Description: In the late 1960s IODE started the system of the National Oceanographic Programmes (NOPs) and Cruise Summary Reports (CSRs, formerly ROSCOPs) as a way to share information on planned research cruises as well as to report on the results of research cruises. For many years the NOP information was managed by the IODE Secretariat. However, at IODE-XV (1995) an offer was made by the University of Delaware to take on this task as part of OCEANIC (www.cms.udel.edu). The IODE Committee accepted this kind offer and Oceanic managed the service for well over ten years. At IODE-XVI, IODE decided to cease the mailing of paper copies of NOPs by the Secretariat, requested NODCs to mail NOPs directly to OCEANIC, and recommended that NOP information be made available on-line through OCEANIC. OCEANIC has continued this function, but has found it increasingly difficult to fund this activity in recent years. The ROSCOP (Report of Observations/ Samples Collected by Oceanographic Programmes) was conceived by IOC/IODE in the late 1960s in order to provide a low level inventory for tracking oceanographic data collected on Research Vessels. The ROSCOP form was extensively revised in 1990, and was re-named the Cruise Summary Report (CSR). Most marine disciplines are represented in the CSR, including physical, chemical, and biological oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, fisheries, marine contaminants, and marine meteorology. Traditionally, it is the Chief Scientist's obligation to submit a CSR to his/her National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) within two to three weeks after the cruise. In the early years, these were periodically transmitted to the World Data Centres for Oceanography and to ICES. In the late 1980s ICES led the effort to digitise the ROSCOP/CSR information and pioneered the development of a database for this information, and, in collaboration with IOC/IODE, developed and maintained a PC-based CSR entry tool and search facility. The emphasis for this was on ICES member countries, but extended to other countries who wished to submit their information. The CSR activity gained new momentum in Europe during the EU-funded EURONODIM/Sea-Search projects under the lead of BSH/DOD, Germany. The combined ICES and Sea-Search/SeaDataNet CSR database now comprises details of over 35000 oceanographic research cruises primarily from Europe and North America, but also including some other regions (e.g. Japan, Australia), some information extending back over the last 40 years, and with some as far as to 1873. Every fortnight, CSRs of BSH/DOD and ICES are synchronised. BSH/DOD has developed and now operates an on-line system for SeaDataNet partners entering and updating Cruise Summary Reports ‘CSROnline’ directly by Chief Scientists, and also for handling CSRs, delivered by NODCs in an agreed XML format. In addition, BSH/DOD offers searching of the CSR database via the ‘CSR Retrieval’ facility. Both the CSR entry and the CSR retrieval facilities are hosted at a dedicated server at BSH/DOD, but can be accessed via the Sea-Search portal (www.sea-search.net).

Description: Supported by IOC/IODE

Description: Document available in English

Description: Data flow

Description: © The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ponte, R. M., Carson, M., Cirano, M., Domingues, C. M., Jevrejeva, S., Marcos, M., Mitchum, G., van de Wal, R. S. W., Woodworth, P. L., Ablain, M., Ardhuin, F., Ballu, V., Becker, M., Benveniste, J., Birol, F., Bradshaw, E., Cazenave, A., De Mey-Fremaux, P., Durand, F., Ezer, T., Fu, L., Fukumori, I., Gordon, K., Gravelle, M., Griffies, S. M., Han, W., Hibbert, A., Hughes, C. W., Idier, D., Kourafalou, V. H., Little, C. M., Matthews, A., Melet, A., Merrifield, M., Meyssignac, B., Minobe, S., Penduff, T., Picot, N., Piecuch, C., Ray, R. D., Rickards, L., Santamaria-Gomez, A., Stammer, D., Staneva, J., Testut, L., Thompson, K., Thompson, P., Vignudelli, S., Williams, J., Williams, S. D. P., Woppelmann, G., Zanna, L., & Zhang, X. Towards comprehensive observing and modeling systems for monitoring and predicting regional to coastal sea level. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, (2019): 437, doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00437.

Description: A major challenge for managing impacts and implementing effective mitigation measures and adaptation strategies for coastal zones affected by future sea level (SL) rise is our limited capacity to predict SL change at the coast on relevant spatial and temporal scales. Predicting coastal SL requires the ability to monitor and simulate a multitude of physical processes affecting SL, from local effects of wind waves and river runoff to remote influences of the large-scale ocean circulation on the coast. Here we assess our current understanding of the causes of coastal SL variability on monthly to multi-decadal timescales, including geodetic, oceanographic and atmospheric aspects of the problem, and review available observing systems informing on coastal SL. We also review the ability of existing models and data assimilation systems to estimate coastal SL variations and of atmosphere-ocean global coupled models and related regional downscaling efforts to project future SL changes. We discuss (1) observational gaps and uncertainties, and priorities for the development of an optimal and integrated coastal SL observing system, (2) strategies for advancing model capabilities in forecasting short-term processes and projecting long-term changes affecting coastal SL, and (3) possible future developments of sea level services enabling better connection of scientists and user communities and facilitating assessment and decision making for adaptation to future coastal SL change.

Description: RP was funded by NASA grant NNH16CT00C. CD was supported by the Australian Research Council (FT130101532 and DP 160103130), the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Working Group 148, funded by national SCOR committees and a grant to SCOR from the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant OCE-1546580), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO/International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IOC/IODE) IQuOD Steering Group. SJ was supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council under Grant Agreement No. NE/P01517/1 and by the EPSRC NEWTON Fund Sustainable Deltas Programme, Grant Number EP/R024537/1. RvdW received funding from NWO, Grant 866.13.001. WH was supported by NASA (NNX17AI63G and NNX17AH25G). CL was supported by NASA Grant NNH16CT01C. This work is a contribution to the PIRATE project funded by CNES (to TP). PT was supported by the NOAA Research Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program through its sponsorship of UHSLC (NA16NMF4320058). JS was supported by EU contract 730030 (call H2020-EO-2016, “CEASELESS”). JW was supported by EU Horizon 2020 Grant 633211, Atlantos.