Operational Oceanography — the Stimulant for Marine Research in Europe

Goals of the European Marine Research Plan include promoting the quality of, and access to, the science needed for effective Coastal Zone Management — underpinning governance to ensure sustainable exploitation of this invaluable resource. The diversity in nature, usage and hence challenges in European coasts requires fostering of localised scientific expertise with an attendant range of approaches. Operational oceanography links science and decision making, by providing nowcasts and forecasts of the physical (tides, surges, waves, currents, temperature, salinity, ice and sediment transport), chemical (pollutants, tracers etc.) and biological (algae bloom, productivity, fish stocks and ecological indices) marine environment in different space-time scales (Fig. 1). Operational oceanography aims to maximise the value of predictions by optimal assimilation of information provided by observing networks with the systematic temporal and spatial resolution of holistic knowledge synthesized within numerical models. However, the success of both operational oceanography and applied marine science depends increasingly on access to major investments in technology. Linkages across ocean-atmosphere-seas-coasts and between physics-chemistry-biology-geology in marine sciences extends this dependence to national and international activities, e.g. data from meteorological agencies, satellites, international survey programmes, etc. A peculiar challenge in designing the GOOS is to perceive future global benefits, in addition to present local concerns. Here we examine related’ scientific Frontiers’ and associated technical issues.