eamnet: europe africa marine network ec fp7 … open fellowship... · eamnet: europe africa marine...

EAMNet: Europe Africa Marine Network

EC FP7 Project: 242379

Deliverable No: D420.1 and D420.2 Work package: WP420

Date: 30/06/2013 Contract delivery due date 40

Title: D420.2 Combined reports of open fellowships reports

WP leader: PML

Author(s): Jennifer Lockett, Steve Groom

Dissemination level (PU=public, RE=restricted, CO=confidential) PU

Acknowledgements

The work described in this report has been partially funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme, under Space Call SPA.2009.3.2.01 International Cooperation

EAMNet FP7 Support Action 242379 D420.1 and D420.2

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Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

2 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................................ 4

3 TABLES OF OPEN FELLOWSHIPS ..................................................................................................................... 6

3.1 Open Fellowships awarded in 2010-11 ....................................................................................................................... 63.2 Open Fellowships awarded in 2011-12 ....................................................................................................................... 73.3 Open Fellowships Awarded in 2012-13 ...................................................................................................................... 8

4 FEEDBACK ON THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME ...................................................................................... 9

5 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................................................................... 11

5.1 Coherence with other Work Packages ....................................................................................................................... 115.2 Lessons Learnt and Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 11

5.2.1 Flights and visas .............................................................................................................................................. 115.2.2 Living expenses ................................................................................................................................................ 135.2.3 Gender balance ................................................................................................................................................ 135.2.4 Resources ......................................................................................................................................................... 135.2.5 Other remarks .................................................................................................................................................. 13

6 FELLOWSHIP REPORTS .................................................................................................................................... 14

6.1 Adesina Adebgie ....................................................................................................................................................... 146.1.1 Trainee Report: Adesina Adegbie .................................................................................................................... 146.1.2 Host Supervisor Report: Simon Holgate, NERC, UK ...................................................................................... 156.1.3 Parent Supervisor: Prof. Larry Awosika ......................................................................................................... 16

6.2 Lazare Akpetou ......................................................................................................................................................... 166.2.1 Trainee Report: Lazare Akpetou ...................................................................................................................... 166.2.2 Host Supervisor: Marie-Fanny Racault ........................................................................................................... 176.2.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Aka Marcel Kouassi .................................................................................................... 18

6.3 Joseph Amollo ........................................................................................................................................................... 196.3.1 Trainee Report: Joseph Amollo ....................................................................................................................... 196.3.2 Host Supervisor Report: Dr Andrew Shaw and Mr Trevor Guymer ................................................................ 206.3.3 Parent Supervisor: Mr Peter M. Mirara .......................................................................................................... 20

6.4 Benedicta Oben ......................................................................................................................................................... 216.4.1 Trainee Report: Benedicta Oben ..................................................................................................................... 216.4.2 Host Supervisor Report: Prof. Ian Robinson and Dr Valborg Byfield ............................................................. 226.4.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Prof Oben Pius Mbu ............................................................................................. 23

6.5 Koffi Yao ................................................................................................................................................................... 246.5.1 Trainee Report: Koffi Yao ................................................................................................................................ 246.5.2 Host Supervisor Report: Catherine Goye ........................................................................................................ 256.5.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Soro Métongo Bernard ......................................................................................... 25

6.6 Julius Ibukun Agboola ............................................................................................................................................... 266.6.1 Trainee Report: Julius Agboola ....................................................................................................................... 266.6.2 Host Supervisor Report: Stewart Bernard ....................................................................................................... 276.6.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Emmanuel O. Lawson ........................................................................................... 27

6.7 Ousmane Diankha ..................................................................................................................................................... 286.7.1 Trainee Report: Ousmane Diankha ................................................................................................................. 286.7.2 Host Supervisor: Dr George Wiafe .................................................................................................................. 286.7.3 Parent Supervisor: Prof Amadou Thierno Gaye .............................................................................................. 29

6.8 Shigalla Mahongo...................................................................................................................................................... 296.8.1 Trainee Report: Shigalla Mahongo ................................................................................................................. 296.8.2 Host Supervisor: Dr Ezekiel N. N. Nortey ....................................................................................................... 316.8.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Semvua I. Mzighani ..................................................................................................... 32

6.9 Brice Mobio ............................................................................................................................................................... 326.9.1 Trainee report: Brice Mobio ............................................................................................................................ 32


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6.9.2 Host Supervisor Report: Stewart Bernard ....................................................................................................... 336.9.3 Parent Supervisor: Prof Affian Kouadio.......................................................................................................... 34

6.10 Tabi Elizabeth Biche ............................................................................................................................................ 346.10.1 Trainee Report: Tabi Elizabeth Biche ......................................................................................................... 356.10.2 Host Supervisor: Stewart Bernard, ............................................................................................................. 366.10.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Benedicta Oben ...................................................................................................... 36

6.11 Anthony Gidudu ................................................................................................................................................... 376.11.1 Trainee Report: Anthony Gidudu ................................................................................................................ 376.11.2 Host Supervisor Report: Steve Groom ........................................................................................................ 376.11.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Moses Musinguzi .................................................................................................... 38

6.12 Imhansoloeva Titocan Mark ................................................................................................................................. 386.12.1 Trainee Report: Imhansoloeva Titocan Mark ............................................................................................. 386.12.2 Host Supervisor: Stewart Bernard & Frank Shillington ............................................................................. 406.12.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Adesina Adegbie ..................................................................................................... 41

6.13 Prince Emeka Ndimele ......................................................................................................................................... 426.13.1 Trainee Report: Prince Emeka Ndimele ..................................................................................................... 426.13.2 Host Supervisor Report: Prof F A Shillington ............................................................................................ 436.13.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Julius Agboola ................................................................................................. 44

6.14 Andriantsilavo Jean Michel Rabary ...................................................................................................................... 456.14.1 Trainee Report: Andriantsilavo Jean Michel Rabary ................................................................................. 456.14.2 Host Supervisor Report: Stewart Bernard .................................................................................................. 466.14.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Dr John Bemiasa .............................................................................................. 47

6.15 Amadi Afua Sefah-Twerefour .............................................................................................................................. 476.15.1 Trainee Report: Amadi Afua Sefah-Twerefour ........................................................................................... 486.15.2 Host Supervisor Report: Dr Brian Salmon ................................................................................................. 496.15.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Dr George Wiafe .............................................................................................. 49

7 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................................................................. 50

7.1 Appendix 1: EAMNet open fellowship announcement ............................................................................................. 517.2 Appendix 2: Sample open fellowship application form ............................................................................................ 53


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1 Introduction

The aim of the EAMNet1 Open Fellowship programme was to build expertise in African Universities and Marine Research Institutes through supporting exchange visits with centres of excellence in Africa and Europe. The fellowships were modeled on the POGO-SCOR Fellowship program under which young scientists from developing countries can study for up to three months in a POGO-member laboratory. The POGO program is currently oversubscribed by a factor of eight but the number of African applicants was quite low. The fellowships were open to any African researcher (either within or outside the consortium) who proposed an area of collaboration relevant to the aims of the network. The fellowships were widely publicised through EAMNet and other mechanisms to ensure a healthy uptake and competition for places. The fellowships provided travel and living costs only for the exchanges (i.e. not including staff costs for the hosting site or the fellow’s institute) so as to be consistent with existing POGO-SCOR fellowships. It was anticipated that travel would cost ~€1000 and living costs ~€1000 per month depending on the country visited. €60,000 was allocated for this task with a maximum contribution of €4,000 per fellowship. Hence, this provided enough budget to support 15 fellowships.

2 Methods

The open fellowship programme was initiated in 2010 with an open call for applications, followed by subsequent calls in 2011 and 2012. The announcements were promoted through the EAMNet website and newsletter and disseminated through the network of partners and affiliated institutes and projects. The 2011 and 2012 calls were made available in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic. The English version of the Fellowship call and the application form are available in appendix 1 and 2 respectively. Each call was issued at least two months before the deadline for submission, allowing plenty of time for interested parties to contact potential hosts and prepare their applications. Once the deadline had passed all of the applications were sent to an international review panel comprising the EAMNet Steering Committee members including Prof Geoff Brundrit (Chair of GOOS-Africa), Dr Justin Ahanhanzo, (UNESCO-IOC, Paris, Coordinator and Team Leader, GOOS-Africa Programme and "UNESCO Cross-cutting project on the Application of Remote Sensing for Integrated Management of Ecosystems and Water Resources in Africa" and Member of the AARSE Board of Trustees); Dr Mark Dowell (EC Joint Research Centre) and Dr Rezah Badal (Mauritius Oceanographic Institute) as AMESD Representative. A scoring system, based on the one used by the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), was used to grade the quality of the proposal, quality of the host, quality/capacity of the parent institute, sustainability, capacity building potential, relevance and whether the subject was a priority area. The responses were combined and an average score identified for each applicant. All applicants that scored above a predetermined threshold were accepted onto the programme.

1 The EAMNet project abstract can be found at www.eamnet.eu


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Sixteen open fellowships were awarded over the life of the project but one was later cancelled by the fellow. All of the fellows were supported by PML staff through the application and planning stages of their placement to arrange travel, accommodation and the payment of their living allowance. The duration of placements varied from three weeks to three months according to the applicant’s availability and requirements. A living allowance, of up to €1,000 per month, was paid to each fellow to cover their accommodation, food and internal travel requirements. The amount of the stipend was allocated based on the cost of living in the country visited as advised by the host institute. The majority of applicants were male with only three females. This gender disparity was recognised after the second call and steps were taken to encourage more female applicants before the final call. This consisted of an article from the first female fellow, Benedicta Oben, being published in the EAMNet newsletter, and, based on Bendicta’s advice, the text of the call was adapted slightly to limit perceived barriers that may discourage female scientists. Following this, two female fellows applied for the final call and were both successful. Although some of the placements proved more challenging than expected, and there are recognised improvements that could be made in the future, overall the programme proved to be a great success and has received very positive feedback from all those involved. A map of the fellowship placements is shown in Fig. 1.

Table 1. Open fellowship placements


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3 Tables of Open Fellowships

3.1 Open Fellowships awarded in 2010-11

Name Parent Host Topics Adesina Adebgie

Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, Lagos, Nigeria

National Oceanography Centre, UK

Sea Level Station Installation, maintenance and data analysis

Lazare Akpetou

Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO) Abidjan

Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK

Implementation of ecological indicators from ocean-colour remote sensing in the Gulf of Guinea large marine ecosystem

Figure 1. Map of Open fellowship placements


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Joseph Amollo

Kenya Meteorological Department, Nairobi, Kenya


Earth observation data and their application to the development and testing of shelf-sea models used for mapping vulnerability to extreme events such as storm surges and tsunamis

Benedicta Oben

University Of Buea, Cameroon


Using remote sensing and satellite based techniques to relate environmental quality data/ocean quality data with potential or actual presence of algal/pathogen assemblages and other pollutants affecting living aquatic resources and human health and their response to climate change

Koffi Yao Centre De Recherches Oceanologiques Abidjan

University of Perpignan, France

Measurements and data analysis of CO2 / Carbonate system in seawater as well as in water quality studies

3.2 Open Fellowships awarded in 2011-12

Name Parent Host Topics

Julius Ibukun Agboola

Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria

University of Cape Town, South Africa

The aim of this study is to analyse the trends of change in some coastal water quality parameters, such as; Chl a, primary productivity, living resources, ecosystem goods and services and management/cultural practices in selected locations using available ground-based and satellite data from coastal systems on the West African coast and to deduce some natural and anthropogenic drivers of observed change

Ousmane Diankha

Laboratory of Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean Simeon Fongang ESP-UCAD, Senegal

University of Ghana

The evaluation of primary production along the Senegalese coast to quantify its impact on the fluctuations in marine species using remote sensed imagery. This study will contribute to the improvement of the management and assessment plan of marine resource for a sustainable development in Senegal.

Shigalla Mahongo

Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute

University of Ghana

The objective is to undertake statistical modelling of mean sea levels along the coast of East Africa to determine and forecast sea level on a regional basis. The variability of mean sea level along the coast is important for marine life, anthropogenic effects and processes such as shoreline erosion.

Brice Mobio

Université de Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire


• Apply Maximum Cross Correlation (MCC) technique to chlorophyll images from MERIS to locate more accurately the area where the eastward Guinea current and the westward sub-current meet. • Develop skills to conduct studies on variability of sea surface temperature, chlorophyll concentration, salinity and fishing, especially in the area where the eastward current meets the westward current on the Ivorian continental shelf. This study will then be extended to the entire Gulf of Guinea to allow a regional study.


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3.3 Open Fellowships Awarded in 2012-13

Name Parent Host Topics

Tabi Elizabeth Biche

Institute de Recherche Agricole Pour le Development (IRAD), Batoke.


Interpreting satellite ocean water quality estimates vis-a-vis in-situ measurements for environmental safety and sustainable fisheries management, such as: Exploring the possibility of using models and satellite

imagery to predict cyanobacterial bloom transport. Learning how to detect and map fronts around the

Cameroon Gulf of Guinea that could be indicators of marine biodiversity hotspots in the region for use in sustainable ecosystem-based fisheries management.

