Report of initial scope of shared facilities

We will describe a suite of shared facilities including scale, scope, feasibility, and cost. In the first instance these will be the around observations of salinity, nutrients, oxygen, velocity, carbon system parameters and transient tracers, with each led by a parameter expert from within the consortium. While our initial parameter list is based on priority International GO-SHIP parameters and GOOS EOVs we will include refining this list in the scope of work for this task. These shared facilities, which will evolve through the work undertaken in the project, will include:•Capability – associated with specialised analyses (e.g., transient tracers or low concentration nutrient observations) and instrumentation•Certified reference materials for high quality chemical analyses•Training (including virtual, in land-based laboratories and at sea)•Software for Primary quality control of observational data•Best practice (for all aspects of observing and data handling including cruise logistics)•A European Marine Equipment Pool: for sharing equipment that is otherwise unavailable from individual sensors and analytical equipment to containerised labs that are easily transported and mobilisedAn example of software will be produced for the primary quality control of carbon system parameters.