www. oceansandsociety.org

Overview of GEO Ocean-related Activities
Andy Steven

Overview• Oceans and Society Blue PlanetInitiative• Marine Biodiversity Observation
Network theme (GEOBON)• Oceans and Islands AOGEOSS Task

Blue Planet Initiative – Mission
Mission• advance and exploit synergies among ocean andcoastal observational programmes.
• increased integration of and access to in situ
and remote sensing ocean observation data.
• improve engagement with a variety of users forenhancing the timeliness, quality and range ofservices.
• raise awareness of the societal benefits of oceanobservations at the public and policy levels.

Adding Value by Building on Existing Efforts• Builds on existing programmes and coordinating mechanisms addressing
ocean observations and their societal applications.
• Blue Planet adds value by:– Providing additional exposure and visibility to programmes– Identifying synergies between programmes,– Linking data to products to information to knowledge– Demonstrating societal benefits– link to relevant policies and policy frameworks.

Blue Planet Initiative – Goal
• The overall goal of Blue Planet Initiative is toensure the sustained development and use ofocean and coastal observations for the benefitof society
User needs

Data

Products Information Knowledge

Blue Planet Initiative – Objectives• Objective 1: Increase integration of and access to insitu and remote sensing ocean observation data
• Objective 2: Conceptualize, promote and facilitate thedevelopment of end-to-end ocean information services• Objective 3: Improve connections between producers
and providers of ocean observation data, products andinformation and end users• Objective 4: Increase societal support and build
capacity for ocean observations

Blue Planet Initiative – Themes

Blue Planet Initiative – Projects

Blue Planet Initiative – Components & Themes

Blue Planet Initiative – GovernanceSteering Committee

Advisory Board
High-level Ocean
Observing
Representatives
High-level User
Representatives

Working Group Co-chairs

Management Committee
Secretariat

Contributing
Stakeholders

Steering
Committee
Co-chairs

Two Representatives atLarge
Contributing
Shareholders

Working Groups
User Engagement
Working Groups

Capacity Building and Advocacy
Working Groups

Data Integration and Informatics
Working Groups

Information Services
Working Groups

Call for Nominations
GEO Blue Planet:• Steering Committee• Advisory Board

Data Integration and Informatics Working Group
Jonathan Hodge (CSIRO)

Jonathan.hodge@csiro.auOutcomes•••

Provide discoverable, integrated and accessible ocean observation data
Provide a framework to enable comprehensive world ocean assessments
Build on and add to GEOSS infrastructure

Representation
••
•
•
•

Ocean Data Interoperability Program (ODIP),
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS),
IOC/IODE,
Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM),
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).

Activities•••••Network existing regional and international efforts to improve data interoperability andaccess.
Encourage and facilitate registration of databases within GEOSS Common Infrastructure.
Coordinating various initiatives that are making available research cruise information toensure that efforts are not being duplicated, and broaden the input to these efforts.
Developing the Blue Planet website into an online resource for policy makers, scientists andthe general public.
Working with data providers to generate user friendly interfaces for services and products.

Recent & Current Activities
2. Supporting SDG’s- 14 life below water• Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas andmarine resources for sustainable development• UN Conference to support the implementation ofSDG 14

3. 4M – Multi-purpose Marine Monitoring Mechanism
UNDP / CARIBE-GOOS proposal for Grenada and Barbados to:• access expertise in capacity building and technical requirements forproviding real-time information• to promote evidence-based marine and fisheries policy programmingand further strengthen the justification and accuracy in resource
mobilization effort

Recent & Current Activities
4. COVERAGE:CEOS Ocean Variables Enabling Research andApplications for GEO• assemble and present satellite and in situ ocean
data in a compelling web-based format todemonstrate the value added of multivariate ocean
data integration is support of science, applications,and public engagement.
• International collaboration via CEOS and GEO-Blue
Planet for global extension based on a priority-setof use-cases.

Use the Sargasso Sea as aregional pilot application

Blue Planet

MODIS CHL-A +Bluefin tuna archival tag
track + Reynolds SSTAVISO Sea levelanomaly

AIS Vessel Positions
Heat map + Tracks

Current Activities
1. Symposium Planning
Desired outcomes• Potential pilot and prototype projects for Blue Planet will be identified• Associated observing system and technical needs will be identified• Linkages and collaborations across disciplines and communities will bedeveloped
http://symposium.geoblueplanet.com/

Blue Planet Initiative – Contacts
Blue Planet Steering Committee:
Co Chairs• Sophie Seeyeve PML)
ssve@pml.ac.uk• Paul DiGiacomo (NOAA) paul.digiacomo@noaa.gov• Andy Steven CSIRO)
andy.steven@csiro.auBlue Planet Secretariat:
Scientific Coordinator:• Emily Smail (NOAA
Technical Manager:• Jonathan Hodge (CSIRO)

emily.smail@noaa.gov
jonathan.hodge@csiro.auwww.geoblueplanet.org@GeoBluePlanet
info@geoblueplanet.com

