The CORE Group
WHAT IS THE CORE GROUP?
A group of leaders in the field of ocean autonomy, coming from a diverse range of technical and academic backgrounds; including ocean sciences, data management, engineering or software. The group will be at the core of the community, representing people and institutions from across Europe.
The core group activity and leadership will be clearly distinct from other initiatives like the OceanGliders steering committee of the EuroGOOS glider task team and other international groups. There will be instances that some members could be part of those groups, this is normal, and to a point unavoidable, but the core group must keep a distinct activity from them while keeping engaged and coordinated.
ROLE OF THE CORE GROUP
They will be in charge of leading the network and provide the direction of travel. They will:
- Contribute to defining and periodically reviewing the strategic vision, priorities, and long-term objectives of the European Glider Community (EGC).
- Provide expert advice on scientific priorities, technological developments, and methodological standards related to glider observations.
- Act as a liaison between national glider programmes, research infrastructures, and international initiatives.
- Foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and synergies across the EGC.
- Attend quarterly EGC meetings.
CORE GROUP RESPONSIBILITIES
- Define yearly priorities, in the form of engaging activities like technical sessions, workshops, community and networking events.
- Promote the network activity, helping new members to find the information they need and presenting the network activity in national and international forums.
- Organizing a webinar series to advance EGC knowledge exchange.
- Provide strategic input to proposals and initiatives involving the EGC.
- Find the next cohort of members for the core group.
Core group members
Mariarita Caracciolo
EGC Coordinator and OceanGliders Technical Coordinator, ENSTA/OceanOPS
Mariarita is the Technical Coordinator of the Ocean Gliders, an international program of the GOOS, where she supports global coordination through real-time tracking, data management, reporting services, and the development of IT tools for underwater glider operations. She is also Coordinator of the European Glider Community (EGC), facilitating collaboration between scientists, engineers, operators, and policymakers through workshops and webinars. With a background in marine ecology and data science, she combines research coordination with strong expertise in science communication and outreach.
Louise Biddle
Science Director, Voice Of The Ocean, VOTO
Louise Biddle is the Science Director at Voice of the Ocean (VOTO), where she leads scientific strategy and supports ocean observation, data management, and research infrastructure services. She has a research background in physical oceanography and glider-based observations, having conducted field studies on upper-ocean processes in polar regions and developed observational tools. With deep experience in ocean science and autonomous platforms, she works to advance ocean research, open data, and collaboration across scientific and operational communities.
Nikolaos Zarokanellos
Scientist responsible for the Glider Facility, SOCIB
Nikolaos D. Zarokanellos is leading the glider research at SOCIB (Balearic Islands Coastal Ocean Observing and Forecasting System). Throughout his career, he has participated in and been the principal investigator in over 15 European and international research initiatives, each enhancing his appreciation for collaborative scientific efforts. Driven by innate curiosity, his primary focus is on cutting-edge technologies, particularly autonomous underwater gliders, to develop multi-platform frameworks that enable real-time ocean and coastal observations. His research primarily addresses the interplay of mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics in upper-ocean circulation across different temporal scales by combining in situ observations, remote sensing data, and numerical simulation outputs. This multidisciplinary approach enables him to intricately map out the interplay of complex physical processes, with a keen focus on vertical exchange and lateral advection, including the biogeochemical response and the consequences for the marine ecosystem. He aims to continue to shape our understanding of marine environments and their critical role in climate.
Pierre Testor
Senior Researcher, CNRS
Pierre Testor is a French physical oceanographer specializing in ocean currents, marine ecosystems, and global environmental change.
He has led numerous sea expeditions, collecting and analyzing oceanographic data.
He is a pioneer in the use of underwater gliders for ocean observation.
He works at CNRS and contributes to research, publications, and doctoral supervision.
