Taking the Pulse of the Oceans

Keith Alverson

D. James Baker

Ocean basins cover most of the planet and are filled with circulating turbulent fluid whose behavior can be modeled only by approximation. For instance, we talk of a "conveyor belt," but this is an unrealistic cartoon of actual turbulent circulation, which by transporting heat and fresh water affects the planet's climate. Knowledge about the true variability of the circulation remains elusive because long-term systematic observations are lacking.

Any seafarer knows that although one can look up from the deck of a ship and see the Moon clearly through 100 km of atmosphere, one cannot look down and see further than 1 m. Because the ocean is opaque to all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, Earth-observing satellites can't see below the surface either. Thus, much of the ocean must be observed from a patchwork of drifting and moored buoys, neutrally buoyant floats, coastal installations, and ship-based measurements.

CREDIT: FADLAN ARMAN SYAM/AP

For 15 years, a global ocean-observing system under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations' Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been meeting important needs of global society. However, surprisingly little progress has been made toward a truly global system with long-term funding commitments. Lacking such a system and commitments, critical scientific hypotheses will remain untested.

The IOC is now working with the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to identify national focal points for ocean observation efforts and to integrate these efforts into a truly global system. Unfortunately, there is still no plan for sustaining individual measurement programs, for integrating them into a coherent observing system, or for supporting them with stable funding. With a few notable exceptions, substantial multilateral government support for coordination and integration remains elusive.

To address this flaw, we propose the development of a UNESCO convention that commits nations to sustaining an integrated ocean-observing system that will lead to better understanding of the ocean and at the same time enable the provision of hazard warnings, monitoring of climate change, and management of marine and coastal resources. UNESCO's IOC stands ready to broker the development of such a convention. Preliminary discussions, including completion of the initial GEOSS tasks in ocean observation, begin at the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System in June 2007 in Paris. Will your nation be at the table?

10.1126/science.1135358

²D. James Baker is a former undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is currently a consultant at the IOC of UNESCO. E-mail: djamesbaker{at}comcast.net