Anthony Gidudu

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK

Time series analysis of MERIS derived geophysical parameters for Lake Victoria.

Imhansoloeva Titocan Mark

Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Nigeria.

MA-RE Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Sea level measurements, data analysis, forecasting and modelling: Visit to tide gauge stations Sea level measurements Evaluating and accessing Earth Observation coastal

altimetry Sea level data processing and analysis Modelling (Storm surge) and predictions

Dr Prince Emeka Ndimele

Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University, Lagos. Nigeria

Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, South Africa

The relevance of remote sensing to biogeochemistry of oceans and other water bodies to understand the dynamics and fate of heavy metals in the aquatic environment.

Paul Ng’ala Oloo CANCELLED

Kenya Meteorological Department, Kenya


Studying the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) in NEMO 1/12˚, a state-of-the-art global ocean model, to understand the changes in currents, temperatures and thermocline depth. Model evaluation will be via comparison of data from the RAMA array, ARGO floats and the sea surface height and temperature data from satellites. This will help us understand and predict the development of the oceanic IOD events, and their impact on the regional weather in East Africa including Kenya.

Andriantsilavo Jean Michel Rabary

Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Madagascar


Analysis of oceanographic data to learn how to manage and monitor seawater and its quality to understand subsequent impacts on pollution and climate change especially in the Mozambican Chanel.

Amadi Afua Sefah-Twerefour

University of Ghana, Ghana


Oil spill detection and mapping to monitor spills and illegal discharges for improved monitoring and management of maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea. Includes learning oil spill detection techniques with different imaging modes of SAR data and the development of techniques to output detected targets into GIS formats.


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Dr Prince Emeka Ndimele

Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University, Lagos. Nigeria

Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, South Africa

The relevance of remote sensing to biogeochemistry of oceans and other water bodies to understand the dynamics and fate of heavy metals in the aquatic environment.

4 Feedback on the Fellowship Programme

For each fellowship placement that took place a report was collected from the fellow, their host supervisor and the supervisor at their parent institute in order to collect feedback on the nature of the placement as well as the usefulness to both the individual and the organisation. A template for this report was provided to all of the individuals concerned, which contained questions on four key areas, phrased slightly differently for the fellow, host and parent.

1. Please provide a brief description / evaluation of activities during the training period 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? (trainee

and parent supervisor only) 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration? (parent and host supervisor) 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.

With regard to question 2, all of the respondents provided positive feedback as to how they will apply their training in their parent institute with most listing how this will be done including; the delivery of training, further research, funding applications, and for one fellow, the assimilation of a targeted remote sensing team. The Supervisors were asked to consider whether the placement would lead to future collaborations between the host and parent institute. All of the responses received were positive stating that collaboration was already underway, would definitely happen or they were hopeful that it would. Soro Métongo Bernard of the Centre De Recherches Oceanologiques (CRO) responded, “Conspicuously yes! We have planned to share students and more, work together on further projects” with regards to their collaboration with the University of Perpignan in France. Dr Aka Marcel Kouassi, also from CRO, commented that the “project got the institutions (CRO and PML) in collaboration”. Dr Ezekiel N. N. Nortey of the University of Ghana responded that collaboration with the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute would “Certainly (would continue). We have already drafted a paper we will be presenting in a conference in Morocco in collaboration with another researcher in South Africa”. Prof Affian Kouadio of Université de Cocody in Côte d'Ivoire responded with “This exchange will lead to future collaboration because we plan to build at University of Cocody a master program in the field of operational oceanography. We will need collaboration with Dr Stewart Bernard and his team to make this program a successful one”.


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Dr Julius Agboola of Lagos State University visited the University of Cape Town under the 2011-12 fellowship call and then supported his colleague to visit the same host in 2012. With regards to whether the fellowship programme would lead to future collaboration with UCT, he told us “I honestly believe it can. However, this will depend on the readiness of the two departments to work together for mutual benefits. It should go beyond exchange programmes among staff, students too should be involved. I will appreciate the support of Europe-Africa Marine Earth Observation Network (EAMNet) in this regard”. All of the individuals were asked to comment on the Fellowship programme. All of their responses were positive with many using the phrases ‘successful’, ‘excellent opportunity’, and ‘relevant’. Recommendations provided through responses to this question have been included in section 1.2 under ‘lessons learnt and recommendations’. A selection of the responses are copied below to summarise the positive appraisal of the programme.

Ousmane Dhianka: “I do not find the best words to express and magnify how this fellowship is helpful and wonderful for the young African oceanographer I am. I think from this fellowship you are helping Africa to build the capacities of the next and future scientist in the use and exploitation of EO data” (visited UG from Laboratory of Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean Simeon Fongang ESP-UCAD, Senegal)

Lazare Akpetou: “excellent opportunity especially for early career African scientists who can build a solid background in Ocean Sciences and Earth Observation” (Visited PML from CRO)

Joseph Amollo: “The EAMNET fellowship programme is appropriate and applicable to the development of research skills and also for future collaborations between various institutions” (visited National Oceanography Centre in the UK from the Kenya Meteorological Department)

Benedicta Oben: “There are few programmes like this which give opportunity to African scientists in the Ocean Sciences to collaborate with their European colleagues thus making EAMNet a unique programme. This should be encouraged as there are potential research breakthroughs that could result and untapped research areas in Africa which could benefit from input of expertise and technology from Europe” (visited NOC from the University Of Buea, Cameroon)

Stewart Bernard: “The fellowship programme is extremely valuable in that it allows direct, concentrated collaborative work between African institutes – such collaborations are the heart of the EAMNet network” (Host supervisor for several fellows)

Catherine Goyet: “I am very pleased with this programme. The communication is excellent. The paperwork is minimum and efficient. It has been a pleasure to participate in this programme” (University of Perpignan, hosted Koffi Yao from CRO)

Dr George Wiafe: “The design and implementation of the EAMNet Fellowship Programme is critically needed on the continent and provides opportunities for exchange between institutions. The University has benefitted tremendously from such a programme. The University of Ghana


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has benefited from two such exchanges and the candidate returned to contribute to research activities in the University” (UG hosted Ousmane Dhinala and Shigalla Mahongo)

Dr Aka Marcel Kouassi: “The EAMNet Fellowship Programme is a great opportunity to the entire Africa continent” (parent supervisor for Lazare Akpetou at CRO)

5 Conclusions

The fellowship programme has enabled EAMNet to extend the network beyond its original beneficiaries, and receiving station recipients to develop links with other scientific institutes in both Africa and Europe. As well as early career scientists who participated as fellows, the programme has developed links with their more senior colleagues and supervisors. Continuation of this network will not only ensure that it is viable and ready to respond to future opportunities to engage with earth observation projects of relevance but also that it is comprehensive. For example, the number of applicants to the fellowship programme grew with each year of the project, as more scientists across Africa were aware of it, if the opportunity arose to deliver this programme again we would be starting from a more extensive contact database which would likely attract more applicants in even the early rounds of the fellowship. This in turn would add value and provide greater scope to the selection process.

5.1 Coherence with other Work Packages

An aim of EAMNet was to provide a coherent approach to capacity building and maintenance in Africa. This was well demonstrated by the example of Dr Lazare Akpetou, Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO), Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Lazare was one of the first year of open fellowships which he undertook at PML. Later he was supported by EAMNet to attend the AARSE 2012 conference where he won best overall presentation! Based in Abidjan he should be able to utilise data processed in WP220 covering his coastal regions and will be able to receive data via the GEONETCast receiver installed at Université de Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire. In fact, several of the fellows were from institutes that have had receiving stations installed as part of the EAMNet project under WP200. The training they have received through their fellowship will support the institute’s use of the receivers and thereby add value to this work package. For example, Mobio Brice of Université de Cocody in Côte d'Ivoire provided feedback that, “The training received will be used to process data from the EAMNet receiving antenna and their analysis for research projects of our institution”.

5.2 Lessons Learnt and Recommendations

5.2.1 Flights and visas

Several of the fellows experienced difficulties obtaining visas for their host country and due to the use of more economical, non-refundable flights this resulted in a considerable financial loss to PML. In


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most cases the flights had to be booked before the visa application could be submitted so that the proof of return flights could be included as evidence. Although every effort was made to ensure an appropriate amount of time was allowed between the submission and the date of the flights, in several cases this was still not sufficient and flights had to be changed or cancelled when visas were not issued on time. The most extreme example of this issue was faced by Ousmane Diankha who originally applied and was accepted for a fellowship placement at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). On learning of his placement he applied for a student visa but this was declined with the reason given that PML is not recognised as an approved training facility. The EAMNet Project Manager in the UK spoke to the UK Border Agency and was advised that Ousmane should apply for a visiting academic visa, which he then did, but this was also declined with no reason given. In total Ousmane applied for the visa three times, having to pay a fee each time, but each time it was declined. Fortunately the Project Manager was able to liaise with other partners in EAMNet and found a suitable placement for him at the University of Ghana so that he could still participate in the programme. However, the flights to the UK, which were required as evidence for his application, had to be changed twice and then eventually cancelled incurring a cost to PML each time. As cancelled flights are not eligible costs from the project we would recommend for future programmes to purchase more expensive refundable tickets in order to avoid this situation. A longer period can of course be left between the date of the flights / placement and initiation of the visa process but as the visa process is variable, depending on country, this still wouldn’t guarantee that it is ready in time and the dates of the placement must also fit in with other work commitments, particularly for the host institute. Furthermore, the use of refundable flights will avoid losses if fellows cancel their trip a few weeks before the placement. This happened with Paul Oloo who was due to visit NOC in April 2013. All arrangements had been made for his placement and his visa had been issued but just a couple of weeks before his flight he decided that he wished to cancel the placement. Money was also lost on flights when fellows missed their departures due to family issues, for example, Mobio Brice was due to fly to Cape Town for his placement at UCT on 3rd March 2012 but due to a family emergency he arrived late and missed the flight, which had to be rebooked a few days later. As well as the loss of money incurred by PML these changes also caused considerable extra work than had originally been envisaged to manage the fellowship programme. We recommend that future fellowship programmes consider the additional cost in both personnel and travel expenses that are caused by issues that occur (visas or family situations) that affect the fellow’s ability to travel on certain dates. Whilst we recognise that refundable flight tickets will add a considerable cost to the fellowship programme we feel that this is necessary to avoid heavy losses to the institute delivering the programme. If the EC’s eligible costs criteria could be adjusted to allow for cancelled flights to be claimed, where appropriate evidence was provided, this would eliminate the need for refundable tickets to be purchased.


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5.2.2 Living expenses

In order to pay the living allowance to the fellow, the intention was to transfer the full payment directly to the fellow’s bank account in order to limit bank fees and ensure the fellow was able to manage their own budget. However, this presented challenges for some of the fellows whose bank accounts could not accept international money transfers or who could not access their account in their host country due to banking restrictions. In all cases where this occurred the living allowance was paid to the supervisor at the host institute so that they could provide the money in cash to the fellow on their arrival. Although this resolved the issue it did place an additional burden on the host supervisor. Future programmes should consider the best approach to transfer money to African fellows and ensure time is permitted for the fellow to make any necessary arrangements with their bank and / or host supervisor. Host institutes that are project partners, such as UCT, could have been allocated their own budget for funding open fellowships and would therefore have been able to manage this aspect themselves to ensure a more streamlined approach.

5.2.3 Gender balance

A disparity in the gender of the applicants was recognised and addressed during the project. Future programmes should consider this as a potential issue at an early stage and incorporate ways to encourage female scientists and seek advice from previous female fellows that can offer an increased understanding of potential cultural barriers.

5.2.4 Resources

In terms of the delivery of the fellowship placement at the host institutes, future programmes should consider the significant commitment that is required to host a fellow and plan for this allocation of resource before the fellowship takes place. There is a considerable variation in the level of support required depending on the existing skills and background of the fellow so that in some cases they carried out their visit with minimal support required but often candidates with less experience needed more assistance. Host institutes should plan for this aspect when applications are made to the programme and if necessary recommend additional training that can be carried out before their placement to better prepare the fellow. Dr Stewart Bernard of the University of Cape Town reported, “the fellowships are most valuable to researchers that have already established some competency in the marine sciences. Candidates who have no experience of Earth observation and programming should be guided towards introductory courses such as the JRC/EAMNet two week course to establish momentum – otherwise they take up more time than is feasible in one-on-one basic teaching”.

5.2.5 Other remarks

There is also a disparity in ability between the parent institutes which has implications for the fellow and their opportunities to apply their knowledge and continue training after the placement. Future programmes should consider approaches that can support the parent institute to develop their capabilities so that they can continue to support the fellow and capitalise on the training received. This recommendation is supported by comments received from Dr John Bemiasa of the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Madagascar, “In terms of initiative, the training is very important for


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developing institutions. Acquiring knowledge and skills on oceanographic data management is a key issue when dealing with marine and coastal zone management. But another challenge is how to make trained people useful for his institution? In other words, how to keep them effectively within the institution? These questions have been raised, because most of the trained persons are gone for “greener grass” after they have been trained. The program should also focus on how to equip the parent institution (not the person!) in terms of toolkits (software used during the fellowship and other equipment). Perhaps, this will make difference in terms of institutional capacity building.”

