Sixty-seven countries and seventeen networks: the system that watches the ocean

Background

A status report on the Global Ocean Observing System was released on 5 November, setting out what the system now measures and where it still falls short. The Global Ocean Observing System, known as GOOS, is led by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Its operational centre is called OceanOPS, which is supported jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. OceanOPS helps put the observing system in place and keeps watch on how the observing networks are performing. At present 67 countries take physical and biogeochemical measurements at sea, through the 17 GOOS networks that OceanOPS monitors, and satellites add readings from space. Those observations feed weather forecasting, climate monitoring, coastal risk management and biodiversity work. The report says observing capacity is spread unevenly, and that better long-term coverage is needed in the Southern Ocean, the polar regions, the deep ocean and many coastal areas, especially in developing countries and small island developing states.