The conference will focus on sustainable operational oceanography relating to activities of systematic routine measurements of the seas, oceans and marine atmosphere, together with real-time intepretation and dissemination of the information collected.

The conference will present the progress made since the last conference in Exeter in 2008 and provides an oportunity for many projects to present their results. Scientists, engineers, policy makers and representatives from private companies will have the opportunity to share ideas, problems and success stories. The conference is also a place for European Maritime Policy issues and will also welcome speakers from around the globe who will be participating in the GOOS Regional Forum on 3rd October

"EuroGOOS 2011" is one part of two complementary events on Operational Oceanography in Europe, October 2011. The counterpart is "The Future of Operational Oceanography" in Hamburg, Germany.

Both events cover a broad range of oceanographic topics, but with different foci and intentions. While "The Future of Operational Oceanography" will focus on scientific and technical aspects of Operational Oceanography, the complementary conference on "Sustainable Operational Oceanography" will concentrate on promotion and demonstration of progress. The scientific steering committees of both conferences will tune their programmes, also with the intention to minimise an unavoidable overlap.