6 Fellowship Reports

Reports below are only lightly edited to improve English comprehension: no attempt was made to change the meaning of the reports

6.1 Adesina Adebgie

Name of Trainee: Adesina Adegbie, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research Supervisor (Parent Institution): Prof. Larry Awosika Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr. Simon Holgate, National Oceanography Centre, UK Dates of Training: August 1-30, 2011 Subject of Training: Sea Level Station Installation, Maintenance and data Analysis

6.1.1 Trainee Report: Adesina Adegbie

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: I was taught how to setup sea level stations and how to install acoustic tide gauges such as the Kalesto tide gauge and the LCD gauges in the stations. Keeping the tide gauge running (maintenance) was a major issue that was seriously discussed. I was also given instructions on the installation and maintenance of pressure sensors. Levelling of equipment (Radar and pressure sensors) to mean sea level was among the topics addressed. Introduction to basic R Console programming and sea level data analysis was taught by Dr. Simon Holgate. I was shown how to compare sea level data from different stations and the possibility of using these data for storm surge modelling. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? i) Setting up of sea level stations i) Installation of tide gauges (radar and pressure sensors). ii) Maintenance of tide gauges. iii) Firmware /software update for absolute real time data transmission. iv) Introduction to tide data analysis and programming. v) Tidal data interpretation and modelling. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.


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The programme was a successful one. It reveals that there are more things to do in the areas of sea level measurement and data gathering for global change in my country. There is need to establish more tide gauges along the coastline of Nigeria. Data analysis and interpretation is essential and should be an integral part of sea level measurements. The promise by the host institution to train a scientist to a Masters Degree level in modelling of storm surges is highly welcomed and will be appreciated. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. Attach

receipts for all major expenses. My allowance was mainly spent on food of which in most cases I did not receive any receipt. However some of the receipts for my shopping from the stores are attached.

6.1.2 Host Supervisor Report: Simon Holgate, NERC, UK

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. • Installation of remote sea level station and techniques for long-term operation • Benchmarks, dipping and levelling training • Processing and analysis of sea level data • Tide gauge assembly practice in the laboratory and visit to UK Tide Gauge Network Station at

Holyhead 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Sina was an enthusiastic student during the month that he was visiting us. He was very interested in the possibilities for sea level work in Nigeria. Sina also gave an interesting presentation to staff here in Liverpool on the work of Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research. During the visit we were able to liaise through Sina with his colleagues at NIOMR which resulted in solving a number of problems with the existing tide gauge in Lagos and enabled data to be successfully transmitted to the real-time data centre. Following this training we feel confident that, with our continuing support, Sina and his colleagues will be able to install and maintain further gauges and that the utility of the data collection will increase further through applications such as storm surge modelling. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes. We are continuing to work with Sina to ensure that the tide gauge in Lagos is repaired and maintained. We are also supporting Sina in the installation of more tide gauges along the Nigerian coast. We are also exploring how to fund a small project to demonstrate the possibilities for storm surge modelling in Nigeria. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The Programme worked well though only because we were able to obtain additional funds from IOC. The amount of the Fellowship was wholly inadequate to meet the reasonable expenses of the student. Liverpool is far from an expensive city but even uncatered student accommodation out of term time costs £25 per night. I would be hesitant to take up another Fellowship in the future without further, better funding.


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6.1.3 Parent Supervisor: Prof. Larry Awosika

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. The training was very useful to our research programme: coastal erosion and ocean dynamics, climate change and sea level rise 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? Coastal erosion and ocean dynamics and climate change and sea level rise studies 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? Yes 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship was very useful at it provided the opportunity for Dr Adegbie to undergo a much needed training on tide gauge installation, tidal data processing and interpretation and application of tidal data for coast management and hazards.

6.2 Lazare Akpetou

Name of Trainee: Lazare Kouame Akpetou, Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO), Abidjan Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr Aka Marcel Kouassi Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr Marie-Fanny Racault, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK Dates of Training: 28 July-28 October 2011 Subject of Training: Implementation of ecological indicators using remote-sensing data in the Gulf of

Guinea LME (GCLME)

6.2.1 Trainee Report: Lazare Akpetou

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: Implementation of ecological indicators requires processing of Remote Sensing data. Thus, the project was conducted in the Remote Sensing Group at PML which provided me training on remotely sensed Chlorophyll, Primary Production, Phytoplankton Functional Types and Sea Surface Temperature data. The activities consisted in analysing those data in order to characterise variability in chlorophyll biomass, primary production, and the conditions of the change. Subsequently, phytoplankton phenology was estimated and studied as a possible indicator of ecosystem health in the GCLME and furthermore to assess the influence of variability in phytoplankton growth on fish stocks in that area. The results on phytoplankton phenology in relation with SST, which were obtained during this training period, are in the process of being written. We are aiming to submit a paper to a peer-reviewed journal. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? I gained a practical use of Remote sensing data as a tool to help monitoring the pelagic areas of the GCLME. I’m going to apply that expertise to our programme at my home institute. This expertise on remote-sensing data is highly valuable as it will allow me to supplement our database (chlorophyll, nutrients, Temperature, Salinity...) collected from the inland waters to conduct various projects.


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Satellite data will be downloaded from EAMNet interface, NASA website and alternatively from GEONETCast Network if the internet connection is not strong enough. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme is an excellent opportunity especially for early career African scientists who can build a solid background in Ocean Sciences and Earth Observation. Its objective emphasizes on the use of Remote Sensing data which, even though it could not replace in-situ data collection for now, still represent a very promising alternative to promote the participation of the African continent to the monitoring of the world ocean. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. During my stay, I lived in an accommodation (£ 75 / week). I paid for my food (£ 300 / month), telephone (£ 20 / week) and some extra expenses (£ 30 / week). Some receipts are attached to the present report.

6.2.2 Host Supervisor: Marie-Fanny Racault

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. Understanding of remote-sensing data; retrieval and processing of available remote-sensing data (i.e. chlorophyll, photosynthetically active radiation, sea-surface temperature, primary production, PHYSAT) ; study and understanding of ecological indicators concepts; working with a Linux workstation; learning of remote-sensing data visualisation tools such as ferret; familiarisation with computer programming in python; data analysis; implementation, study and analysis of a selection of ecological indicators (i.e. annual phytoplankton production, phytoplankton functional types, amplitude of spring bloom, timing of spring bloom). 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Dr Akpetou is a chemical oceanographer by training and had limited exposure to programming and use of remote-sensing data before coming to PML. During his fellowship, Lazare learned to use data visualisation tools and thus was able to make his own scripts to analyse large sets of data (10 years of weekly data at 9km resolution). Lazare progressed rapidly in his understanding of remotely-sensed data; he was eager to learn and showed dedication to his project. Lazare also interacted with other fellows at PML whose expertise were very relevant for his project. He successfully implemented a selection of ecological indicators in his region of interest. Overall he made an original contribution to estimating phytoplankton phenology along the 3,000 m coastal isobaths, and was able to relate some of the observed interannual variability in phenology with changes in SST. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Collaboration will carry on following this fellowship as Lazare is planning to write a publication about the phytoplankton phenology and SST relationship that he has demonstrated during his stay at PML. Lazare wishes to analyse this results further and develop collaborative projects on other ecological indicators that he did not have time to implement during his 3 months fellowship. In his home institution (Centre Recherche Oceanologique, Abidjan), Lazare also aims to transfer knowledge on ecological indicators, use of remote-sensing data and visualisation tools. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.


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The program showed to be very beneficial to Lazare and should results in knowledge transfer in the home institution of the trainee. It was also a positive and stimulating experience for the host supervisor. EAMNet staffs at PML were very helpful and supportive for logistic support. At the end of his stay, Lazare gave a seminar about his results in front of the PML science staff. The trainee beneficiated a lot from this as it helped him to organise and summarise his results and he could practice speaking in front of a scientific audience. The seminar was an excellent mean to engage/attract fellows from the host institution to see what the trainee has achieved, and thus promotes EAMNet fellowships to the scientific community.

6.2.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Aka Marcel Kouassi

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. Dr Lazare Akpetou presented the results of the training at PML once back at CRO. The results showed a good estimate of the health of the Gulf of Guinea. That was obtained through programming for the use of remote-sensing data. He exhibited with a certain ease the visualisation tools (Ferret, Python) used for the training. Interestingly, we noticed that he’s got much knowledge and skills during his fellowship period at PML. Thus, he’s representing a great opportunity for students and young scientists to build a solid career in Oceanography at CRO. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? The influence of the ecological indicators Lazare studied through variation of chlorophyll, primary production, photosynthetically active radiation, sea-surface temperature, is being assessed on fish stocks in the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, we’re planning a capacity-building in programming and in the use of visualization tools. Lazare is keen to share his knowledge with the personnel of CRO. That programme will allow the institution to investigate the gulf of Guinea and inland waters since we can download remote-sensing data and visualize images. More ecological indicators are going to be implemented in addition to Lazare’s results. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? A paper is being written to be submitted to a peer-review. That project got the institutions (CRO and PML) in collaboration. Furthermore, others tasks as retrieval of remote-sensing data and programs for the study of the entire Gulf of Guinea will deepen this collaboration. Technical assistance could be asked to PML in building a local data base at CRO. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The EAMNet Fellowship Programme is a great opportunity to the entire Africa continent. Especially for my institution which faces many technical and financial limitations in the progress of its programme. In addition to deepen knowledge of young students and scientists, it gets Southern and Northern institutions in collaboration. The use of remote-sensing through this fellowship is likely an update of research in Africa. With respect to all those reasons, the EAMNet fellowship is a good programme to be encouraged for Africa.


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6.3 Joseph Amollo

Name of Trainee: Joseph Odhiambo Amollo, Kenya Meteorological Department, Nairobi Supervisor (Parent Institution): Mr Peter M. Mirara Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr Andrew Shaw and Mr Trevor Guymer, National Oceanography

Centre, UK Dates of Training: 24/08/2011 – 12/12/2011 Subject of Training: Earth Observation data and their application to the development and testing of

shelf-sea models used for mapping vulnerability to extreme events such as storm surges and tsunamis.

6.3.1 Trainee Report: Joseph Amollo

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: The activities during the training began with a visit to Liverpool NOC where I held discussions with several key personalities:

a) Discussed with Chris Wilson on different types of shelf sea models (Ocean, Surge and Tsunami) to assist Kenya Meteorological Department Marine and Tsunami Services in adopting models for coastal vulnerability assessment.

b) Steve and Liz Bradshaw took me through the quality control of the tide gauge data. c) I was also introduced to the PSMSL/GLOSS – IOC manuals and the relevant websites for

training. d) Discussed with Kevin Horsburgh about the tide gauge models applicable to Kenyan coast surge

and flood forecasts. e) Discussed with Jeff Pugh and Pete Foden on the hardware requirements for modelling.

At the Southampton NOC, the following activities were carried out: i. Retrieval of tidal gauge data from the University of Hawaii Sea Level Centre and PSMSL

websites and processing of the tidal signals and residuals. ii. Analysis of the sea level extremes and trends for some tidal stations in the Western Indian

Ocean region. iii. Wind vector analysis and correlations with the extreme sea levels to determine the

influence of the winds on surge and flood frequencies and severity. iv. Also attended remote sensing lecture on the introductory remote sensing of the ocean

observations. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? The training will enable the Kenya Meteorological Department to improve the sea level observations, analyses for the extreme events and set up a model for the Kenyan coast Surge and flood forecast in collaboration with National Oceanography Centre and other relevant organizations for early warnings. Some of the results obtained during the training require further work, like further studies to understand how monsoon winds and the reversible monsoon currents interacts with tides and influence sea level in the region and also the sea surface temperatures contributions to the variability in time. This is an area where research collaboration with NOC is necessary. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.


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I am grateful for the opportunity I was given by EAMNet to assess the vulnerability of our coastal region to extreme events and ocean related disaster. The training and skills that I have acquired will be of a greater benefit to not only the Kenyan coastal community but to a wider Eastern African coastal and vulnerable community. The EAMNET fellowship programme is appropriate and applicable to the development of research skills and also for future collaborations between various institutions. It is therefore necessary that the scheme be promoted to various countries to enhance scientific research applications to create awareness and protection of the vulnerable environmental features. The scheme should in future consider the rising costs of living in various parts of the world and categorize them appropriately for the trainees to accomplish their obligations at the host institutes without much financial constraints. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. Please see the attached receipts for your information about the expenditure of the contribution towards my living expenses during the fellowship

6.3.2 Host Supervisor Report: Dr Andrew Shaw and Mr Trevor Guymer

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. The research project that Joseph worked on during his stay involved examining hourly tide gauge observations within the vicinity of the Kenyan coastline to determine sea level extreme events. His work involved tidal analysis, programming (in MATLAB) and interpreting the results. He also analysed some local wind data from three sites close to the tide gauge locations. He finished the work and got some nice results. In addition, he also had the opportunity to meet various experts in the field of sea level and shelf seas research. During his stay at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, he attended two courses, on ocean remote sensing and MATLAB, both run by the University of Southampton. 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Joseph fitted in well here at the National Oceanography Centre. I do not wish to comment on his performance, because he is a visiting fellow, not a student. This question is not appropriate for this fellowship. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, Joseph is doing more post graduate studies in the New Year and it is hoped that we will be in contact with him for many years to come. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. This fellowship programme gave the opportunity for Joseph to come to the United Kingdom for training. This fellowship has inspired Joseph to do post graduate studies in the New Year and we hope that he will become a key contact in Kenya in the years to come for cooperative research.

