NEMO-SN1 observatory developments in view of the European Research Infrastructures EMSO and KM3NeT

Abstract NEMO-SN1 (Western Ionian Sea off Eastern Sicily), the first real-time multiparameter observatory operating in Europe since 2005, is one of the nodes of the upcoming European ESFRI large-scale research infrastructure EMSO (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observatory), a network of seafloor observatories placed at marine sites on the European Continental Margin. NEMO-SN1 constitutes also an important test-site for the study of prototypes of Kilometre Cube Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT), another European ESFRI large-scale research infrastructure. Italian resources have been devoted to the development of NEMO–SN1 facilities and logistics, as with the PEGASO project, while the EC project ESONET-NoE is funding a demonstration mission and a technological test. EMSO and KM3NeT are presently in the Preparatory Phase as projects funded under the EC-FP7.