NOAA's ocean observing programs

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the broadest and most complex ocean mandate of any Federal agency, and an array of observation programs to match. While those observing programs were developed to serve that diverse set of mission needs, NOAA recognizes the benefits of moving toward more integrated approaches. We describe the current suite of NOAA's observing programs from the perspective of its mission, goals, and strategies, with a particular emphasis on meeting internal and external user needs. In addition to outlining NOAA's potential contributions to the emerging interagency and international network of ocean observing systems, we offer some perspectives on the characteristics of such a system from the perspective of an organization that would both feed it and use it.