The ocean plays a critical role in climate and weather, serving as a massive reservoir of heat and water that influences tropical storms, El Nin~o, and climate change. In addition, the ocean has absorbed 30 percent of the carbon dioxide associated with human activities, lessening the climate effects of fossil fuel combustion.
The ocean plays a critical role in climate and weather, serving as a massive reservoir of heat and water that influences tropical storms, El Nin~o, and climate change. In addition, the ocean has absorbed 30 percent of the carbon dioxide associated with human activities, lessening the climate effects of fossil fuel combustion.
Ocean observing systems are important as they provide information essential for monitoring and forecasting changes in Earth’s climate on timescales ranging from days to centuries. A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine finds that continuity of ocean observations is vital to gain an accurate understanding of the climate, and calls for a decadal, national plan that is adequately resourced and implemented to ensure critical ocean information is available to understand and predict future changes. The report notes that federal activities provide an opportunity for sustained and coordinated ocean-observing in the U.S., but require coordinated and high-level leadership to be effective. Additional benefits of this observational system include improvements in weather forecasting, marine resource management, and maritime navigation.
The United States’ contributions to the international network of ocean-observing activities are substantial today, and have advanced our understanding of global climate. Particularly, the U.S. is a leader in the efforts of the Global Ocean Observing System, an international organization that identifies priority ocean variables for understanding climate and technical requirements for their measurements. But issues related to flat or declining funding are jeopardizing the country’s leadership and creating challenges in maintaining long-term ocean-related climate observations, the report says. Funding mechanisms that rely on annual budget approval or short-term grants may result in discontinuity of ocean-climate measurements, reducing the value of the observations made to date and in the future.
Read more at National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