6.3.3 Parent Supervisor: Mr Peter M. Mirara

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received.


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Mr Joseph Odhiambo on behalf of the Kenya meteorological department received useful training on sea level data processing and analysis with a view to assessing the vulnerability of the coastal region to storm surges and flood frequencies and severity. This training and skills acquired are relevant and applicable to not only the Kenyan coast but to a wider coastal region of the East and Southern Africa in the western Indian Ocean which is densely populated and vulnerable to storm surges and floods. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? The training will enable the Kenya Meteorological department assess the vulnerability to the coastal community to the natural disasters e.g. floods and establish mitigation measures and also develop an efficient and timely forecasting system to minimize the losses that might arise due to the hazards. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? The exchange is very important to our Organization and to the host institution and will receive more support from us to strengthen the ties and collaboration for the future benefit in terms of research between the two organizations and any other relevant organization. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship is relevant and useful in promoting research skills to the less developed nations and also improving the relationships between nations. It should therefore be extended to various nationalities for wider research applications.

6.4 Benedicta Oben

Name of Trainee: Dr Benedicta Oben, University Of Buea, Cameroon Supervisor (Parent Institution): Prof Oben Pius Mbu Supervisor (Host Institution): Professor Ian Robinson and Dr Val Byfield, NOC, UK Dates of Training: 11 September – 09 December 2011 Subject of Training: Development of lectures and hands-on training material in the applications of

remote sensing to fisheries and hydrobiology

6.4.1 Trainee Report: Benedicta Oben

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: Activities involved mostly:

a) Attendance of postgraduate lectures and practical sessions on Ocean Remote Sensing by Professor Ian Robinson

b) Extensive use of the library for the study of downloaded publications on subjects related to Ocean Remote Sensing especially as applied to ocean biology

c) Development of outlines for lectures and two computer practicals for the new course, on (i) remote sensing of the dynamics of the tropical Atlantic and (ii) applications of remote sensing to studying productivity in the Gulf of Guinea (both to be completed in collaboration with host supervisor).

d) Attendance of University/ NOCS informal/ formal seminar sessions of interest


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e) Presentation of a seminar on my contributions to marine biology/ toxin studies along the Cameroon coast of the Gulf of Guinea.

2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution?

a) A new course will be developed in the near future on ‘Ocean Remote sensing and applications to marine biology.’ However prior to its full development, the material developed here shall be infused into appropriate existing courses in my home department.

b) We shall initiate further research in this area. c) We shall attempt to seek funds to assist us in procuring a GeoNetCast satellite data receiving

station. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.

a) My host supervisors were friendly and very helpful. b) There are few programmes like this which give an opportunity to African scientists in the

Ocean Sciences to collaborate with their European colleagues thus making EAMNet a unique programme. This should be encouraged as there are potential research breakthroughs that could result and untapped research areas in Africa which could benefit from input of expertise and technology from Europe. I have made contacts with people interested in collaborating with me in both the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate Group and in the Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems group at NOCS. If given the opportunity, there are a number of potentially productive research areas we can work together on in future.

4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. Living expenses were spent mostly for transportation, communication, providing household items like toiletries, pots and plates; food, personal hygiene items, medication and lots of warm clothing. Receipts have been attached.

6.4.2 Host Supervisor Report: Prof. Ian Robinson and Dr Valborg Byfield

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. The activities taking place were in support of two main aims: (i) to make Benedicta more familiar with marine applications of remote sensing, and (ii) to support her in the development of an MSc level ocean remote sensing unit for use in her own teaching back in Cameroon. Activities undertaken towards the first aim include:

• Giving a seminar on her research in Cameroon to the NOC 'POETS' seminar series (POETS= Processes, Observations, Experiments, Theories and Simulations)

• Interacting with NOC staff to discuss topics of joint interest Key activities towards the second aim include:

• Attending lectures and computer practicals in Ian Robinson's MSc unit on Ocean Remote Sensing

• Outline planning of the new MSc unit for use in Cameroon, • Working with Ian Robinson to adapt/modify his lectures for use in the new Cameroon course • Developing an outline for two computer practicals for the new course, on (i) remote sensing of

the dynamics of the tropical Atlantic and (ii) applications of remote sensing to studying


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productivity in the Gulf of Guinea. (These Bilko lessons will be completed in collaboration with NOC after Benedicta's return to Cameroon)

• Taking advantage of the National Oceanographic Library (NOL) to carry out an extensive literature review with a view to providing references to accompany other material for the new MSc course.

2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Benedicta has been a valuable addition to the group while here. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes. Benedicta has made a number of contacts at NOC, both in the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate Group (where she was based) and in the Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems group, where a number of people are interested in her research activities in Cameroon. Some of the ideas discussed are quite likely to lead to joint proposals should suitable funding opportunities arise. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme provides a good opportunity for African and European scientists to work together on topics of joint interest. In many cases, as here, there is a two-way sharing of expertise; with both host and visitor learning much from the fellowship. These are perhaps the instances that are most likely to lead to fruitful collaboration in the future.

6.4.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Prof Oben Pius Mbu

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. As reported to us by the trainee, the training envisaged in applying for the fellowship was adequately delivered through the lectures; and the hands-on training material developed will be useful. We expect that the knowledge acquired will have a multiplier effect when employed in the training of the younger generation of students in the marine sciences and related disciplines. It will also provide an opportunity for the initiation and enhancement of research in the area of ocean remote sensing. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? As already stated, it is hoped that the knowledge acquired will be employed in the teaching of marine science students and consequently a new course more fully dedicated to Ocean Remote Sensing and its applications could be developed. We shall initiate research related to the subject and hope to begin a process of seeking assistance for the procurement of our own GeoNetCast satellite data receiving station. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? We hope to build on the relationships initiated by Dr Benedicta Oben for future productive collaborations with the host institution and its allies, having the assurance that this would be a worthwhile venture. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. This is a unique fellowship programme given that there are not many such programmes providing opportunity for African scientists in the Ocean Sciences to collaborate with European colleagues. The training acquired provides a platform for knowledge transfer in areas of recent development in the ocean sciences. The continuity of such programmes could also lead to the discovery of hitherto


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unrecognised areas of research breakthrough in Africa uncovered by the input of European expertise and technology.

6.5 Koffi Yao

Name of Trainee: Yao Koffi Marcellin, Centre De Recherches Oceanologiques, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire Supervisor (Parent Institution): Soro Métongo Bernard Supervisor (Host Institution): Goyet Catherine, University of Perpignan, France Dates of Training: November 2011-January 2012 Subject of Training: Measurements and data analysis of CO2/carbonate system in seawater

6.5.1 Trainee Report: Koffi Yao

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: During the training period, the activities were:

a) Bibliography of the Mediterranean Sea surface water properties, b) Recovery of datasets for hydrographical and carbonate properties , c) Put the various data sets in a single file format d) Analyse the data (computation of various properties; graphs for visualisation of the results) e) Conferences, f) Learning of technical measurements of the total alkalinity and total inorganic carbon in seawater samples, g) Start to write a scientific paper describing the results of the data analysis.

2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? Several studies can be found on the uptake of CANT (anthropogenic CO2) in the Atlantic Ocean but the plausible carbon chemistry changes undergone by its waters, especially in the area close to West Africa need to be explained. Therefore, it is critical to implement more projects related to the impact of the regional and anthropogenic pressures on this environment. First and foremost, my short term objective is to complete the writing of the scientific paper that we have started once my arrival in my country. Second I am highly interested in taking advantage of the wealth of skills and work experience I have gained during this training to determine, model and to understand the distribution of the carbonate system key properties like CT (total inorganic carbon), AT (total alkalinity), CANT (anthropogenic CO2) and pH in the Atlantic Ocean. The mastering of data interpolation procedures, along with the knowledge of computing various carbonate properties and graphs for visualisation, and the collaboration with my supervisor’s institute are an asset to perform this research. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. This fellowship programme has improved tremendously my understanding of ocean’s response to the accumulation of anthropogenic CO2 and its direct consequence, i.e., the acidification of ocean waters. I encountered a versed host researcher in the field of chemical and physical oceanography. We struggled all time to develop novel techniques of data calculations in order to better understand and explain our data, which was pretty tough, but at the end we were happy.


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I am indebted to my supervisor Pr Goyet Catherine for her skilful supervision. The financial support of EAMNet is greatly appreciated. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent.

Accommodation: 438 ×4= 1750 Euros Internet and telephone fees (home): 87 Euros Transport fee from Paris Charles De Gaule to Paris Orly Airport: Transport fees: 30 Euros Living expenses: 1050 Euros

6.5.2 Host Supervisor Report: Catherine Goye

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. During the training period, the activities were:

a) Bibliography of the Mediterranean Sea surface water properties, b) Recovery of datasets for hydrographical and carbonate properties, c) Put the various data sets in a single file format d) Analyse the data (computation of various properties; graphs for visualisation of the results) e) Conferences, f) Learning of technical measurements of the total alkalinity and total inorganic carbon in seawater samples, g) Start to write a scientific paper describing the results of the data analysis.

2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. It was a genuine pleasure to have Mr YAO KOFFI MARCELIN visiting us and working with us in our laboratory IMAGES (Institut de Modelisations et Analyses en Geo-Environnement et Santé) at the University of Perpignan. He worked very hard. He did an excellent and painstaking job to recover and format all the various available data sets. The communication was excellent to exchange scientific ideas and to test various approaches for the data analysis. I am very pleased with his scientific performance as well as his kindness. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Definitely YES! We do have plans to finish together the paper we started together and to exchange Ph.D. students. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. I am very pleased with this programme. The communication is excellent. The paperwork is minimum and efficient. It has been a pleasure to participate in this programme.

6.5.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Soro Métongo Bernard

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. It was a great opportunity for Dr Yao to improve his capacity building. Seeing the number and the quality of activities done in such a short time, one can obviously appreciate this fantastic work.


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Needless to say, this training has provided valuable data interpretation skills which are vital for his research career. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? We are planning to implement more projects related to the impact of the regional and anthropogenic pressures on the Atlantic Ocean, especially in West Africa. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? Conspicuously yes! We have planned to share students and more, work together on further projects. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The trainee worked hard to deal with his research topic which was very challenging. I greatly appreciate this fellowship programme and I would like to thank EAMNet team for giving us this opportunity

6.6 Julius Ibukun Agboola

Name of Trainee: Julius Ibukun Agboola, Lagos State University, Nigeria Supervisor (Parent Institution): Emmanuel O. Lawson Supervisor (Host Institution): Bernard Stewart, University of Cape Town, South Africa Dates of Training: 9th September- 3rd November 2012 Subject of Training: Ocean Colour satellite data applications

6.6.1 Trainee Report: Julius Agboola

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: My EAMNet Fellowship award offered at the Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town (UCT) was a memorable academic experience from the perspective of good and conducive learning environment with supports from both staff and students of the Departments. At the onset, the pursuit of my research aims and objective at UCT began on a very low key but gradually gained some inspiring momentum which I really look forward to maintaining through future collaborations with colleagues at UCT and ultimately engaging my students in Earth Observation research through teaching and practical exercise when I return to my parent Institution- Lagos State University, Nigeria. Prior to the commencement of my fellowship, I had very little knowledge on the application of ocean colour remote sensing and data processing. I also had no knowledge in the use of Matlab and Python Software. However, during my fellowship period at UCT, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) Aqua level 3 chlorophyll-a concentration ([Chl-a]) and 11 µ daytime sea surface temperature (SST), 4 km resolution data were downloaded from the NASA Ocean Colour Web and analysed for seasonal variability of some biogeophysical variables in the Gulf of Guinea (GG). Images were visualized and regional data extracted on Matlab software using scripts written by my EAMNet advisors. Monthly climatologies of SST and [Chl-a] from 2002 – 2012 were produced. Also, monthly means were produced from the datasets to investigate the inter-annual variability of SST and [Chl-a] in the GG. Results obtained generated some interest as to understanding the drivers of this variability. Although these results could not be validated due to lack of in-situ biogeochemical/physical


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measurement data from the GG, possible drivers of observed variability were deduced from past literature and available ground-based information. It is hoped that further analysis will be carried out and a scientific journal publication produced in near future. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? With the knowledge acquired, I envisage a new dimension in research focus on Earth Observation which is hitherto lacking in my parent institution. It is worth to say that this training has granted me some basics and fundamental knowledge in Ocean Colour Remote Sensing applications and will enhance my practical teaching and research in earth observation as it relates to aquatic science. It is definitely going to be a plus to my academic institution, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. There should be further opportunity for some sort of follow-up to the EAMNet Fellowship for assessing impact and the level of continuity of acquired skill/training. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. The fellowship adequately catered for my housing, transportation and feeding

6.6.2 Host Supervisor Report: Stewart Bernard

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. Julius had little experience of using marine satellite data, and the focus of the fellowship was learning how to acquire and process appropriate data using a test data set from the Gulf of Guinea. Julius therefore acquired ten years of MODIS Aqua level 3 chlorophyll and SST from NASA, with the intention of analysing these data for seasonal variability. He learnt how to ingest, extract, plot and produce regional climatologies and anomalies of data in Matlab, and used these new products to examine inter-annual biogeochemistry in the Gulf of Guinea. 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Julius was a pleasure to have around – he learnt quickly and had a strong focus – helped by his experience in marine science. He was able to demonstrate a good basic proficiency in the analysis of earth observation data by the time he left. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, there are plans to take the work to a publishable state. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme is extremely valuable in that it allows direct, concentrated collaborative work between African institutes – such collaborations are the heart of the EAMNet network.

