Coastal and Littoral Environmental Observation in France: Towards an Integrated System Led by National Research Infrastructure ILICO.

Established in 2016, France’s National Research Infrastructure for Coastal Ocean and Littoral Observation (herein “ILICO”) is dedicated to understanding the dynamics of coastal and littoral systems at the triple interface of Continent-Ocean-Atmosphere in both France’s mainland and overseas territories. ILICO ensures the required long-term multidisciplinary observations of these complex environments from coastal dynamics (shoreline, sea level), biodiversity (phytoplankton, benthic macro-invertebrate communities), to physico-chemical composition. To address ecological and methodological challenges ILICO has adopted a holistic approach to (i) better understand the trajectories of these ecosystems subject to local, regional, and global (external) drivers, (ii) characterize both direct and indirect effects of pressures on environmental processes and ecological status, (iii) identify recurring, rare, and extreme events and their impacts, (iv) better predict their evolution in the short and long terms, and (v) disentangle the effects of anthropogenic impacts from natural pressures. ILICO’s nine certified National Observation Services (SNO) deploy an almost exhaustive set of measurement and analysis technologies within coastal ocean and littoral landscapes, covering a wide range of essential oceanic and biodiversity variables. It also comprises certified Community Code coupling physics, biogeochemistry, and biology in order to merge observations and modeling.  The challenge of achieving “Integrated Observations” from multi-platform, multi-variable, and multi-scale sources requires ILICO’s collective skills and expertise to develop and optimize both methods and tools needed to sustainably manage these ecosystems. ILICO ensures the interoperability and quality of observations according to FAIR principles (also including discussions about IA-ready data for Digital Twin of the Ocean), through close collaboration with France’s e-infrastructure for environmental data DATA TERRA. The presentation with showcase examples that successfully merge ILICO time series from in situ approaches, modeling, and remote sensing for the study of coastal erosion and sea-level rise, biodiversity, toxic and/or harmful algal blooms, and recent heatwaves. The aims are (i) to present the scientific added value of a nationally structured Observation infrastructure within the European and international contexts; and (ii) to highlight how ILICO should provide knowledge for the protection and restoration of coastal environments to those involved in the management and decision-making processes in these environments, with a view to co-constructing the Observation of Tomorrow along the land-coast-ocean continuum at both national and European levels. Beyond its mission to provide Observation data for the scientific research community working on complex coastal ocean and littoral systems and for the Society, ILICO is also a key player (operator) to provide high-quality data to ensure necessary environmental assessments in-line with European directives and regional sea conventions.