From 6 till 9 November 2023, over a hundred ocean carbon scientists from around the world will meet at Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Oostende, Belgium, to review the status of the Surface Ocean Carbon Value Chain and decide on specific improvements to the structure, process and resulting delivery of critical information. The community has been ready to update its mode of operation for a few years and the recently announced, WMO-led Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (GGGW) programme serves as a direct trigger for this important gathering. GGGW, has the ambition to completely transform our collective ability to deliver a fully transparent global carbon monitoring system allowing countries to better understand and manage the causes of climate change in a timely and efficient manner. For that ambition to be realised, the ocean carbon community is committed to bringing together existing and future observing efforts into a common framework under the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) that can routinely deliver the required information to policy makers.
To find out more about the specific topics covered, details of the agenda, including the speakers and to learn how to join the meeting online, visit the ICOS Ocean Thematic Centre website.
Background information on climate change and the ocean
Climate change is caused by the accumulation of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning in the atmosphere. Less well known is that the ocean acts as a substantial brake on the rate of climate change. This happens by it taking up and storing about 25% of the carbon dioxide humans release to the atmosphere each year. We know this number in part as a result of the efforts of ocean research groups worldwide to observe the ocean. This involves measurements by scientists working on many ships over the years who operate complex equipment to determine carbon dioxide uptake across the world’s ocean. These data are pulled together so that a global picture can be produced.
Over the years this process has evolved into a well-coordinated series of actions, called the ‘Surface Ocean Carbon Value Chain’. It starts with collecting data from the ocean, then bringing these data together in large data products. Finally processing groups work on those data, independently, to calculate ocean carbon dioxide uptake. This information is delivered to the annual Conference Of the Parties (COP), so that policy makers can set climate policy with the best possible understanding of how the Global Carbon Cycle is evolving.
The latest studies highlight that there is a significant difference between ocean carbon dioxide uptake calculated from data and models. This means that it is timely to review and streamline our practices to ensure that we deliver the best possible information to policy makers.