Integrated Ocean Carbon Research: A Summary of Ocean Carbon Knowledge and a Vision for Coordinated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) and Observations for the Next Decade
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has just published the “Integrated Ocean Carbon Research: A Summary of Ocean Carbon Knowledge and a Vision for Coordinated Ocean Carbon Research and Observations for the Next Decade”, a report which sets out to accomplish the vital task of indicating the current gaps and future directions for the integrated ocean carbon cycle research. The report presents a synthesis of the state of knowledge about the oceans’ role in the carbon cycle and points to the way ahead. Its objective is to provide decision-makers with the knowledge needed to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation policies for the coming decade. It also emphasizes the importance of scientific knowledge to the taking of informed decisions within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and build more resilient societies.
In developing the report, the IOC brought together experts from the five international research and coordination programmes on ocean-climate interaction (the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP), the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research Project (IMBeR), the Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS), the Climate and Ocean Variability, Predictability and Change (CLIVAR) project and the Global Carbon Project), which have been working together since 2018 in the IOC Working Group on Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R). Together they propose an innovative joint program of medium- and long-term integrated ocean carbon research to fill the gaps in this field. The report was developed as part of the ongoing UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). The official press release of IOC-UNESCO is found here.
Full citation:
Aricò, S., Arrieta, J. M., Bakker, D. C. E., Boyd, P. W., Cotrim da Cunha, L., Chai, F., Dai, M., Gruber, N., Isensee, K., Ishii, M., Jiao, N., Lauvset, S. K., McKinley, G. A., Monteiro, P., Robinson, C., Sabine, C., Sanders, R., Schoo, K. L., Schuster, U., Shutler, J. D., Thomas, H., Wanninkhof, R., Watson, A. J., Bopp, L., Boss, E., Bracco, A., Cai, W., Fay, A., Feely, R. A., Gregor, L., Hauck, J., Heinze, C., Henson, S., Hwang, J., Post, J., Suntharalingam, P., Telszewski, M., Tilbrook, B., Valsala, V. and Rojas Aldana, A. 2021. Integrated Ocean Carbon Research: A Summary of Ocean Carbon Research, and Vision of Coordinated Ocean Carbon Research and Observations for the Next Decade. R. Wanninkhof, C. Sabine and S. Aricò (eds.). Paris, UNESCO. 46 pp. (IOC Technical Series, 158.) doi:10.25607/h0gj-pq41
