Tomorrow (Jan 26) will see the public release of Charting the Course for Ocean Science in the United States for the Next Decade: An Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy which outlines the national ocean research priorities for the United States for the next ten years. The public event will be held at 1pm at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, DC.
From the press release:
This document takes a fresh approach in considering the ocean as a dynamic system rather than attempting to identify research needs based on historical academic disciplines or independent activities such a resource distributions, fisheries assessments or ocean currents. This document is also unique in that it recognizes the important relationship between society and the ocean, and therefore, places a high emphasis on understanding the interactions between humans and ocean ecosystems – the human dimension of ocean issues.
Charting the Course will outline three critical elements of science and technology that will provide the United States with the scientific and technical means to redefine its relationship with the ocean for the better.
• Developing the understanding and capability to forecast ocean processes and phenomena will change how society takes action in the future, much like weather forecasts do today.
• Providing scientific support for ecosystem-based management will allow resources to be managed in ways that recognize and account for the complex interactions between those resources and other parts of the marine environment – including humans.
• Deploying of an ocean observing system that can describe the actual state of the ocean will revolutionize the access to and view of the ocean, coasts, coastal watersheds, and Great Lakes, increase the pace, efficiency, and scope of ocean research, and enable the promise of ocean forecasting and ecosystem-based management.
