The '
Global Ocean Observing System
'' (GOOS) is a global system for sustained observations of the ocean comprising the oceanographic component of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (

GEOSS The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) was built by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan running from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of environmental data and decisi ...

). GOOS is administrated by the

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It first met in Paris at ...

(IOC), and joins the Global Climate Observing System, GCOS, and Global Terrestrial Observing System, GTOS, as fundamental building blocks of the

. GOOS is a platform for: * International cooperation for sustained observation of the oceans. * Generations of oceanographic products and services. * Interaction between research, operational, and user communities. GOOS serves oceanographic researchers, coastal managers, parties to international conventions, national meteorological and oceanographic agencies, hydrographic offices, marine and coastal industries, policymakers, and the interested general public. GOOS is sponsored by the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

, WMO, and

ICSU The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to multilateralism, international cooperation in the advancement of scie ...

. It is implemented by member states via their government agencies, navies and oceanographic research institutions working together in a wide range of thematic panels and regional alliances. The GOOS Scientific Steering Committee provides guidance, while Scientific and Technical Panels evaluate Essential Ocean Variable observation systems. The secretariat director, from 2004 to 2011 was Keith Alverson. The secretariat director from 2011–2022 it was Albert Fischer.

Essential ocean variables

Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) are a collection of ocean properties selected in a way so as to provide the best, most cost-effective suite of data that enables quantification of key ocean processes. They are selected based on their Relevance, Feasibility, and Cost effectiveness. They fall into four categories - physics, biogeochemistry, biology and ecosystems, and cross-disciplinary. Their consistent usage is promoted by agencies such as GOOS and Southern. The EOVs are: *Physics ** Sea state ** Ocean surface stress **

Sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. Much of the world' ...

Sea surface height Ocean surface topography or sea surface topography, also called ocean dynamic topography, are highs and lows on the ocean surface, similar to the hills and valleys of Earth's land surface depicted on a topographic map. These variations are exp ...

Sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...

**Subsurface temperature ** Surface currents **Subsurface currents **Sea surface salinity **Subsurface salinity **Ocean surface heat flux *Biogeochemistry **

Oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

Nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

s **

Inorganic carbon Total inorganic carbon (''C''T or TIC) is the sum of the inorganic carbon species. Carbon compounds can be distinguished as either organic or inorganic, and dissolved or particulate, depending on their composition. Organic carbon forms the bac ...

**Transient tracers **

Particulate matter Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defin ...

Nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

**Stable carbon isotopes **

Dissolved organic carbon Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the fraction of organic carbon Operational definition, operationally defined as that which can pass through a filter with a pore size typically between 0.22 and 0.7 micrometre, micrometers. The fraction remain ...

*Biology and Ecosystems **

Phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

biomass and diversity **

Zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

biomass and diversity **Fish abundance and distribution **Marine turtles, birds, mammals abundance and distribution **Hard coral cover and composition **

Seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...

cover and composition **

Macroalgal Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of Macroscopic scale, macroscopic, Multicellular organism, multicellular, ocean, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Brown algae, Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ...

canopy cover and composition **

Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

cover and composition **Microbe biomass and diversity (*emerging) **

Invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

abundance and distribution (*emerging) *Cross-disciplinary **

Ocean color Ocean color is the branch of ocean optics that specifically studies the color of the water and information that can be gained from looking at variations in color. The color of the ocean, while mainly blue, actually varies from blue to green or e ...

**Ocean Sound

References

External links

GOOS Web
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goos Oceanography Earth observation projects

Essential ocean variables

See also

References

External links