The Southern Ocean provides the principal connections between the Earth’s ocean basins and between the upper and lower layers of the global ocean circulation. As a result, the Southern Ocean strongly influences climate patterns and the cycling of carbon and nutrients, and thus changes in the Southern Ocean would have global ramifications. Sustained, multidisciplinary observations are required to detect, interpret and respond to change.
The Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) was launched in August 2011 to coordinate and expand international efforts to collect and disseminate sustained observations from the Southern Ocean, with the key objective being to deliver the observations required to address key scientific and societal issues, such as climate change, sea-level rise, and the impacts of global change on marine ecosystems.
The main decision-making body for the SOOS is its Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), which meets annually and directs implementation of the SOOS towards its goals. The SOOS SSC will meet at the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø, Norway from 18-20 June 2014.
Please contact Louise Newman for more information.