken major steps in making data freely available, accessible, interoperable and reproducible. Despite this, many regions still struggle to access the data. We used this opportunity to showcase some of the data repositories and tools people use to access these data sets. During the WIOMSA conference we also had the opportunity to collaborate with Hub Ocean, where we had a hands-on demonstration of accessing and using some of the data available through this platform.

Beyond low-cost ocean data observation technologies, the workshop also explored affordable technologies for aquatic biodiversity research in both shallow- and deep-water environments. The diverse range of tools discussed included folding microscopes designed to be built for less than 1 USD (ideal for educational purposes) and various camera systems (BRUVs, jump cameras, towed cameras) for studying fish and invertebrate populations in benthic ecosystems.

Innovative, accessible and low-cost alternatives to traditional equipment were also highlighted, leveraging open-source hardware and software. Examples included the PlanktoScope and BlueROV2 systems. A notable presentation featured the open-source Azor drift camera system, which the Egagasini Node and Sea Technology Services (STS) are currently fabricating and adapting for Southern African benthic researchers.

2. Accessible models

Ocean models are invaluable tools that help us better understand the ocean and its influence on weather, marine ecosystems and coastal communities. Although running global ocean models has become relatively affordable in the Global North, it remains financially and technically challenging for much of the rest of the world. Fortunately, most global ocean models are freely available to the public for both private and commercial use. However, even these comprehensive global models have limitations at regional scales. This was beautifully demonstrated by Jennifer Veitch, who also took the opportunity to promote the regional ocean models developed by the Sustainable Ocean Modelling Initiative: a South African Approach (SOMISANA) team at SAEON’s Egagasini Node.

The downscaled models developed by SOMISANA were shown to be more accurate along the coast and geographically relocatable, meaning that anyone can run their own simulation at a fraction of the cost. In addition, by using the workflow provided by SOMISANA during the workshop, participants can develop their own operational forecast systems tailored to their local coastlines.

Gustav Rautenbach then led a hands-on particle-tracking exercise using OpenDrift. During this exercise, attendees configured their own simulations and forward-tracked particles in time and space using both global and regional ocean forecast models, visualising where the particles ultimately ended up. Gustav also set up an oil spill scenario to highlight the usefulness of OpenDrift and to demonstrate the importance of using high-resolution, downscaled forecast products to accurately predict the potential spread of an oil spill.

Acknowledgements

The team would like to thank both the SAMSS and WIOMSA conference committees for the opportunity to host the workshop at their events, as well as all the enthusiastic participants. We also extend our gratitude to SAEON for funding our travel to Mombasa, Kenya.

A final note from the team: “We can’t wait to present this workshop at the next conference!”