Communication of the impact of climate change in the oceans: knowledge, tools and perspectives

Since 2004, the Media Workshop has brought together weather presenters and scientists from around the world to discuss media coverage of climate issues.

In 2025, as part of “The Year of the Sea in France,” the Media Workshop was held in Nice. Co-organized with Mercator-Ocean International, it gathered over 1,232 participants from 143 countries.

Scientists at the workshop guided participants, including weather presenters, through “digital ocean” systems used to monitor and forecast ocean changes and their effects. They also explained the ocean’s role in the climate system and how its health is declining due to climate change and other human pressures.

Using this shared knowledge, presenters discussed how to best communicate about the ocean and the crucial need to protect it. They also worked on creating media content from real-world events, turning scientific data into visuals for the public.

Labelled ‘la Mer en commun’ (the Sea in Common) by the French Ministry of Ecology, Biodiversity, Forests, Sea and Fisheries, the workshop was sponsored by the Minister herself, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who addressed participants to express her personal appreciation for the importance of their excellent work in conveying key messages about climate change to the public.

Agenda

Friday 6th June 2025 “Diving into the digital ocean”

Moderated by Myriam SEURAT, weather and climate journalist at France Télévisions (France), this session introduced the “digital ocean” as a concept and an operational, science-driven reality. It explained how it integrates innovative in situ and space-based observations with numerical models to monitor and forecast the three-dimensional state and the health of our ocean, from the open sea to the coast, and to deliver digital information services supporting international ocean governance and a sustainable blue economy that preserves the natural capital of the ocean. The session also introduced the coordinated developments ongoing at international level in the framework of the UN Decade for Ocean Sciences and sustainable development 2021-2030, and concluded with an international round table on the applications and benefits of digital ocean services in different parts of the world.

10:30 – Welcome addresses by Christian ESTROSI, Mayor of Nice, Pierre BAHUREL, Director General of Mercator Ocean on behalf of the Copernicus Marine Service and Jean JOUZEL, President of Météo et Climat and former member of the IPCC.

10:40 – Introduction by Alain RATIER Member of the Board of Meteo et Climat & former Director General of EUMETSAT.

10:45 – The Copernicus Marine Service: architecture, observations, models and services by Pierre-Yves LE TRAON  (Mercator Ocean International).

11:15 – The challenge of observing the ocean in three-dimension: Argo and other automated in situ observation system by Virginie THIERRY (IFREMER).

11:35  – Swath altimetry, a revolution in space-based observation of the ocean by Yannice FAUGERE (CNES).

13:30 – Towards multi-scale digital twins of the ocean for simulating “what if” scenarios by Yann DRILLET (Mercator Ocean International).

13:50 – Multi-coupled forecasts: the added value of coupling the ocean and the atmospher by Sarah KEELEY (ECMWF).

14:10 – The digital ocean in the UN Decade for Ocean Science and Sustainable Development: an overview by Adam LEADBETTER (UNESCO/IOC) and Marina TONANI  (Mercator Ocean International).

14:30 – Round table – Future digital ocean applications worldwide.

Moderated by Frédéric CASTEL (Journalist, France) with Pierre BAHUREL (Mercator Ocean International), Sarah KEELEY (ECMWF), Mohan Kumar DAS (National Oceanographic and Maritime Institute of Bangladesh) and Marina TONANI (Mercator Ocean International).

Program in-person only

15:45 – Workshop 1 Communicating in the media on high impact marine and ocean-related events.
Moderated by Patrick de BELLEFEUILLE, weather presenter, climate change specialist (Canada) with Simon van GENNIP (Mercator Ocean International),  Matthieu CHEVALLIER (ECMWF), Lotfi AOUF (Météo-France ) and Hayley EVERS-KING (EUMETSAT).

Weather and climate presenters formed four sub-groups to work with providers of forecasts and satellite imagery on how to communicate in the media on forecasts of high impact ocean-related events (e.g. a marine heat wave, a toxic algal bloom, an extreme sea level event, a tropical cyclone…..) and identified the most relevant digital and imagery products.

