A network of Time Series Observatories for documenting seasonal to decadal scale variations in key biogeochemical, physical and ecological parameters. The CO2 Survey has realized the first comprehensive, high-precision global scale maps of surface pCO2, allowing new estimates of carbon uptake by the oceans. These results illustrate great progress in our understanding of the patterns and trends in carbon flux, but also demonstrate that further study and new programs are needed to deepen our understanding and improve our ability to make climate prediction possible. For example, the oceans provide the principal constraint allowing us to estimate the terrestrial carbon sink and specify its geographic distribution.
Key questions remain and new ones have come into prominence.
A new decadal scale program in ocean physics and biogeochemistry is needed to address these questions of critical importance to the planetary civilization.