Implementing operational ocean monitoring and forecasting systems

The United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and its Expert Team on Operational Ocean Forecasting Systems (ETOOFS) released a Guide on “Implementing Operational Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting Systems”.  The guide provides an overview of the value chain of an operational ocean forecasting system as well as international standards and best practices for setting up such a service. Weighing in at 400 pages, the guide is a unique and comprehensive reference document for the operational ocean modeling community. It covers key areas of operational ocean forecasting system, focusing on their current state of the art as well as their future developments.

Initiated at the request of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the guide was funded by GOOS and Mercator Ocean International. It was produced thanks to the cooperation of 51 institutions from 18 countries worldwide, among wich the CMCC Foundation. 80 authors have participated in the writing, under the coordination of the editors Enrique Alvarez Fanjul, Stefania Ciliberti, and Pierre Bahurel. The guide intends to provide inspiration and guidelines to professionals worldwide. If this is achieved, it is expected to foster a generation of information to support decision-making processes; and thus, to advocate for a more informed and sustainable relationship with our ocean.