Saturday 7th June 2025 “Changes in the climate of the ocean : from evidence to communication”

Day 2 focused on media communication on climate change and the ocean. Built on the sharing of basic scientific knowledge, introduction to relevant ocean data and indicators available from different providers, and presentations of impacts of changes in the state of the ocean on people and marine ecosystems.

Morning session: the knowledge base
Moderated by Helga VAN LEUR, Meteorologist & Ambassador of Climate, Sustainability and Behaviour (The Netherlands). This session communicated key messages from the science community on the role of the ocean in the climate system, including open questions on the decline of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and on the impacts of climate change and plastic pollution on the state and health of the ocean.

10:30 – Introduction byAlain RATIER Member of the Board of Meteo et Climat & former Director General of EUMETSAT.

10:40 – The role of the ocean in the climate system and open questions on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation by Sabrina SPEICH (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace). 

10:55 – The impacts of climate change on the ocean health by Jean-Pierre GATTUSO (CNRS – Sorbonne Université – Iddri).

11:20 – Plastic pollution of the ocean by Daphné LECELLIER (GEOBluePlanet) and Simon VAN GENNIP  (Mercator Ocean International).

11:45 – The state of the ocean in our changing climate: key findings of the 8th Copernicus Ocean State Report by Karina von SCHUCKMANN (Mercator Ocean International).

Afternoon session: media communication on ocean changes and impacts
Moderated by Helga VAN LEUR, Meteorologist & Ambassador of Climate, Sustainability and Behaviour (The Netherlands). This session showcased evidence of changes in the ocean from space-based observations and digital ocean indicators which could be used in media communication, together with information on impacts of such changes on people and marine ecosystems. The session concluded with a round table and open discussion on when and how to communicate on “ocean and climate change”.

13:30 – Changes in the ocean monitored from space: examples from the ESA Climate change Initiativ by Craig DONLON (European Space Agency).

13:50 – Evidence and visualisation of changes in the ocean from digital ocean indicators by Fabrice MESSAL (Mercator Ocean International).

14:10 – Expected impact of climate change on extreme coastal sea level events by Lotfi AOUF (Météo-France).

14:30 – How warming in the ocean impacts people through changing weather and altered ecosystems by Andrew PERSHING (Climate Central, US).

14:50 – Round table – Open discussion on when and how weather and climate presenters could communicate on ”climate change and the ocean”: preferred topics and messages, need for imagery, communication opportunities and possible formats, involvement of scientists.

Moderated by Helga VAN LEUR with Francisca CORTES SOLARI (Philantropie Cortes Solari / Fondation MERI, Chili), Karina von SCHUCKMANN (Mercator Ocean International), Sabrina SPEICH (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace) and Paul GROSS (Meteorologist, Gross Weather US).

Program in-person only

15:45 – Workshop 2 – Transforming digital ocean and climate science products into “media centric” products for communication on ocean and climate change stories.
Moderated by Patrick de BELLEFEUILLE, weather presenter, climate change specialist (Canada) with Ryan FULTON & Kieran HOSKING (Ross Video, US), Fabrice MESSAL (Copernicus Marine Service), Lotfi AOUF (Météo France), Matthieu CHEVALLIER (ECMWF) and Hayley EVERS-KING (EUMETSAT).

This second workshop invited weather and climate presenters, providers of ocean related digital science products and indicators and providers of communication support solutions (Ross Video, TV channels) to discuss how to transform science products and integrate them into graphics systems to support media communication. One goal was to identify top candidate science products for such transformation.

Sunday 8th June 2025 “World oceans day”

Participants were invited to celebrate the World Oceans Day.

To conclude this Media Workshop on an inspiring note, the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Tourist Office welcomed the participants for a day dedicated to discovering the Nice way of life, combining heritage, history and gastronomy organised by the Centre du Patrimoine.