Addressing R2O and International Collaboration to Implement Global Ocean Observations for Society and Economy (Invited Presentation)

Understanding the ocean starts with observing it. The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contributes over 50% of the worlds in-situ ocean observations for climate and weather forecasting and maritime operations. Ocean observations provide critical data to nations for delivering marine weather and ocean services, to ensure safe and efficient maritime operations, and improving emergency response efficiency for extreme events. They are also crucial for providing scientific assessments to enable environmental prediction and adaptation to climatic change, as well as leading to more effective protection of ecosystems. NOAA's Global Drifter Program uses more than 1,400 drifting buoys to track ocean pressure, temperature, salinity, ocean currents, surface wind, and waves. This program was established over thirty years ago in the research domain and now is used to track hur­ricanes, providing data that can help forecasters predict the path and intensity of these storms. NOAA also supports the World Meteorological Organization/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (WMO/IOC) Partnerships for New GEOSS Applications (PANGEA), which facilitates partnerships between developed and developing countries to both train researchers and forecasters on the understanding and utilization of global ocean and marine meteorological data as well as to sustain observing networks. NOAA has forged long-term PANGEA Partnerships with India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climate and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) to implement and sustain the pan-Indian Ocean Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA). During the past decade, NOAA worked closely with the WMO/IOC Data Buoy Cooperation Panel (DBCP) co-sponsoring over 20 capacity development workshops across South Asia, Western Indian Ocean/ East Africa, Pacific Islands and Northeast Asia by providing expert training on the applications of ocean observation data for understanding and predicting regional weather, tropical cyclones, ocean and climate and their impact on fisheries, coastal zone management, natural disasters, water resource management, human health, monsoon forecasting and others.

This presention will address the aspects of implementing and sustaining global ocean observations and the vital roles of R2O and international collaboration.