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Understanding
the effects of the ocean upon climate is central to wise resource
management. Indeed, the world ocean plays a major role in
a vast number of processes occurring at the surface of the
earth. Governments, industry, science and the public need
a unified global network to systematically acquire, integrate
and distribute oceanic observations.
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is an ambitious undertaking
by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), The
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) together with scientific guidance
from the International Council for Science (ICSU).
It is the prime world focus for:
- coordinated,
cooperative interaction between nations to create a true
"globally interlinked" system for the gathering, archiving
and distribution of all useful kinds marine and oceanic
data on an ongoing basis;
- the
invention and implementation of technology for acquiring
and handling these data, and for generating "products" using
these data that can be applied for the benefit of mankind
and the safe use and preservation of the marine and oceanic
environment;
- the
building of technical and educational capacity in less-developed
and smaller countries, to enable them to acquire and use
marine and oceanic data and products for their own particular
needs.
The prime
body overseeing the planning and implementing of GOOS is the
jointly sponsored GOOS Steering Committeee (GSC). For convenience
GOOS has been divided into five "Modules" planned
by Panels of scientific and technical experts which report
to the GSC. Panels are also created as needed to deal with
cross-cutting and implementation aspects of GOOS, such as
data and information management and capacity-building. Since
other global systems for climate and terrestrial observing
are also under development, and because of the central importance
of space-based observation, many of the GOOS panels are linked
with these systems and with the Committee on Earth Observation
Satellites (CEOS).
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