6.6.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Emmanuel O. Lawson

Not Provided


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6.7 Ousmane Diankha

Name of Trainee: Ousmane Diankha, Laboratory of Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean Simeon Fongang ESP-UCAD, Senegal

Supervisor (Parent Institution): Prof Amadou Thierno Gaye Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr George Wiafe, University of Ghana Dates of Training: September-December Subject of Training: Using remotely sensed thermal data for fisheries management in Senegal

6.7.1 Trainee Report: Ousmane Diankha

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: My stay in Ghana was fruitful; I have gained a lot of experience in processing EO data using MATLAB. I have improved my knowledge in fisheries management. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? This training is just beneficial for my home institution. I am going to share with my colleagues what I have learned in Ghana. It is going to help to build a Remote-Sensing working group in our Laboratory. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. I do not find the best words to express and magnify how this fellowship is helpful and wonderful for the young African oceanographer I am. I think from this fellowship you are helping Africa to build the capacities of the next and future scientist in the use and exploitation of EO data. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent My living expenses were spent for my food (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc…), for paying my accommodation, my transportation, for calling my family and sometime my supervisor George Wiafe. I have spent the money for buying others items as well. It is worth to highlight that for my food generally I did not receive receipts because I lived on the campus and any receipts were not provided. I will send to you Jennifer by mail the receipts for my expenses, you will receive them soon.

6.7.2 Host Supervisor: Dr George Wiafe

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. • Candidate was introduced to Matlab and guided in developing scripts to extract SST from

satellite imagery • Calculation of upwelling indices from SST data • Analyses of fish data and thermal variation for fisheries management • Preparation of a paper on work carried out

2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Mr. Diankha was a hardworking and focussed student. He needed minimal supervision after being introduced to weekly schedules. He exhibited a high sense of diligence and hard work toward his schedules. He was very easy going and a wonderful person to have had around.


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3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? I have great hopes that our two institutions would develop a future collaboration to foster mutual interest. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The design and implementation of the EAMNet Fellowship Programme is critically needed on the continent and provides opportunities for exchange between institutions. The University has benefitted tremendously from such a programme. The University of Ghana has benefited from two such exchanges and the candidate returned to contribute to research activities in the University.

6.7.3 Parent Supervisor: Prof Amadou Thierno Gaye

After his training Ousmane has submitted a very comprehensive report. I was very happy about the capacity developed by Ousmane on remote sensing of fisheries and fisheries management. It is indeed a good experience for my laboratory that helps to develop South-South collaboration. 1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. Very good training 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? We envision using the tools developed by Ousmane for research and also helping the National Center of Oceanographic Research by developing decision support tools using Remote sensing data. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? I hope so; I did meet George Wiafe several years and this was another occasion to share and also find out opportunity to collaborate. We hope to pursue the exchanges 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The Fellowship program is a very unique opportunity for African young scientists and graduates to undertake research. There are not too many opportunities like that.

6.8 Shigalla Mahongo

Name of Trainee: Shigalla Mahongo, Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr Semvua Mzighani Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr Ezekiel N. Nortey Dates of Training: 2 March to 26 May 2012 Subject of Training: Statistical modelling of sea level in East Africa

6.8.1 Trainee Report: Shigalla Mahongo

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period:


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First of all, my supervisor facilitated me to install the latest version of Minitab software in my laptop computer so that I could run it any time even after returning to Tanzania. Minitab is user friendly and it is commonly used in statistical modelling studies such as ARIMA (Auto Regressive Moving integrated Moving Average). I therefore familiarized myself with the software and only on a few occasions did I seek consultation from my supervisor. Apart from the heavy workload of teaching and administrative work as the head of Statistics Department, my supervisor was always there to assist. After installation of Minitab, I started acquainting myself with the ARIMA methodology after being provided with the necessary reference materials, including the key reference on “Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control” by Box & Jenkins. The training that followed after installation of Minitab and initial familiarization with the software and ARIMA methodology consisted of several modules including: 1. Identifying the order of differencing 2. Identifying the numbers of Autoregressive (AR) and Moving Average (MA) terms 3. Estimation of non-seasonal and seasonal ARIMA models 4. Case study on fish catch in Ghana 5. ARIMA modelling of monthly sea level In the last module of sea level modelling, four stations were considered. They included three stations from the western Indian Ocean (Port Louis and Rodrigues, Mauritius and Zanzibar, Tanzania), and one station from the north Indian Ocean (Male, Maldives). However, analysis work for more stations from the western Indian Ocean will be continued while at my parent institution. During the analysis, the last three years of each record were spared in the model formulation for later comparison with the actual observations within the same time period. The results showed statistically good agreement between the fitted and actual observations, indicating that the data were properly modelled. Before the end of my placement, my supervisor and I were able to jointly write and submit an abstract on “Time series modelling of sea level in the western Indian Ocean” for the forthcoming AARSE Conference in Morocco. Our future plan after the conference is to publish our work which also involves a collaborator from South Africa. The publication will be very useful for marine scientists in the western Indian Ocean as it will provide a basic reference on ARIMA modelling of sea level in the region. In fact I am quite motivated after coming across the Supplement Issue on Remote Sensing for Africa in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (2010) which consists of papers presented at the AARSE Conference in Ghana. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? All the practical training modules that I received while in Ghana will be useful in a variety of ways at my parent institution. The ARIMA modelling technique has many useful options and capabilities which, apart from sea level, can be configured for use in a diverse range of other applications. Scientists working on different fields in my institution such as in fisheries are often faced with challenges of modelling and forecasting of their time series data, and at the moment only simple tools are used. Knowledge of the ARIMA methodology can also be used to fill in gaps of various time series data prior to analyses in various scientific studies. The training will also open up new opportunities in time series modelling. This will include for instance the use of ARIMA in analysing ocean Earth observation data that is currently being generated in near real time at my parent institution (via e-station) through the AMESD Project. There are also


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plans for continued collaboration with Dr Ezekiel Nortey on Time Series Modelling not only in Sea Level, but also in various other aspects of ocean Earth observations. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme provides an excellent opportunity for building capacity in ocean EO for scientists in Africa, as well as building of collaboration between and among scientists and participating institutions in Africa and Europe. I would, however, wish to say that the fellowship is probably still not well known at the moment. Current efforts should therefore continue to publicise the programme especially through e-media and various other platforms, thereby making the programme much more competitive. Having benefitted from the fellowship, I will on the other hand join these efforts by ensuring that the next and follow on announcements are circulated widely in Tanzania and the western Indian Ocean region. Otherwise the life in Ghana and at the University of Ghana and the Department of Statistics in general was quite good. I was allocated my own office equipped with internet connection, and the accommodation was quite impressive. As for the stipend, it was quite adequate. However, the terms and conditions of the fellowship programme between EAMNet and the host institution should perhaps be clarified, specifically by elaborating on what it entails by bench fee waiver. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. I spent my stipend on accommodation, food, internal travels, visa extension fee in Accra and other miscellaneous expenses as shown in the invoices that have already been mailed to EAMNet.

6.8.2 Host Supervisor: Dr Ezekiel N. N. Nortey

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. I gave lectures on time series modelling with specific reference to Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) modelling using the Box-Jenkins methodology. Also I introduced the software application using Minitab which I installed for the trainee. I also assigned him a number of readings and specific assignments. 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Very commendable. Mr. Mahongo was very studious and took all lectures and assignments seriously. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Certainly. We have already drafted a paper we will be presenting in a conference in Morocco in collaboration with another researcher in South Africa. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme provides an excellent opportunity for building capacity for scientists in Africa, as well as building of collaboration between and among scientists and participating institutions in Africa and Europe. I would however, wish to say that the fellowship is probably still not very well known at the moment (at least not popular in Ghana where I reside). Current efforts should therefore continue to publicise the programme especially through e-media and various other platforms, thereby making the programme much more competitive. I am also of the view that some support must also be given to those who provide mentoring and lectures on the programme in the form of honoraria.


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6.8.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Semvua I. Mzighani

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. The trainee has acquired very important knowledge on sea level modelling using ARIMA (Auto Regressive Moving integrated Moving Average). Sea level study is of importance not only for Western Indian Ocean where the trainee is doing his PhD, but for all oceans where the climate change has an immerse impact. Therefore, the training will enhance Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) capability of doing research on climate change, which is among the areas of research priority. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? TAFIRI has a mandate of doing fisheries research in Tanzania. Using ARIMA, our institute will be in a better position to forecasting and modelling time series data in different aspects for sustainable use and conservation of fisheries resources. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? The exchange will lead to future collaboration with the host institution as TAFIRI needs to work with different institutions for the benefits of not only the scientists, but also the country at large. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The Fellowship Programme is very useful as it assist the scientist to work in another laboratory. This improves the knowledge of the trainee by sharing skills with the host institution, and also initiate scientific network for sharing knowledge, technology and information.

6.9 Brice Mobio

Name of Trainee: Brice Mobio, Université de Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire Supervisor (Parent Institution): Prof Kouadio Affian Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr Stewart Bernard, University of Cape Town, South Africa Dates of Training: 5th April to 30th June 2012 Subject of Training: Application of Maximum Cross Correlation (MCC) method to MERIS images to

the retrieval of sea surface current of the Ivorian continental shelf (Gulf of Guinea)

6.9.1 Trainee report: Brice Mobio

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: During the training period, we downloaded AQUA and TERRA chlorophyll images to study the Ivorian continental shelf (Gulf of Guinea) coastal processes. After modifying the processing script (made for AQUA data) with the help of Marine Research Institute staff, we were able to process both AQUA and TERRA datasets. Derived current vectors showed the presence of an East-West current (Guinea counter-current) at the surface in the second half of the year. Contrary to what we thought, the convergence area of the two currents (eastward Guinea current and westward Guinea counter-current) is changing randomly from west to east over the surface of the Ivorian continental shelf. In the east of the study area we also observed another surface movement. This movement will be studied by analysis


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of temperature data acquired from MODIS and MERIS sensors and altimetry data. After discussing with specialists of ROMS (Regional Ocean Modelling System), we will complete our study by comparing the results of ROMS applied to the Ivorian continental shelf with our results to get better understanding of Ivorian continental shelf surface movements. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? The training received will be used to process data from the EAMNet receiving antenna and their analysis for research projects of our institution (Centre de Recherche et d’Application en Télédétection of Université de Cocody-Abidjan). We will share the knowledge acquired to our colleagues researchers and teachers, and help to enhance practical lesson about processing of remote sensing data for the training in our institution and also to understand the gulf of Guinea coastal dynamics. With this EAMNet training at Marine Research Institute ((MA-RE) of University of Cape Town (UCT) we will enhance students training through supervision of undergraduate, masters and PhD projects. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. This Fellowship Programme is an excellent way that offers young African researchers the possibility to extent their knowledge to the world of research. It allows capacity building by having access to equipped laboratories and to work with expert scientists in a joint research interest from both Africa and Europe. They have the opportunity to improve themselves in their fields and expand their knowledge by discussing with other researchers. This training at Marine Research Institute (MA-RE) allowed me to acquire experience and make contacts at UCT for future research projects. I hope that this program will give me the opportunity to repeat this successful experience that allowed me to bring knowledge to my parent institution. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent.

MONTHLY EXPENSES = 8000 Rand = 772 Euro 1- Monthly food = 3500 Rand 2- Monthly Transport = 1000 Rand 3-Monthly Accommodation = 3500 Rand


1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. Download and provision of regional MODIS Aqua and Terra data, provision of training and analysis tools to allow application of Maximum Cross Correlation method, analysis of new data to better characterise current variability in the Gulf of Guinea. Establishing relationship with Total (contact Remi Estival) to work towards joint publication integrating in situ data from Total platforms with MCC products. 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Brice performed very well. He quickly established what was needed and could provide him with maximum benefit in the time period (despite language difficulties), and was able to demonstrate within the fellowship period a much improved current characterisation with the inclusion of MODIS Terra data coming from the MRSU


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3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, there are plans to work on a joint publication with University of Cocody-Abidjan, UCT and Total to demonstrate both the value of the new satellite products and the newly available in situ data coming from Total. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme is extremely valuable in that it allows direct, concentrated collaborative work between African institutes – such collaborations are the heart of the EAMNet network.

