There is an immediate need to make more effective use of existing resources and new technologies to provide more timely detection and prediction of coastal environmental conditions from changes in the weather and sea state to changes in habitat and living marine resources. A sustained and integrated system is needed to

improve weather forecasting, predict climate change and its effects on coastal populations, improve the safety and efficiency of marine operations, and monitor for compliance and the management of coastal ecosystems.

This is the purpose of developing a nationally coordinated, locally relevant ocean observing system. Here, the U.S. GOOS Steering Committee outlines the rationale for such a system and the first steps that we believe should be taken to begin its development. We build on and extend "Toward a U.S. Plan for an Integrated, Sustained Ocean Observing System" submitted to Congress on 20 April, 1999 under the auspices of National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC). The full text of the latter may be found at

Given the concentration of resources in coastal ecosystems, the rapid increase in the number of people living, working and playing in the coastal zone should not come as a surprise. The pressures on these ecosystems to provide commerce, recreation, and living space and to receive, process, and dilute the effluents of human society will continue to grow. At the same time, coastal ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented changes that affect their capacity to provide these services and support valuable resources, e.g., habitat loss (tidal wetlands, sea grass beds, coral reefs, oxygen depletion), harmful algal blooms, fish kills, declining fish stocks, beach closures, coastal erosion and flooding. The resulting conflicts between commerce, recreation, development, and conservation will become increasingly contentious, politically charged, and expensive.

Trends such as these present significant challenges to the goals of protecting, restoring, and sustaining ecosystem goods and services. Meeting these challenges and resolving conflicts in an informed fashion will require

more timely detection and prediction of environmental changes and their causes and consequences; more timely access to relevant environmental information by policy and decision makers; more cost-effective use of existing infrastructure, expertise, environmental data, and knowledge; and closer ties between monitoring environmental changes and research conducted to understand and predict the causes and consequences of such changes.

Given the importance of physical processes in structuring marine ecosystems, we emphasize that a high priority must be given to improving our ability to detect and predict variability in physical conditions (weather, surface winds, sea level, currents, waves, sea state, location of fronts and pycnoclines, etc.) and their consequences (from safe marine operations to how human activities affect marine ecosystems and the goods and services they support).

A large number of state and federal agencies are currently responsible for different but overlapping aspects of environmental change in coastal ecosystems. Agency missions range from forecasting the weather, enabling safer and more efficient marine operations, and predicting the effects of climate change to managing the health of coastal ecosystems and the resources they support, protecting public health, and mitigating the effects of natural disasters and of human activities. The agencies and departments responsible for these services, all of which require environmental observations, research, and forecasts have evolved separate (often redundant and not often compatible) systems for collecting, managing, analyzing, and applying environmental data. At the same time, individual programs, by themselves, are inevitably underfunded, limited in scope, and target a limited number of user groups. Consequently, major gaps exist in our understanding of variability in coastal environments, and our ability to predict future conditions and to mitigate the effects of environmental changes is rudimentary at best.

Many of the elements of an integrated coastal ocean observing system (ICOOS) are already in place or in development, and the NOAA Coastal Services Center has established a web site that identifies and provides links to them (). In this context, it is clear that a more cost-effective approach must be found that coordinates and integrates many of the elements of these systems in order to minimize redundancy, to provide more timely access to data and information, to be more comprehensive, and to satisfy the information needs of a greater spectrum of user groups (e.g., government agencies, industries, universities, research institutions, NGOs, and the public at large). An ICOOS is needed to achieve this vision for coastal ecosystems from estuaries to the outer limits of the EEZ.

A. Requirements

Although, the challenges are significant, we are witnessing a convergence of societal needs and technical capabilities that provide the motivation and means to design and implement such a system. The time is right to develop an IOOS that is

an end-to-end (from measurements and data management to data analysis and applications), user-driven system based on sound science; cost-effective through the incorporation of existing infrastructure and the shared-use of collective resources and expertise; both sustained (in perpetuity) and integrated (multi-disciplinary, synoptic observations for a variety of purposes) and responsive to the information needs of many user groups.

