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Develop a coordinated, comprehensive system of worldwide ocean observations to support a wide range of societal needs.

Recent technological developments have significantly improved ocean- observing systems. Satellites, ships, and buoys collect many kinds of data on and within the ocean, but these observations are not comprehensive. Gaps exist in coastal, open-ocean, and seafloor data sets. In addition, the federal programs collecting ocean observations are poorly integrated. By improving the coordination of data collection, storage formats, and dissemination processes, an integrated ocean-observing system would provide comprehensive near-real-time information on ocean and coastal conditions for the full range of users. Such a system would improve weather forecasting, detect and forecast oceanic components of climate variability, facilitate safe and efficient marine operations, make U.S. ports more competitive, and provide daily tactical support of military operations worldwide.

Marine ecosystems and living marine resources would also be better protected if more complete and accurate data were collected on ocean temperature, salinity, and dissolved chemicals and nutrients that affect commercial fish stocks, marine mammals, marine ecosystems, and coastal habitats. An integrated system would make more accurate predictions of natural hazards possible, allowing for mitigation of damage from hurricanes, coastal flooding, icebergs, tsunamis, and seafloor disturbances causing pipeline and telephone cable ruptures. The advanced warning derived from observing systems and climate predictions saved an estimated $ 1billion in California alone from losses related to El Niño, which totaled $15 billion nationally in 1997-98. Global ocean observations could even protect public health by collecting the necessary data to understand the fate of pollutants, pathogens, harmful algal blooms, and other health hazards that close our beaches and shellfish beds. This system would also support fundamental scientific research and enhance public education and awareness of ocean issues.

Ongoing Concerns

• Current ocean-observation efforts are limited in scope. For example, volunteer merchant vessel observations are limited to shipping lanes; most satellites can only make surface-water or very shallow-water measurements; research vessels are limited to short-term, small-area observations; and Navy data are not always publicly available. Where data do exist, there are no mechanisms to fully integrate them.
• No clear mechanisms exist for translating large-scale, international ocean experiments into long-term, operational observation efforts, or for transitioning emerging new ocean-observation technologies to operational use.
• Data from different sensors, such as satellites, drifting floats, and buoys, do not share commonalities in data format, access, and dissemination, and cannot be rapidly integrated to serve the many different users.

Recommendations

• Expand open ocean-observing capabilities to enhance sampling of the full water column. In complement with satellite observations of the ocean surface, this will advance our understanding of ocean circulation and air/sea interactions to improve weather prediction and our understanding of climate change, and support basic research, fisheries, and national security.
• Expand and integrate seafloor observation capabilities to improve basic knowledge of the Earth's temperature, chemistry, and structure. This will support pipeline and cable-laying operations, national security and research needs, and improved disaster warnings from seafloor disturbances.
• Expand and coordinate coastal-observing capabilities to include the full range of physical, chemical, and biological measurements to support all coastal users.
• Encourage a strong partnership among federal ocean agencies and their range of public users to improve coordination in technology development and the management of ocean-observation programs, resulting in an integrated, sustained, national ocean- observation system with com- mon data standards, formats, and dissemination techniques.

For more information

http://core.cast.msstate.edu/NOPPpbsplan.html
http://ocean.tamu.edu/GOOS
http://ioc.unesco.org/goos