Victor Turpin
Argo Technical Coordinator, WMO/OceanOPS
Victor Turpin is working for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) at OceanOPS in Brest, France. He is the technical coordinator of Argo, an international program of the GOOS. He has been involved since 2014 in the European coordination of the glider activity in different international projects (GROOM FP7, AtlantOS, ENVRI+). He was Ocean Gliders technical coordinator until 2024 before to move to completely to Argo. He is currently leading a task in the AMRIT project for the development of a glider tool.
Callum Rollo
Data Scientist and Data Team Lead, Voice Of The Ocean, VOTO
Callum Rollo is a data engineer at Voice of the Ocean Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is responsible for data flow, processing, and quality at Voice of the Ocean Foundation. Callum has 8 years of experience in the European glider community, working on standards like the OceanGliders data format and increasing the usage of common standards and controlled vocabularies. He has contributed to community owned open-source tools for glider data processing and dissemination, including pyglider, glidertest, and erddapy. Callum has a background in physical oceanography and research interests in thermohaline staircases and shelf-break currents.
Annunziata Pirro
Senior Researcher, OGS
Nunzia Pirro is a physical oceanographer at OGS, where she has been a permanent researcher since 2025. She earned her PhD in Physical Oceanography from the University of Notre Dame (USA) in 2019. Her research focuses on ocean dynamics through an interdisciplinary approach combining theory, in situ observations, laboratory experiments, and numerical modelling. She has strong expertise in autonomous systems, particularly gliders, covering mission design, piloting, and data analysis, and has authored numerous scientific publications and datasets in oceanography.
Ailin Brakstad
Glider Engineer, University of Bergen
Ailin Brakstad is an ocean glider engineer at the Geohysical Institute, University of Bergen with background in physical oceanography. Her work involves technical tasks and research related to NorGliders (Norwegian National Facility for Ocean Gliders). Her research focuses on the northern limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the Nordic Seas climate system. She is particularly interested in the pathways and processes transforming warm Atlantic Water in the Nordic Seas into dense overflow waters.
Alvaro Lorenzo Lopez
Glider Engineer – Software Engineer, NOC
Álvaro Lorenzo López is a Senior Software Engineer at the National Oceanography Centre (UK), with over eight years of experience working with underwater autonomous platforms. He leads the delivery of the NERC-funded OCEANIDS Command and Control project, developing unified systems for piloting, automation, and near-real-time data processing of marine autonomous systems. His work focuses on improving data quality, platform safety, and operational efficiency, while enabling broader access to advanced infrastructure for the UK marine science community.
Filipa Carvalho
Senior Research Scientist, NOC
She is a biological oceanographer and marine biogeochemist at the National Oceanography Centre (UK), studying biophysical interactions and the biological carbon pump using underwater gliders and other autonomous platforms. Her work focuses on how water column dynamics influence phytoplankton and carbon export, particularly in polar regions. She is an active member of the OceanGliders programme and, since November 2024, Chief Scientist for the Marine Autonomy Robotics Systems (MARS) group, fostering links between marine science and technology.
Anna Rubio
Head of the Coastal Engineering and Operational Oceanography Group at AZTI
She is a physical oceanographer whose research focuses on shelf–slope circulation and (sub)mesoscale dynamics in the Bay of Biscay. Her work integrates in situ, remote sensing, and model data, as well as advanced technologies such as gliders and high‑frequency radars, with contributions to the study of ocean transport processes from a Lagrangian perspective. She has played a key role in the development and implementation of the Basque Country’s Operational Oceanography System (EuskOOS) and has contributed to several European projects on physical and operational oceanography, advancing methodologies for forecasting and managing coastal environments.
Adam Comeau
Glider Team Manager, Dalhousie University
Adam Comeau manages the glider team. Holding a Masters in Biological Oceanography from Dalhousie University working with Dr. John Cullen. Adam has been the lead technician on over 60 missions on the east and west coasts of Canada. He’s also helped researchers from across Canada set up new gliders and perform test missions. Adam’s day-to-day duties involve managing the glider fleet, mission planning, troubleshooting, data analysis, field deployments, instrument maintenance, sensor calibration and small boat operations. He has on occasion given lectures and tours to the public.