The observing system is conceived as a coordinated national network for the measurement and analysis of a common set of core variables¹ that are needed for a variety of purposes from forecasting the weather, marine services and compliance monitoring to predicting, managing and mitigating the effects of land-use on coastal ecosystems (e.g., susceptibility to natural hazards, beach and shellfish bed closures, oxygen depletion, HABs, habitat loss).

Linking user needs to measurements requires a managed, interactive flow of data and information among three essential subsystems of the IOOS: (1) the observing subsystem (measurement of core variables and the transmission of data), (2) the communications network and data management subsystem (organizing, cataloging, and disseminating data), and (3) the modeling and applications subsystem (translating data into products in response to user needs). Thus, the observing system consists of the infrastructure and expertise required for each of these subsystems as well as that needed to insure the continued and routine flow of data and information among them.

B. A Federation of Regional Observing Systems

Detecting, assessing, predicting and mitigating the effects of natural variability and human activities on coastal ecosystems requires a regional perspective that transcends political boundaries and provides the means to evaluate local changes in marine ecosystems in terms of larger scale changes in climate, ocean circulation, fishing pressure and land-use practices. Regional approaches also provide a practical framework to coordinate the efforts of local, state, and federal programs, involve stakeholders, and enable the timely analysis of data. A nation-wide network can thus be built by coordinating the development and linking of regional observing systems that measure a common set of core variables and are regionally and locally enhanced (additional variables, greater resolution in time and space, data management and synthesis centers) to address those issues that are of greatest interest to user groups in the region.

There are many programs in place that incorporate some of the elements of an ICOOS, but few, if any, are sufficiently integrated or comprehensive to constitute a complete system. They are not as cost-effective nor as useful as they could be, and they do not serve as broad a spectrum of user needs as an ICOOS would make possible. By formulating and implementing a plan for regional (often interstate) observing systems that are nationally coordinated and locally relevant, a wider array of users will be more effectively served with relatively modest increases in costs relative to the additional benefits. This is the value added aspect of the proposed system.

The system must be designed from the beginning to provide the required meteorological, physical, chemical and biological data and to assimilate and analyze such data to meet the needs of many user groups. Implementation will be a stepwise process based on current priorities and capabilities. A survey of user groups suggest that priority should be given to the following:

Establish a mechanism to enable the development of embryonic observing systems, to facilitate coordination among such systems, and to begin planning for their development into an integrated national network. Such an "incubator" approach would logically be supported through a collaboration between the Coastal Services Center of NOAA and the Earth Science Applications Center of NASA.2 Integrate and enhance existing and developing observing networks to provide (1) additional offshore meteorological and wave data in real time; (2) nowcasts and forecasts of coastal currents, waves, beach and coastal erosion, sediment plumes and storm water discharges; (3) more timely assessments of the efficacy of management actions and regulations that affect water quality, living resources, and biodiversity; (4) regular surveys of human activities (e.g., fishing, recreational boating, surfing, beach use) and beaches; and (5) evaluation of new technologies to achieve these goals (e.g., hyperspectral imagery, scanning airborne laser altimetry, HF radar).

Achievement of these priorities will require (1) the design and implementation of regional mechanisms for data and metadata management that are more effective, comprehensive, and responsive to user needs and training and (2) education in the use of new technologies and data applications that target user groups as well as data providers;

A. Governance Considerations

The ICOOS must be nationally coordinated and locally relevant, and it must enable government agencies and other user groups to fulfill their respective missions and goals more effectively. At present, there is no coherent governance structure that provides an efficient mechanism to achieve these goals. National leadership and coordination is required to enable and promote

cooperation and collaboration among federal and state agencies and enable the nation-wide development and implementation of economically and ecologically sound environmental policies; efficiencies in the design and implementation of regional programs and the timely incorporation of new technologies, models and products; capacity building through training programs and infrastructure development; the measurement of core variables by all regional observing systems using nationally accepted methods and QAQC standards; the dissemination and management of data for the benefit of all; the development of ICOOS in the international framework of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS); and sustained, predictable and performance based funding to insure uninterrupted data streams and the routine provision of data-products.