6.9.3 Parent Supervisor: Prof Affian Kouadio

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. During his stay at UCT, Dr MOBIO undertook research activities related to satellite imagery processing and specially AQUA and TERRA chlorophyll images registered from UCT EAMNet data reception antenna. It means that, when Dr MOBIO will be back home he will be able to download and process imageries that will be acquired from the antenna set up at CURAT from the EAMNet project. The results of the research activities achieved within short period are of great interest because, new knowledge related to surface current in the Ivorian continental shelf were obtained. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? Sea surface temperature and ocean colour are part of our current research activities. So I think that the training received by Dr Mobio fits properly with our needs. In addition, the interaction with the ROMS (Regional Ocean Modeling System) specialist is welcome. With regards to the next step of our research team program which is to move towards modeling It is an opportunity for us. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? This exchange will lead to future collaboration because we plan to build at University of Cocody a master program in the field of operational oceanography. We will need collaboration with Dr Stewart Bernard and his team to make this program a successful one. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. I think that the fellowship program is welcome for mainly two reasons:

i. It is a good opportunity for young researcher to improve their knowledge; ii. It is the best way to increase the network of ocean specialist towards young people.

6.10 Tabi Elizabeth Biche

Name of Trainee: Tabi Elizabeth Biche, Institute de Recherche Agricole Pour le Development (IRAD), Batoke

Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr Benedicta Oben Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr Stewart Bernard, University of Cape Town, South Africa Dates of Training: Nov 6, 2012 to Feb 1, 2013 Subject of Training: Using remote sensing to study the dynamics of phytoplankton population and

comparing them with in situ data collected from the Cameroonian Gulf of Guinea


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6.10.1 Trainee Report: Tabi Elizabeth Biche

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: When I arrived at the University of Cape Town I was asked to give a seminar on the use of remote sensing in the study of Cyanobacteria. I had no background knowledge on developing satellite based harmful algal bloom observation methods for the Gulf of Guinea. I had no remote sensing background knowledge so I presented my PhD proposal. From that time I was given a lot of material to read by my supervisor on the introduction to Earth observation and Mr Christo Whittle gave an introductory lecture on remote sensing. After looking at the best way to help me achieve my aims I was give the topic “the use of ocean colour in Cameroonian waters: an initial assessment of the availability of data” The project was carried out by retrieving oceanographic data from the database and using the Beam software Visat interface to check how correct the satellite estimates are and also the possibility of to improve on the availability of ocean colour data for the estimation of Chlorophyll. My supervisor Dr Stewart Bernard made arrangements for me to go to the Sea Point Aquarium where I met with Dr Grant and Miss Lisa Mansfield who taught me the techniques of inverted microscopy, which I did not know before except the theory. I analysed some water samples I brought from Cameroon for Phytoplankton diversity and concentration. The use of the math work (MATLAB) language of technical computing was introduced and I learnt how to write simple programs in depicting data of monthly chlorophyll concentration and sea surface temperature using monthly averages from the Aqua Modis website. I also established collaborations with researchers for the analysis of toxins for my PhD work and was able to get a lot of material for my work from the rich library of the University of Cape Town. While in Cape Town, Professor Shillington took us to the Partnership for Observation of Global Oceans (POGO) conference where I met with Dr Wiafe George from the University of Ghana with whom I had discussions on how we could collaborate in carrying out research in the Gulf of Guinea. I have also arranged for a receiving station to be installed in Cameroon. Finally I gained new insights on my work after speaking with people carrying out research in related fields for example Hayley Evers King and Josephine Atkins. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? I hope to go a step further with my PhD work by adding remotely sensed data to the work (in situ data) and with the help of other researchers in the University of Buea Cameroon look for a way of making the knowledge acquired so far to passed on to fellow researchers and students. The programming knowledge gained here will go a long way to help me solve problems in related fields of work and also help analyse data for students. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship. The Fellowship programme is quite relevant. The idea that it brings together researchers from different backgrounds makes the whole thing quite interesting. The training would have been more productive if the period was increased to say six months. I shall also suggest that EAMNet establish a receiving station in every country along the coast as this will encourage many students / researchers to go into Marine research which is very important. There is just too much to be done in Cameroon because little or nothing has been done. The few researchers in the country do not even have facilities to carry out their research.


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6.10.2 Host Supervisor: Stewart Bernard,

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. Elizabeth had no experience of earth observation at the start of the fellowship, and was started upon a course of reading, assisted practicals and lectures on the subject. The major focus of the earth observation training was in the acquisition of satellite data, and the use of the BEAM software and Matlab to process and analyse data. She also received training in the use of microscopy for phytoplankton cell counts and phytoplankton taxonomy through Dr Grant Pitcher and Lisa Mansfield at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Elizabeth also made plans to install a GEONETCast receiving station in Cameroon 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Elizabeth was committed and enthusiastic, but her lack of experience in both programming and earth observation meant that a lot of time had to be spent with her to make the fellowship productive. The fellowship was (I hope) of value to her, and she certainly learnt a great deal, but there is a case to be made that short training courses are a much more effective way to train people in such an introductory manner. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, through Pan-African high resolution water quality initiatives such as those being scoped by GMES-Africa. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme is extremely valuable in that it allows direct, concentrated collaborative work between African institutes – such collaborations are the heart of the EAMNet network. However, it should be emphasised that the fellowships are most valuable to researchers that have already established some competency in the marine sciences. Candidates who have no experience of earth observation and programming should be guided towards introductory courses such as the JRC/EAMNet two week course to establish momentum – otherwise they take up more time than is feasible in one-on-one basic teaching.

6.10.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Benedicta Oben

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. Training was useful. Trainee learnt various techniques including database retrieval, Beam software on Envisat, MATLAB and program writing, presented seminars and attended a POGO Conference. She also established some contacts for future collaborations. These were all potentially useful activities. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? The collaborations she initiated will be pursued and provision will be made for the knowledge she received to be integrated in Marine Biology courses in our institution and passed to younger generations of future marine scientists. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? We hope it will.


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4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. It is an important program and should be encouraged to continue. Some trainees have commented that they would have done better if the program was longer. We would also hope that the host supervisors should spend a little more time in providing guidance to the students especially at the beginning when they just arrive, to help them plan their stay properly so as to get maximum benefit from the fellowship period.

6.11 Anthony Gidudu

Name of Trainee: Dr Anthony Gidudu, Makerere University, Uganda Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr. Moses Musinguzi Supervisor (Host Institution): Steve Groom, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK Dates of Training: 1st – 23rd December 2012 Subject of Training: Time Series Analysis of MERIS derived Geophysical parameters on Lake Victoria

6.11.1 Trainee Report: Anthony Gidudu

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: The time was mostly spent on:

o Literature review on marine remote sensing o Online lectures on Ocean Colour o Training on how to use BEAM software o Processing of MERIS Lake Victoria data in collaboration with PML staff

2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? I hope to:

o Incorporate some of the aspects in our undergraduate and proposed post graduate courses o Complete the setting up of the ground receiving station o Use the data for small project work/final year projects

3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme was excellent, unfortunately I could only apply for/spend 3 weeks instead of 3 months 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. Rent, food, airtime credit, transport

6.11.2 Host Supervisor Report: Steve Groom

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. Anthony received training on the use of BEAM software and how to process MERIS data. He also produced a literature review on marine remote sensing and participated in on-line lectures on Ocean


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Colour. Anthony was also able to learn about wider activities on-going in Europe such as the UK GloboLakes project that should be able to provide data to Africa. 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Anthony was an excellent trainee who applied himself very well during his time at PML. He worked on MODIS and some MERIS data for Lake Victoria. He integrated well with PML staff in the lab and on festive social occasions. It is hoped to prepare a publication on Anthony’s work on lakes. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Anthony’s institute have installed a receiver station that was funded through the EAMNet project. This, along with Anthony’s training, will help to ensure opportunities for future collaboration.

6.11.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Moses Musinguzi

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. Excellent 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? Dr. Gidudu will

o Proceed to coordinate the establishment of the ground receiving station at the University o Incorporate aspects of marine remote sensing at both undergraduate and post graduate level o Supervise final year students doing marine remote sensing related research because of the

availability of the data and skills attained

3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? Yes 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship has been very beneficial and hopefully other colleagues will take advantage of it in the future.

6.12 Imhansoloeva Titocan Mark

Name of Trainee: Imhansoloeva Titocan Mark, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research

Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr. A.T. Adegbie Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr. S. Bernard, University of Cape Town, South Africa Dates of Training: 7th Sept. 2012 – 4th Dec., 2012. Subject of Training: Sea Level Measurements, Data Analysis, Forecasting and Storm surge

Modelling.

6.12.1 Trainee Report: Imhansoloeva Titocan Mark

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period:


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After my introductory power point presentation to the department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town, my supervisor, Dr. Bernard identified areas of interest that will be important to my training and thus engaged me immediately. From the beginning of the first week to the end of my 90 days training period was a packed full days of research activities. I have learnt the use of t_tide, a matlab routine for tide data analysis, which uses Harmonic analysis method of Least Square for its application. Activities such as how to visualize tide data, extract the residual, which is usually the storm surge, and how to recombine the tidal constituents generated to make forecasts (i.e. Predictions) as well as all the numerical/harmonic equations involved in tidal analysis and predictions were extensively practised and applied. I have also learnt how to filter tide data, do data quality control and compute anomaly. A number of numerical filters were introduced such as running mean, moving average, fast fourier transform and the Doodson Numerical Filter, otherwise called “ Doodson Tide Killer”. These numerical filters use a method of weighted mean to remove tidal and higher frequencies from the time series. But, the Doodson filter is particularly applied to daily sea level measurements, and has been regarded to be very effective (Groove, 1955). The training has improved my matlab programming skills and as a result I have written a short program to apply the Doodson filter to daily sea level measurements. Using all the resources available so as to meet with the storm surge modelling objective of my training, I am beginning to acquire ROMS skills (ROMS = Regional Ocean Modelling Systems) and I am very optimistic I shall be able to model storm surges using data from sea level measurements and other forcing. Earth observation system and satellite altimetry are another dependable tool for oceanographic study and data acquisitions which I also was involved in. In view of future work, I have been utilizing a number of EOS resources and ocean colour data and I have also downloaded a number of Metocean data in relation to my training objectives such as tide, sea level pressure, wind and SST. The analysis and interpretation of such data will form part of my future work in my present Institution back home. Practical classes with my supervisor and other staff of my host Institution have more often lead to a broader and useful discussions, even to the rudiments, of my subject of training. Through some of these discussions, I have learnt how shelf bathymetry and the position of sun in relation to the moon (equinoxes) affect the diurnal inequality of tides; how the meteorological factors such as wind (windstress) and atmospheric pressure influence tides, etc. The list of the activities I was engaged in during the period of my training at the department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town is numerous, however, activities mentioned above are good representative of the work done. In all I can confidently say that my training objectives were 98.5% met. With this, I am indeed well pleased and grateful. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? Honestly, I find all the training I have received very important to me to work effectively at my parent institution. This knowledge will be applied to collecting, analysing and interpreting our in-situ tide and generic tide and other sea level data. The knowledge gained through this training and in particular relation to analysis of Earth Observation data will be applicable back home. Also, I hope to introduce to my colleagues at parent Institution my new skills that could lead to useful collaborations in producing joint scientific publications as possible as a way of providing useful information to the world about the sea level and tidal fluxes from African Stations. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.


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EAMNet is Europe Africa Marine Network, but to me, it is: E – Effective (and) A – Accurate M – Methodology N – Necessary (for) E – Excellent T – Training EAMNet programme is excellent and in a right direction! The choice of the University of Cape Town as one of the host Universities for EAMNet fellowship Training is not out of place. The EAMNet group in UCT is made up of competent academicians with various expertise necessary to impact knowledge. The personnel, the training and the resources made available are equivalent to master degree programme and it will be a good thing if EAMNet could factor MSc sponsorship into its programmes, to offer opportunities to earn higher degree in Physical Oceanography. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. The cost of my accommodation for the three months was R12, 500, and I spent the rest amount on food, transportation and miscellaneous. Please, see attached for prove of some of the expenditures. Please note that the receipt file attached does not in its entirety represent the only expenditure I made, but a selected representative.

6.12.2 Host Supervisor: Stewart Bernard & Frank Shillington

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. Titocan worked with both Prof. Frank Shillington and myself on acquiring skills in the analysis of sea level data and subsequent interpretation for the characterisation of ocean physics in the Gulf of Guinea. He learnt how to filter tide data using a variety of techniques in Matlab, in addition to learning harmonic analysis, residual extraction, tidal reconstruction and visualisation techniques. He also was introduced to ROMS modelling, and learnt how to acquire and process Metocean and physical earth observation products such as SST data 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Titocan was very enthusiastic and hardworking, and was a very active member of the department during his stay. He left having acquired many new skills and with a greatly enhanced programming capability, and there was consensus that the fellowship was a very successful one. He plans to further train colleagues at his parent institute using these newly acquired skills. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, through Pan-African operational oceanography initiatives such as GMES-Africa once they are implemented 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme.


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The fellowship programme is extremely valuable in that it allows direct, concentrated collaborative work between African institutes – such collaborations are the heart of the EAMNet network.

