Last updated: May 2026
This privacy notice explains how the EPOC project website (epoc-eu.org) collects, uses, and protects personal data. It applies to all visitors to this website.
This website is managed by Seascape Consultants on behalf of the EPOC project. EPOC (Explaining and Predicting the Ocean Conveyor) is a Horizon Europe research project coordinated by Universität Hamburg, Germany, and funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101081383.
For any questions or concerns about privacy on this website, contact the EPOC project office at info@epoc-eu.org.
Website analytics
We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use this website. This collects anonymised data including pages visited, time spent on the site, approximate geographic location at country level, device type, and how you arrived at the site. This data helps us improve the website’s content and structure for our audiences.
Google Analytics is operated by Google LLC. Data may be transferred to Google servers in the United States. This transfer is governed by Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.
We have configured Google Analytics with privacy-protective defaults that restrict data collection. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking at any time by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in understanding how the website is used and improving it for our audiences (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Newsletter subscription
If you subscribe to the EPOC newsletter, we collect your email address. This is stored on a mailing list hosted by Universität Hamburg and is used solely to send you EPOC project updates and newsletters.
The legal basis for this processing is your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can unsubscribe at any time by following the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email, or by contacting info@epoc-eu.org.
Contact by email
If you contact us at info@epoc-eu.org, we will process your email address and any personal data included in your message in order to respond to your enquiry. We will retain this correspondence for as long as necessary to resolve your enquiry and for a reasonable period thereafter.
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries about the project (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
This website uses cookies – small text files stored on your device. We use two categories of cookies:
Strictly necessary cookies are required for the website to function and cannot be disabled. These include session cookies set by WordPress and cookies required for the website’s accessibility features.
Analytics cookies are set by Google Analytics to collect anonymised information about how visitors use the site. See the Website analytics section above for more information, including how to opt out.
Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months, after which it is automatically deleted by Google.
Newsletter subscriber data is retained for as long as you remain subscribed. If you unsubscribe, your email address is removed from the mailing list promptly.
Email correspondence is retained for as long as necessary to resolve the relevant enquiry, and for a maximum of three years thereafter.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to request correction of inaccurate data, to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances, to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@epoc-eu.org. We will respond within one month.
If you believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. You may contact the authority in your country of residence or place of work. As EPOC is coordinated from Hamburg, Germany, the lead supervisory authority is:
Hamburgischer Beauftragter für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (HmbBfDI)
Ludwig-Erhard-Str. 22, 20459 Hamburg, Germany
datenschutz.hamburg.de
This website contains links to external websites including partner institution websites, journal publishers, and data repositories. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites and encourage you to read their own privacy notices.
The EPOC project runs until 30 June 2027. After this date, the website will be maintained as a static archive. At that point, active data collection including Google Analytics and the newsletter subscription will be discontinued and this privacy notice will be updated accordingly.
We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.
For any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal data, contact the EPOC project office at info@epoc-eu.org.