Corresponding author: Lenore Bajona (
Academic editor:
Canada’s ocean science community which includes the federal government, academia, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and other research partners, collect and synthesize physical, chemical and biological ocean observations. This information is used for discovery research purposes, to model ocean changes and provide environmental assessment advice, support resource management decision-making, and establish baseline data for long-term monitoring.
Canada’s ocean community collects large amounts of data but, aside from building comprehensive ocean observatories (
Conceptual discussions on CIOOS have taken place with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Department of National Defence, DFO, and the academic and NGO sector. Work is underway on four closely-linked projects to move CIOOS from the concept stage to the design stage, covering key areas required to develop a robust and integrated observing system:
Governance; Data and observations; Cyber Infrastructure; and, Visualization tools.
The project teams are evaluating the current ocean observing landscape in Canada (what exists, who has it, and what state is it in), the standards followed, and the gaps, limits or barriers to setting up an integrated ocean observing system. From this they will develop a list of recommendations to support the implementation of CIOOS, which will include which standards to use, the resources required (FTE, capital investment, capabilities), and the best practices to follow.
Lenore Bajona on behalf CIOOS Task Team and associated project team participants