6.12.3 Parent Supervisor: Dr Adesina Adegbie

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. Mr. Imhansoloeva has learnt a lot in the area of sea level data sourcing, data analysis, forecasting and modelling using the state of the art tools. These 90 days of working at the department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, under the supervision of Dr. Bernard has actually introduced and exposed him to modern tools and methods of sea level data analysis and interpretation. These include among others the use of t_tide, a matlab routine for tide data analysis, Harmonic analysis, transform and the Doodson Numerical Filter etc. and the ability to use such data in tidal predictions and storm surge modelling. Ability to write short programmes using the matlab software will be a valuable asset to making tidal and metocean data more useful to our ocean dynamics and sea level rise research work. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? Using the new skills acquired by Mr. Imhansoloeva during his training, he will be able to compare tidal and Metocean data such as SST, wind parameters (wind speed, direction, gust) atmospheric pressure etc. measured locally with global data from satellites and other sources. With the onset of recent and frequent occurrence of storm surges along the Nigerian coastline, storm surge modelling is another skill acquired by Mr. Imhansoloeva I envisage will be very useful to our coastal and sea level rise studies in our institution in Nigeria. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? Definitely Yes. There are moves put in place to ensure that Mr. Imhansoloeva start a masters degree programme with the department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town. If this materialises future collaboration will continue to exist with the host Institution. Also communication and exchange of ideas will be explored to foster collaboration and advance research work between the two institutions. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The EAMNet fellowship is indeed a great source of manpower development and capacity building especially in developing nations. The fellowship has been very useful as it provided Mr. Imhansoloeva the opportunity to develop his skills and gain more experience in sea level measurements, data analysis, forecasting and storm surge modelling for coastal monitoring and hazards management. Many scientists both from developed (host) and developing nations have benefited immensely either by sharing of ideas, joint research programmes, workshops and even donation of equipment. The list of possible opportunities of this laudable programme of course cannot be exhausted. With my experience and participation in this fellowship programme, I strongly recommend that the fellowship should be continued and that its objectives be taken to higher levels. Such that experienced scientists should be encouraged to come over to stay for short period and work within a developing nation institutional setup.


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6.13 Prince Emeka Ndimele

Name of Trainee: Dr. Ndimele Prince Emeka, Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr. J.I. Agboola Supervisor (Host Institution): Prof. Frank Shillington, University of Cape Town Dates of Training: 7th December, 2012 – 4th February, 2013 Subject of Training: The relevance of remote sensing to oil pollution monitoring in aquatic ecosystem

6.13.1 Trainee Report: Prince Emeka Ndimele

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: The training effectively commenced on Monday (10th December, 2012) with a discussion with my supervisor, Prof. Frank Shillington on the objectives of my training and how to meet those objectives. We outlined the following areas to be covered: remote sensing and modelling. Thereafter, he introduced me to some of his colleagues in the Department of Oceanography, who specialise in these areas. I gave a seminar presentation on 14th December, 2012 titled “The relevance of remote sensing to heavy metal and oil pollution monitoring in aquatic ecosystems”. The participants drew my attention to the fact that the satellites in operation presently cannot detect heavy metals in water. However, they said Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can detect oil spill and when SENTINEL-1, which is due for launch in 2013 becomes operational, oil spills could easily be detected and maybe quantified. I sought audience with experts in SAR from The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa. They provided me with information and websites to visit. I met with other SAR experts: Dr. George Wiafe (University of Ghana) and Dr. Johnny Johannessen (University of Bergen, Norway) who were attending a conference in Cape Town. Dr. Johnny Johannessen promised to assist in getting any available information/data of crude oil spill around the Nigerian coastal water from European Space Agency while Dr. George Wiafe promised regional collaboration within the West African Coast. However, the challenge is that most of these satellites are sponsored and launched by Europe and consequently, their major focus has been on European territory. I learnt about the analysis of satellite images using BEAM. Although, I had to practice with chlorophyll because oil spill information were not available. I have developed some skills in the use of MATLAB. It is a programming language that is very useful to scientists in the analysis of data as well as modelling. My practice on MATLAB will continue until I gain mastery of its operations. I have acquired some information on modelling that will assist me develop the necessary skills in modelling aquatic ecosystems. In this regard, I met Dr. Mathieu Rouault (Oceanography Department, University of Cape Town) and Dr. Lynne Shannon from Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? All the trainings and contacts are useful to my parent institution and my country at large. The knowledge of MATLAB will improve my analytical skills and this I will pass to my colleagues and students. Nigeria is an oil producing country and there are so many cases of oil spillage. Very few are reported and even these reported cases are not thoroughly investigated. The knowledge of SAR in detecting oil spill (when SENTINEL-1 becomes operational in 2013) will help to detect and even quantify oil spills.


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Apart from this, modelling oil spillage and its effects on aquatic ecosystems will help me to come up with valid predictions on the effects of oil spill on Nigerian aquatic ecosystems especially the fauna and flora. With satellite information and ecosystem modelling, I hope to be able to quantify the damage done to the aquatic environment by a given volume of crude oil. This will help in determining the mitigation measures to adopt and the compensation that may be due to locals, whose major source of livelihood (fishing) has been destroyed by crude oil pollution. Oil spill has been the cause of youth restiveness in crude oil-producing Niger Delta, Nigeria in the last decade. Another benefit is if a crude oil spill is promptly detected by satellite immediate remedial actions can be taken. The threat to the existence of several aquatic species whose breeding ground is the Niger Delta would considerably reduce. The application of the knowledge acquired goes beyond institutional benefits but also has positive impacts on the socio-economic lives of the inhabitants of the crude oil-polluted areas. Actually, the knowledge acquired and contacts made would have a positive multiplier effects on my parent institution and country. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship is very educative and it provides young scientists the opportunity to leave the shores of their countries to learn new things or better ways of doing things. It is a programme that should be sustained. However, EAMNet should look at the duration of the fellowship with a view to increasing it, so as to make more positive impacts. EAMNet should also consider increasing the numbers of affiliate institutions particularly in Africa. Nigeria has a coastline of 853km bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea, the largest delta (Niger Delta) in Africa and the most populous country in Africa and the entire black race. This Delta, which is the breeding ground of a lot of aquatic organisms including some endangered species, is threatened by incessant oil spill put conservatively at 273 cases annually. If EAMNet spreads its tentacles, it will lead to greater capacity building that is necessary to manage these fragile ecosystems. I strongly propose that EAMNet should make its presence felt in Nigeria by adopting one of the universities, particularly Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria as a host institution for its fellows. The Department of Fisheries in Lagos State University has two EAMNet fellows (Dr. J.I. Agboola and my humble self, Dr. P.E. Ndimele). Apart from this, Lagos State where the university is located is a coastal state. Also, EAMNet should initiate collaboration/exchange programme between Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria and Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town, South Africa. This collaboration/exchange programme should involve both academic staff and students of both institutions. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. The bulk of the stipend was spent on accommodation (R8725). See the attached scanned receipts for other expenses.

6.13.2 Host Supervisor Report: Prof F A Shillington

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period.


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Introduction to UCT colleagues in the Department of Oceanography, who specialise in areas of interest, viz satellite remote sensing. He gave a seminar presentation on 14th December, 2012 entitled “The relevance of remote sensing to heavy metal and oil pollution monitoring in aquatic ecosystems”. He then met with researchers using SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, based in Stellenbosch near Cape Town, and at the Centre for High Performance Computing, Rosebank. They provided him with information and websites. He also met with other SAR experts from University of Ghana and University of Bergen who were attending a conference in Cape Town. Prof Johnny Johannessen from NERSC. Bergen promised to assist in getting any available information/data of crude oil spill around the Nigerian coastal water from the European Space Agency. 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. He was extremely highly motivated, and despite the awkward timing of his trip over the Christmas period, when most of the South African scientists take leave, he continued working on his own. He is a bright young man, who is somewhat frustrated in the environment at his home institution, but is nevertheless doing good research, and publishing it. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, we do hope to stay in regular contact. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. I think that this fellowship program is working well. It does add considerably to everyone’s work load, but seems to be well appreciated by the trainees.

6.13.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Julius Agboola

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. The training had great and positive impact on the trainee, Dr. P.E. Ndimele. He has acquired some skills and knowledge in the use of satellite data to monitor harmful algal blooms (HAB). This knowledge will help him in monitoring crude oil spill in his country, Nigeria when SENTINEL-1 becomes operational later in the year. The knowledge of MATLAB will help in actualising his dream of becoming an expert in Ecosystem Modelling. On the whole, he has benefited tremendously from the fellowship from the Europe-Africa Marine Earth Observation Network (EAMNet). 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? All the skills and knowledge acquired by the trainee are useful to my institution and particularly, Department of Fisheries. His knowledge of MATLAB when fully developed will be passed to both staff and students. This will greatly improve the analytical skills of members of the department. His experience in the use of satellite data will help in monitoring the Nigerian coastal environment for crude oil spill and harmful algal blooms. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? I honestly believe it can. However, this will depend on the readiness of the two departments to work together for mutual benefits. It should go beyond exchange programmes among staff: students too


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should be involved. I will appreciate the support of Europe-Africa Marine Earth Observation Network (EAMNet) in this regard. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship is good and should be sustained. However, I strongly advocate collaboration between Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria and Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Europe-Africa Marine Earth Observation Network (EAMNet) should initiate this collaboration.

6.14 Andriantsilavo Jean Michel Rabary

Name of Trainee: Andriantsilavo Rabary, Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Madagascar Supervisor (Parent Institution): John Bemiasa Supervisor (Host Institution): Stewart Bernard, University of Cape Town Dates of Training: 12/01/2013 – 23/02/2013 Subject of Training: Analysis of Oceanographic Data (Temperature and Chlorophyll)

6.14.1 Trainee Report: Andriantsilavo Jean Michel Rabary

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: The training can be divided into three parts. The first part is focused on learning the BILKO software which is defined as a tool for processing satellite images. Its purpose is to manipulate these images for studies of coastal and even offshore. I was shown through examples that this tool could not only make the best descriptions of the sea but also allowed distinguish different land areas. The second part focused on the basis of operational oceanography. In this part, the colour of the ocean has been studied. We could see the various processes to acquire data from the images captured by different satellites to stations for processing these images. Many data (oceanographic or other) are obtained from these satellites like altitude, temperature, chlorophyll pigments. In the third part, which is the practical part, we tried to study the evolution of temperature in the area of Madagascar. The use of MATLAB has been necessary in the treatment of satellite images of Level 3 (L3 MODIS). The data were then processed statistically to see the temperature anomaly that occurred from 2004 to 2012. This allowed seeing the different temperature changes in this time interval. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? This internship has allowed my home institution to increase the capacity of its oceanographer team. A considerable lack of a specialist in satellite imagery is noticed in our department which is why an initiative to train future researchers in this field through internships and courses was done. As there are many things to learn in oceanography, I have to do self-training or find other training courses to continue what I have learned during this training. In any case, I can say that I can already transmit knowledge to the team in my institute even for students desiring to specialize in this field. Give lectures are possible to practice this course. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. Researchers in underdeveloped countries are not in the same level as their colleagues in developed countries. Their ability and resources to do research for their country are insufficient or even non-


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existent despite seeing their courage and ambition. Faced with this situation and with a view of overall development in science initiatives, foreign researchers and institutions give grants, fellowships, study and travel support especially for the African researcher communities. The scholarship program given by EAMNet (Europe-Africa Marine Network EO) is one such initiative which allowed me to visit the Department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. This allowed me to know what the atmosphere of a place of research, to know how to work with others researchers. For this training, everything has been supported by the scholarship program (travel, accommodation and food). 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent.

R8350 for the stay Boarding pass (for the travel Antananarivo-Johannesburg-Cape Town) in attached file Accommodation (the receipt of accommodation in Green Elephant Backpackers will be send by

Emlyn Balarin) Food: I bought the food every day and I did not have receipt for that but usually R175 (15 euro).

So for the stay, the total of food in R7350 (627 euro) Transport (taxi from/to airport: R320) and city round is R680


1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. The aim of Rabary’s fellowship was to learn proficiency in the processing and interpretation of ocean colour and sea surface temperature satellite data; to gain institutional capabilities in this regard. He had little experience in marine EO prior to the fellowship. He was given a reading course, introductory lectures and practical training in BILKO and BEAM. Further training was then given in Matlab to allow him to process time series of synoptic MODIS data from Madagascan waters, allowing the analysis of climatological and anomaly products. Extensive use was made of the M.Sc. lectures and other auto-pedagogical material developed during EAMNet 2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. Rabary certainly applied himself diligently and learnt a great deal, although his lack of confidence in English was notable. His lack of experience in both programming and earth observation meant that a lot of time had to be spent to make the fellowship productive. There is a case to be made that short training courses are a much more effective way to train people in such an introductory manner. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, through Pan-African operational oceanography initiatives such as those being scoped by GMES-Africa. No firm collaborative plans are yet in place. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme is extremely valuable in that it allows direct, concentrated collaborative work between African institutes – such collaborations are the heart of the EAMNet network. However, it should be emphasised that the fellowships are most valuable to researchers that have already established some competency in the marine sciences. Candidates who have no experience of earth observation and programming should be guided towards introductory courses such as the JRC/EAMNet two week course to establish momentum – otherwise they take up more time than is feasible in one-on-one basic teaching.


