National Academies Press: OpenBook

The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs (1994)

Chapter: APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
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Appendix II - Parameters of Importance for Understanding the Ocean's Role in Global Change

1

PARAMETER

TOOLS

SOCIETAL BENEFIT

GENERAL ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN MEASUREMENTS

wind

air temperature

humidity

precipitation

sea state

ships

buoys

satellites

aircraft

coastal stations

shipping; structures; search & rescue; offshore operations; meteorological models; weather forecasts; recreation

PROFILING ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN MEASUREMENTS

ballon profiles

acoustic profiles

optical profiles

ships

buoys

weather forecasts; air quality; air-sea chemical fluxes

SEA-LEVEL

sea-level

tide gauges

bottom pressure guages

tides; storm surge; navigation; coastal zone management; coastal development; salt water intrusion; climate change; recreation

CURRENTS

currents

ships

buoys

drifters

navigation; search and rescue; emergency response; beach erosion; sediment and pollutant transport; global circulation models

1  

Adapted from a table in First Steps Toward a U.S. GOOS (see Appendix III)

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×

PARAMETER

TOOLS

SOCIETAL BENEFIT

TEMPERATURE

sea-surface temperature

subsurface temperature

ships

buoys

VOS

climate change; coastal meteorology; environmental quality; sea-level change; fisheries

SALINITY

surface salinity

deep salinity

ships

buoys

ecosystem health; fisheries; environmental quality; recreation coastal ocean models

ICE

ice edge and extent

coastal observations

satellites

aircraft

navigation; climate change; meteorology; climate models; ecosystem health; fisheries

SHORT AND LONG WAVE RADIATION

aerosols

gas exchange

chemical precipitation

photosynthetically available radiation

satellites

ground stations

ships

climate change; water quality; ecosystems health; status and trends; fisheries

OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS

pigment

detritus

clarity

sediment load

spectral properties

buoys

ships

satellites

water quality; ecosystem health; eutrophication; navigation; toxic blooms

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×

PARAMETER

TOOLS

SOCIETAL BENEFIT

NUTRIENTS

NO3, PO4, NH3,

NO2, and O2

ships

buoys

satellites

water quality; ecosystem health; eutrophication; fisheries; recreation; status and trends

PLANKTON

phytoplankton

fluorometric measurements

species identification

growth

ships

buoys

biochemical and molecular techniques

environmental quality (blooms); ecosystem health; recreation; fisheries; global change

ZOOPLANKTON

biomass

abundance

species identification

ships (incl. VOS)

acoustics

optics

biochemical and molecular techniques

ecosystem health; fisheries; global change; fisheries

CHEMISTRY

POC, DOC, PCO2, DIC

ships

submersibles

ROVs, AUVs

environmental quality; ecosystem health; living resources; recreation; human health

GEOLOGY

sediment types

grain size, porosity

movement, morphology

bathymetry-topography

benthic biology

coastal erosion-run off

cores

grab samples

echo sounder

nets

landers-incubators

coastal zone management; environmental quality; ecosystem health; navigation; living resources

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×
Page 67
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×
Page 68
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×
Page 69
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE." National Research Council. 1994. The Ocean's Role in Global Change: Progress of Major Research Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2354.
×
Page 70
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What role does the ocean play in global climate change? Although not fully understood, there is general agreement that it is significant. Therefore, the scientific community has initiated large-scale research programs based on studies of the ocean and its relation to global climate and climate-related processes. This volume provides brief summaries and reports on the progress of the major oceanographic research programs. It looks at both programs that study processes that occur over periods ranging from days to hundreds of years—the contemporary system—and those that seek to understand long-term variations ranging from thousands to millions of years—the geological perspective.

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