Establishment of Arctic Regional Ocean Observing System
For further information, please go to:
http://arctic-roos.org/
or contact:
Stein Sandven
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center
Phone: +4755205800
E-mail: stein.sandven [at] nersc.no
An Arctic Regional Ocean Observing System (Arctic ROOS) has been
established by a group of fourteen institutions from nine European
countries working actively with ocean observation and modeling systems
for the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Arctic ROOS has established a
secretariat at the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in
Norway.
The foundation meeting was held in Lulea, Sweden, on 18-19 December
2007, hosted by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
(SMHI) and EuroGOOS (http://www.eurogoos.org). Arctic ROOS will promote,
develop, and maintain operational monitoring and forecasting of ocean
circulation, water masses, ocean surface conditions, sea ice, and
biological/chemical constituents. This information can only be achieved
by close integration of data from in situ observations (ships, moorings,
buoys, and floats) and remote sensing (satellite and aircraft), and from
numerical models and data assimilation. During the International Polar
Year there are enhanced observational efforts of the arctic and
sub-arctic seas, with testing and implementation of new instruments and
platforms for data collection and data transmission. There are also a
growing number of systems providing information from earth observation
satellites and ice-ocean models. Many of these systems are developed and
operated by support from EU research projects, in particular MERSEA
(http://www.mersea.eu.org), DAMOCLES (http://www.damocles-eu.org),
MyOcean (http://www.eurogoos.org/documents/MyOcean.pdf), as well as
other projects contributing to the implementation of GMES and GEOSS in
arctic regions. One of the goals of Arctic ROOS is to contribute to the
IPY legacy by maintaining cost-effective and useful observing systems
after the end of IPY. The members of Arctic ROOS are data providers,
running operational services and research programs, and collecting ocean
and sea ice data and value-added products for dissemination to different
user groups. Data dissemination of Arctic ROOS will follow the
guidelines of EU (INSPIRE Directive) and the GEOSS Data Sharing
Principles. A main goal of Arctic ROOS is to expand with more members
from countries outside of Europe and become a GOOS Regional Alliance for
the Arctic.
The founding members of Arctic ROOS include:
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC)
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI)
- Institute Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
(Ifremer)
- Institute of Marine Research, Norway (IMR)
- Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences (IOPAS)
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)
- Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI)
- Mercator Ocean
- University of Cambridge, Department of Applied Mathematics and
Theoretical Physics (DAMPT)
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut fur Polar und Meeresforschung (AWI)
- Finnish Institute of Marine Research (FIMR)
- University of Bremen, Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP)
- Norwegian Meteorological Institute
- Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NIERSC)
For further information, please go to:
http://arctic-roos.org/
or contact:
Stein Sandven
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center
Phone: +4755205800
E-mail: stein.sandven [at] nersc.no