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6.14.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Dr John Bemiasa

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. Rabary’s training was focused on three major subjects:

i) Initiation on satellites image processing using BILKO software. ii) Operational oceanography. This included data source finding, archive and processing of ocean

colour, altimetry, SST satellite images. iii) Ocean Data analysis using the most common data and software used in oceanography domain

such as respectively MODIS SST data and MATLAB. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? The program has permitted Rabary to acquire the basic skills on ocean data management. Some of our staff and former students have benefited from other program fellowships in the region in terms of ocean data management. But Rabary has accomplished significant steps in this field and will help much our institute for its activity expansion. Actually, and since 2010, the institute has its own ground satellite data receiving in the framework of African Union Project named AMESD (African Monitoring of Environment for Sustainable Development). The station receives SST and Chlorophyll-a data from MODIS (9 Km, 4Km and 1 Km spatial resolution). Rabary will play an important role for the management of these data and share his knowledge to our Oceanographic Data Centre staff. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? Through past and on-going regional projects, our institute had collaborated with South African institutions such as ACEP (African Coelacanth and Ecosystem Program), ASCLME (Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem) and others. In the near future, this collaboration will be oriented with the University of Cape Town in terms of Remote Sensing Data Management. A project has been submitted for funding and co-signed by regional partners including Institut Halieutiques et des Sciences Marines (IH.SM) and the University of Cape Town (UCT). 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. In terms of initiative, the training is very important for developing institutions. Acquiring knowledge and skills on oceanographic data management is a key issue when dealing with marine and coastal zone management. But another challenge is how to make trained people useful for his institution? In other words, how to keep them effectively within the institution? These questions have been raised, because most of the trained persons have gone for “greener grass” after have been trained. The program should also focus on how to equip the parent institution (not the person!) in terms of toolkits (software used during the fellowship and other equipment). Perhaps, this will make difference in terms of institutional capacity building.

6.15 Amadi Afua Sefah-Twerefour

Name of Trainee: Amadi Afua Sefah-Twerefour, University of Ghana Supervisor (Parent Institution): Dr. George Wiafe Supervisor (Host Institution): Dr. Brian Salmon , University of Cape Town Dates of Training: 1/09/2012 – 30/11/2012


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Subject of Training: Oil spill detection and mapping to monitor spills, illegal discharges for management of maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea

6.15.1 Trainee Report: Amadi Afua Sefah-Twerefour

1. Please provide a brief description of activities during the training period: The activities during the training period included the following:

Setting up of an assigned laptop/computer – formatting, installing operating systems (windows, Linux/ubuntu)

Getting familiar with and learning to use a new operating system, Linux/ubuntu, and a new programming language, Python

Writing a proposal to obtain data for the research work from RADARSAT-2, but eventually ENVISAT ASAR images were settled on for the training

A previously developed oil spill detection method, for the Gulf of Guinea using RADARSAT-2 data, was applied using ENVISAT ASAR WS data from the Gulf of Mexico (BP oil spill), the Gulf of Guinea and the East coast of South Africa.

Using data from these three regions was to make the detection method as geographically independent as possible

Working with the ENVISAT ASAR WS data involved pre-processing the data before the implementation of the detection step

A new detection method was developed but the rationale behind this method has to be properly developed or another detection method developed.

The skills acquired from the training programme are still being put to use to fully develop a detection method especially for large oil spills since some methods may not work for both small and large oil spills.

2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your parent institution? The research started during the training will be continued at the parent institute, University of Ghana, so as to help develop a novel oil spill detection method for large spills in the Gulf of Guinea which will also not be geographically restricting. This will help to build upon the research done so far. In addition, interested students in this field will be given the necessary guidance with respect to the training received so as to help build capacity as more people acquire skills in the area of oil spill detection and monitoring. 3. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The fellowship programme was a great training experience. It provided the necessary environment needed to equip me with required skills in oil spill detection and monitoring. It allowed for individual research (with assistance when needed) and also stimulated one to think technically and critically through a given research problem primarily by breaking down the problem into smaller components or steps. 4. Please provide details as to how your contribution towards living expenses was spent. The contribution towards living expenses was spent on accommodation fees for the entire duration of the research.


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6.15.2 Host Supervisor Report: Dr Brian Salmon

1. Please provide a brief description of the activities during the training period. The trainee had to comply with a range of different activities while visiting the host institution. The trainee had to familiarize herself with the following:

• Operating systems, installing and management of software • Python programming, which is a general purpose, interpreted high-level programming language • General image processing techniques • Synthetic Aperture Radar concepts • Algorithm development

The non-technical activities were: • Hosting a journal reading club • Host a seminar on current findings • Literature background study on oil spill detection algorithms

2. Please provide your comments on the performance of the trainee. The performance of the trainee was satisfactory. The trainee comes from a non-technical background and was placed in an environment of learning basic to more advanced programming methods. In general this is a steep learning curve, but the trainee showed great growth in the field of programming solutions. The trainee is at a level now where she can carry on further developing her skills as a researcher. The trainee was a diligent worker. Her working hours were stated as 8:00 to 17:00, but she arrived at office before 6:00 in morning and only left the offices after 18:00. This showed her dedication to complete the tasks that were given to her. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the trainee’s parent institution? Yes, it already has. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. I believe this Fellowship programme is a good channel for enabling trainees to visit Universities/ Companies to further expand on their skills and to create partnerships between the parent and host institution. The support of the EAMNet administration staff was exceptional and I would like to engage this program in future endeavours.

6.15.3 Parent Supervisor Report: Dr George Wiafe

1. Please provide an evaluation of the training received. I monitored the performance of the candidate based on regular reports received from herself and supervisor. To a large extent, the training was excellent. I have de-briefed the candidate upon her return home and she exhibited a lot of enthusiasm and joy in what she has learnt. The candidate has learned programming in Python within a Linux environment, and also processing microwave data. 2. What applications of the training received do you envision at your institution? The Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences of the University of Ghana is building capacity to use satellite earth observation in managing the marine environment and its resources. The training the candidate has received will contribute to this strategic development. Already, the candidate has been


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engaged by the Department on one of its projects as a Research Assistant to utilize the knowledge acquired. In view of the importance of this training, the Parent institution supported the candidate to extend her stay for an additional two months. 3. Is this exchange likely to lead to future collaboration with the host institution? The two institutions signed an MOU this year, and this exchange has consolidated the envisaged objectives and opened opportunities for follow-up activities. 4. Please provide your comments on the Fellowship Programme. The design and implementation of the EAMNet Fellowship Programme is critically needed on the continent and provides opportunities for exchange between institutions. The University has benefitted tremendously from such a programme. An earlier candidate who visited the Plymouth Marine Laboratory is on track to complete his PhD. There must be an effort to sustain such an initiative within other programmes envisaged by the EU with ACP countries.

7 Appendix


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7.1 Appendix 1: EAMNet open fellowship announcement

ANNOUNCEMENT EAMNet/GOOS-AFRICA Visiting Fellowships for 2012-13

The Europe Africa Marine Earth Observation Network (EAMNet: www.eamnet.eu) project, part funded by the European Commission, announces its third and final Open Fellowship Programme. This programme is designed to promote training and capacity building in Africa in support of GOOS-Africa (the Global Ocean Observing System in Africa: http://www.ioc-goos.org/index.php?option=com_oe&task=viewGroupRecord&groupID=39) and “GMES and Africa”. Who can apply? This fellowship program is open to scientists, technicians, graduate students (PhD) and post-doctoral fellows involved in oceanographic work at centres in any African country. Note that priority will be given to applicants in early stages of career development. This is not a pure research fellowship and instead its main purpose is to advance the aims of GOOS-AFRICA. We strongly encourage female scientists to apply and would be happy to discuss any concerns they may have about the placement before submitting their application (contact details below). We are also particularly interested in applicants who wish to take part in Africa-to-Africa exchanges. What does the fellowship offer? It offers the opportunity for African scientists from any marine focussed institution to visit any appropriate African or European oceanographic centre for a short period (1 to 3 months) to gain experience on aspects of oceanographic observations, analyses, and interpretation related to Earth Observation. The programme is open to a range of learning experiences, depending upon the applicant’s interests. The fellowships are an opportunity for fellows to develop long – term collaborations with other institutes. Recipients are required to write-up their experience in the form of a report. Recipients may be given the opportunity to present results of the visit at the African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE) conference in late October 2012. What are the Priority Areas? Priority will be given to applications that deal with GOOS-AFRICA areas of interest, examples include: Exploiting EO data received via GEONETCast or EUMETCast systems (or via the internet) for the benefit

of a local African user community;

Providing an African focus and user requirements for construction of an application of a GMES service;

Spreading best practice in operational oceanography and data visualisation e.g. following INSPIRE guidelines;

Exploiting data from existing in situ measurement programmes in relation to EO data available through EAMNet;

Validation of EO data using existing in situ data to provide assurance on EO data quality;

Time series analysis of biogeochemical and relevant satellite-derived data.


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What are the terms? 1. The fellowship will provide international airfare and subsistence allowance for the fellowship period

(the actual amount will be tailored to meet local conditions, but will not exceed Euro 1000 per month). 2. The trainee’s institute will bear all expenses incurred by the fellow in his/her own nation (domestic

travel, visa costs, etc.), and the host institute will waive any bench fees that they may normally charge trainees.

3. EAMNet does not cover any of the expenses related to the training itself. More details regarding the terms of fellowship are provided in the application form. How does one apply? Fellowship applicants should complete and submit the application form given below. Only applications that are complete in all respects will be considered for the Fellowship. It is the applicant’s responsibility to liaise with the potential host institute and agree the placement conditions (preferred dates etc.) and this information, including the contact details of the Host Supervisor, are required on the form below. A list of possible host institutes, who are partners in the EAMNet project, is available on the EAMNet website (http://www.eamnet.eu/cms/?q=node/6), including several African partners. We are particularly keen to support Africa-to-Africa exchanges and would welcome applications of this nature. Once your application has been received it will be reviewed by the EAMNet selection committee and we will aim to contact you with their decision by the end of June 2012. Deadline: The deadline for applications is 11th June 2012 and all Fellowship placements must be completed by January 2013 If you would like to discuss the Fellowship programme then please contact Jenny Lockett, EAMNet Project Manager, at [email protected] / 0044 1752 633476


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7.2 Appendix 2: Sample open fellowship application form

APPLICANT INFORMATION NAME: GENDER: M/F POSITION: NATIONALITY: INSTITUTION: MAILING ADDRESS: E-MAIL ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: FACSIMILE: WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS FELLOWSHIP? SUPERVISOR AT APPLICANT’S PARENT INSTITUTION NAME: INSTITUTION: MAILING ADDRESS: E-MAIL ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: FACSIMILE: Letter of Recommendation from Supervisor Attached: Yes No SUPERVISOR AT APPLICANT’S HOST INSTITUTION NAME: INSTITUTION: MAILING ADDRESS: E-MAIL ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: FACSIMILE: Letter of Acceptance at Host Institution Attached: Yes No Important: Acceptance letter to indicate reasonable monthly stipend amount for living expenses (not to exceed 1000 Euros). Title of proposed activity: Description of activity:

Relevance to on-going or planned programmes at the parent institution and links to GOOS-AFRICA and / or “GMES and Africa” initiatives:


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Academic qualifications and professional experience of the applicant relevant to the training:

How will the training contribute to sustained capacity building at the parent institution?

Proposed duration of training: Preferred dates of training:

Estimated cost of economy return international air travel from parent country to host institution: It is recommended that descriptive sections be limited to about 100 - 150 words. Please use font sizes of 10 pt or larger. Please send electronic versions of completed applications and attachments by ________________

E-mail: [email protected]

In addition, mail signed originals to: EAMNet Fellowship, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, Devon, UK PL1 2DH The terms of the Fellowship 1. The fellowship will provide international airfare and subsistence allowance for the fellowship period (the

actual amount will be tailored to meet local conditions taking into consideration the advice from the host supervisor, but will not exceed Euro 1000 per month).

2. The trainee’s institute will bear all expenses incurred by the fellow in his/her own nation (domestic travel, visa costs, etc.), and the host institute will waive any bench fees that they may normally charge trainees.

3. The trainee and the supervisors at the parent and host institutes are required to provide a short progress report at the end of the training period, to evaluate the success of the fellowship programme.

4. EAMNet does not cover any of the expenses related to the training itself. 5. EAMNet assumes no responsibility for compensation in the event of sickness, accident, death or disability of

a Fellowship holder, nor does it arrange for insurance of a trainee or reimburse premiums paid therefore. 6. The trainees are not considered agents or members of the staff of EAMNet, and shall not be entitled to any

privileges, immunities, compensation or reimbursements, except as otherwise provided herein, nor are the trainees authorised to commit EAMNet or GOOS-AFRICA to any expenditure or other obligation.

Review Process Representatives from EAMNet will review the applications. In their decision-making, the Selection Committee will consider the following points: 1. Quality of the application; 2. Relevance of the application to the GOOS-AFRICA priority areas; 3. Evidence that the training will lead to improved sustained observations in the region, or improved

applications of such data; 4. Evidence that the training will lead to capacity-building with potential lasting impact on regional

observations; and, 5. The need to maximise regional balance in distribution of the awards. All applicants will be informed of the decision about two months after the deadline for applications.

eamnet: europe africa marine network ec fp7 … open fellowship... · eamnet: europe africa marine...

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