Illustration courtesy of F. Chavez/K. Lance(Monterey Bay Research Institute/MBARI)

 Biodiversity means food for people It is our ethical responsibility to have healthy
ecosystems and prevent species extinctions
 Biodiversity is key in ecosystem function &resilience, carbon & nutrient cycles, humanhealth Research of environment (physics, chemistry)
makes sense when put in the context of life onEarthObjectives
KEY OBJECTIVESOperational Objective:• Develop a community of practice for the collection, curation, and analysis ofmarine biodiversity information• Build on existing observing and data management infrastructure• Inform government and intergovernmental policies and support Blue Planet• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD/Aichi targets), the U.N.
Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDG 14 on oceans),
UN Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Ramsar Convention on wetlands(corals, seagrasses, etc.), IPBES, national and regional needs,etc.
Scientific Objective:• Understand how and why life in the ocean is changing, how local changes
relate to changes taking place over larger regions
19

STRATEGIES
Time-SeriesSeascapes

F.E. Muller-Karger, M. Kavanaugh, E. Montes, W.M. Balch, M. Breitbart, F.P. Chavez, S.C. Doney, E.M. Johns, R.M. Letelier, M.W. Lomas, H.M. Sosik, A.E. White. A
framework for a Marine Biodiversity Observation Network within changing continental shelf seascapes. In press. Oceanography. September 2014.

Regional to Global Seascapes
In progress/Next steps:• In situ validation• Automate data flow between NASA,USF, WHOI, IOOS DMAC / Axiom• Improving algorithms: Harmful Algal
Blooms (HAB), carbonate system• Expand high-resolution coverage:– Flower Garden Banks, AK-BON, SantaBarbara, other NMS• Evaluate user metrics• GEOBON and broader links:
 Work with Roger Sayre (USGS) to link
remote sensing Seascapes andEcological Marine Units/EMU(USGS/esri) Other partners/internationally

Surface ocean
EMU

Surface ocean
Seascapes

A Global Collaboration:
OBIS + GOOS (IOC) and MBONGEO BON/MBON – GOOS BioEco – OBIS partnership
Building a globally coherent, consistent and coordinatedsustained global ocean observing system to assess the state of
the ocean’s biological resources and ecosystems

Requirements

Biology & Ecosystems•Observations•Data &Products
Products,Indicators,Assessments

MBON•
•••
•
•
•

Open data sharing
Data integration
Data quality control
Data harmonization
Tools for data exploration,
visualization and analysis••Focus on sustainedobservations
Bring selected EOVs frompilot to mature
Link with platforms andobserving systems of GOOSand GRAs

R&D focus
Bring new EOVs fromconcept to pilot
Assist with theestablishment of nationaland regional BONs

e.g.: http://iobis.org/2016/12/15/goosgeobonobis/

Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)

Working Group Co-Chairs:
Frank Muller-Karger University of South Florida, USA
Mark Costello
University of Auckland, New ZealandIsabel Souza Pinto
University of Porto, Portugal

www.geobon.org

Asia-Oceania GEOSS
Priority Areas
Improving
regional
observingability

 Sustainable Agricultural
 Cross-regional disaster mitigation
 Ecology & environment

Regional
applications

AO GEOSS

 Infrastructure monitoring Surveying and mapping Ocean remote sensing monitoring Water resources
 ……

Technologycooperation
network

Data andinformation
products
processing

Earthobservation
data sharing
service24

Ocean and Society
GEOSS-AP Ocean Data Networking System

25

T8 Oceans and Islands
Goal• To advance and exploit synergies among the manyobservational programmes devoted to island,
coastal and ocean, to improve engagement with avariety of users for enhancing the timeliness,quality and range of services delivered;• to raise awareness of the societal benefits ofocean observations at the public and policy levels• Focus on coastal countries and small island statesTasks• Identify and articulate user needs.
• Produce new marine and coastal observation
network by supporting and linking partners.
• Improve the Coastal Applications of the Data Cubeand Modelling the Hydrodynamics andBiogeochemistry of the ocean environment.
• 2Evaluate the sea level rise riskPresentation
for thetitle
developing| Presenter name6statesin the western and eastern Pacific.
|

BP Activities – Cross GEO Initiatives
Asia Oceania GEOSS• Oceans and Islands Activity; pilots Sri Lanka andFiji/Samoa• GEOBON
o Marine BON coordinationo Global Ecological Marine Units
International Partnership for Blue Carbono Mangrove and seagrass mapping
Engagement with Other Programmes:• AtlanTOS• APEC Earth Marine Observations Workshop• Future Earth Coasts

CEOS Plenary 2016, 1-2 November27