DELIVERABLE D2.1 - Ifremer

Operational oceanography – combines observational data, often in near real-time, withforecasting models and optimal analysis techniques to estimate the state of the sea atpresent, in the near future and in the past. In general operational oceanographyincludes a rapid and open dissemination of products that are of direct use to marineusers.1.4.2. ProgrammesDeep ocean hydrography is not generally monitored for any statutory or regulatorymechanism such as that for contaminants or fisheries statistics in an ICES or OSPARcontext. Monitoring here is generally of the form of long-term sustainedobservations, as input to national meteorological programmes, research programmesor under the auspices of ad hoc national and international programmes. A number ofinitiatives, some formal, others informal, coordinate different components of theobservational programmes at an international level.ICES Working Group for Oceanic Hydrography (WGOH) standard sections (Figure 6)from the various national programmes are reported annually and encompass thesubpolar domain focused in the NE Atlantic and Nordic Seas. Most, though not all,of the sections are surveyed annually and some are sampled on a quasi seasonalbasis (e.g. the Icelandic Standard section programme, Figure 5). The longest periodthat the sections have been sampled over is about 100 years but in general the longerseries began in the 1960s and 1970s and some have only been sampled regularly forthe last decade.Figure 6. Standard Sections reported to the ICES Oceanic Hydrography Working GroupWOCE The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was a part of the WorldClimate Research Programme (WCRP) which used resources from nearly 3014