This document gives an overview and links to a number of international mechanisms and bodies, that are active in international exchange, management and provision of marine data and information for european waters. The IOC is committed to international cooperation and exchange in order to improve our capabilities in oceanographic research, systematic ocean observations, technology development and transfer, and related education and training. The IOC has a number of Subsidiary Bodies a.o. It is a leading scientific forum for the exchange of information and ideas on the sea and its living resources, and for the promotion and coordination of marine research by scientists within its member countries. The Helsinki Commission is a body for international cooperation for the protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea.
Members are the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea.
A variety of in situ and satellite measurement techniques are being used to survey the ocean to unprecedented accuracy, scale and complexity over a period of 8 years. The programme was designed to answer key questions about the transfer of heat and freshwater around the globe, air-sea fluxes and how the ocean responds to seasonal and interannual variations in the atmosphere.