Given these goals, and the reality that the boundaries of most environmental issues of local importance are not confined to legal jurisdictions or to the missions of any one government agency, new mechanisms are needed that enable federal and multi-state collaboration in the allocation and management of funds and the periodic assessment of each regional system. To be successful, the governance of regional programs must harmonize "bottom-up" programmatic development through regional organizations of stakeholders (data providers and users) with "top-down" coordination by federal agencies and national organizations. The success of this approach will depend on the development of programs that are comprehensive in design and enjoy continuity of support that is not susceptible to short term political decisions and the annual funding cycles of state and federal governments.

B. A Proposed Approach

The goal is to develop a national federation of regional coastal ocean observing systems, each of which meets national performance standards for data quality and dissemination, is responsive to user needs, enjoys strong public support, and improves as new technologies become available and new needs emerge. Clearly, no single government agency is capable of planning and supporting such systems. Thus, in addition to providing the mechanism for building and managing observing systems that ensure ongoing, constructive feedback between data providers and users, the governance structure must clearly define and harmonize the roles of federal, state, and local agencies.

Regional organization. A governing body (e.g., a Board of Directors of a nonprofit corporation such as that which has been formed in the Gulf of Maine region) will be needed to provide leadership and management. The governing body will consist of stakeholders (e.g., representatives from the shipping, fishing, tourist, and construction industries; state and federal agencies; environmental research institutions; indigenous populations; and NGOs) and will be responsible for

developing sustained state, regional, and federal financial support; overseeing the design, implementation, and management of the observing system; ensuring that the system is driven by local priorities and begins by incorporating existing programs, expertise and infrastructure; and engaging stakeholders at all stages, from the establishment of priorities and planning to implementation, program evaluation, and product development.

Mechanisms for the management of funds, technical operations, research, data (including QAQC), product development, system review and evaluation, and public outreach will have to be established.

National organization. A federal umbrella organization will be needed to provided leadership and coordination. One approach would involve multi-agency funding committed via an interagency MOA and managed by an interagency Program Office. Policies and procedures for the operation of the office and allocations of funds would be established by a national steering committee such as the U.S. GOOS Steering Committee working in collaboration with participating State and Federal agencies. The office would be operated under the auspices of a host agency and would be responsible for ensuring that regional programs conform to nationally established design principles for the ICOOS as a prerequisite for federal funding. The NOPP and the development of the OceansUS Office provide one example of a possible mechanism.

¹ Core variables are the minimum number of variables required to satisfy a maximum number of user needs. After reviewing recommendations from numerous workshop and conducing a systematic analysis of user needs and variables that should and can be measured to satisfy these needs. Variables required to detect and predict change were ranked in terms of the number of environmental issues, models, and user groups they are relevant to. Based on these rankings (a measure of general importance or impact), and on the feasibility of measurement (cost and the availability of technology), the minimum number of core variables was identified as follows: surface winds, air pressure, freshwater inputs, solar radiation, surface currents, waves and roughness, sea level, bathymetry, surface temperature and salinity, turbidity, ocean color, phytoplankton pigments, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon, dissolved oxygen, and benthic sediment type and grain size.

² The missions of both the Coastal Services Center (CSC) of NOAA and the Earth Science Applications Center of NASA emphasize capacity building and bridging the gap between data providers and data users. Both are poised to play key roles in (1) developing mechanisms that involve user groups in the design, implementation and evaluation of ICOOS; (2) facilitating coordination among pilot projects; (3) enabling the formation of "test beds" for the development and testing of new technologies from sensors to models; (4) building capacity through training (building technical expertise) and education (teaching user groups how to use data and information to their benefit and increasing public awareness of environmental issues in the coastal zone); and (5) providing services to data providers and users through product development.