The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global climate research. The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), and has also been sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO since 1993.
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It first met in Paris at UNESCO Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States became members of the commission. The IOC assists governments to address their individual and collective ocean and coastal management needs, through the sharing of knowledge, information and technology as well as through the co-ordination of programs and building capacity in ocean and coastal research, observations and services.
The Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) is a global and multidisciplinary research project dedicated to understanding the key biogeochemical-physical interactions and feedbacks between the ocean and the atmosphere. Further, SOLAS seeks to link ocean-atmosphere interactions with climate and people. Achievements of these goals are essential in order to understand and quantify the role that ocean-atmosphere interactions play in the regulation of climate and global change.
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based across two sites, one in Southampton and one in Liverpool, England. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. The Centre was established to promote co-operation with institutions across the UK marine science community, to better address key issues including sea level change, the ocean's role in climate change, computer simulation of the ocean's behaviour, and the long term monitoring and future of the Arctic Circle.
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) is the international membership body and learned society for marine professionals operating in the spheres of marine engineering, science, or technology. It has registered charity status in the UK. It has a worldwide membership of over 12,000 individuals based in over 128 countries. The institute is a member of the UK Science Council and a licensed body of the Engineering Council UK.
Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC) is the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) core project responsible for understanding how global change will affect the abundance, diversity and productivity of marine populations. The programme was initiated by SCOR and the IOC of UNESCO in 1991, to understand how global change will affect the abundance, diversity and productivity of marine populations comprising a major component of oceanic ecosystems.
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is a global system for sustained observations of the ocean comprising the oceanographic component of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). GOOS is administrated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and joins the Global Climate Observing System, GCOS, and Global Terrestrial Observing System, GTOS, as fundamental building blocks of the GEOSS.
IMBeR is a Future Earth-SCOR sponsored international project that promotes integrated marine research through a range of research topics towards sustainable, productive and healthy oceans at a time of global change, for the benefit of society.
Oleg Ivanovich Mamayev was a Soviet oceanographer, professor, and head of the Oceanology Department at the Moscow State University.
InterRidge is a non-profit organisation that promotes interdisciplinary, international studies in the research of oceanic spreading centres, including mid-ocean ridge and back-arc basin systems. It does so by creating a global research community, planning and coordinating new science programmes that no single nation can achieve alone, exchanging scientific information, and sharing new technologies and facilities. InterRidge is dedicated to reaching out to the public, scientists and governments, and to providing a unified voice for ocean ridge researchers worldwide.
The Flanders Marine Institute provides a focal point for marine scientific research in Flanders, northern Belgium.
Dawn Jeannine Wright is an American geographer and oceanographer. She is a leading authority in the application of geographic information system (GIS) technology to the field of ocean and coastal science and played a key role in creating the first GIS data model for the oceans. Wright is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri). She has also been a professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University since 1995 and is a former Oregon Professor of the Year as named by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Wright was the first Black female to dive to the ocean floor in the deep submersible ALVIN. On July 12, 2022, she became the first and only Black person to dive to Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth, and to successfully operate a side scan sonar at full-ocean depth.
Dr. Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi is an Indian marine scientist and the former director of the National Institute of Oceanography. His work has concentrated in oceanic water chemistry, biogeochemistry, and chemical interrelations with living organisms. He has also performed research on freshwater ecosystems. He was the chief Indian scientist of LOHAFEX, an ocean iron fertilization experiment jointly planned by the Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR), India, and Helmholtz Foundation, Germany.
Shailesh Nayak is an Indian scientist and is currently Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Chancellor of TERI School of Advanced Studies and Distinguished Scientist in the Ministry of Earth Sciences. He was the Chair of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) and Secretary to the Government of India for Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Indian government, between August 2008 – 2015. He was also the Chairman of Earth Commission in India. He served as the interim chairman of ISRO between 31 December 2014 and 11 January 2015.
The North Pacific Marine Science Organization,, is an intergovernmental organization that promotes and coordinates marine scientific research in the North Pacific Ocean and provides a mechanism for information and data exchange among scientists in its member countries.
Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) is a regional professional, non-governmental, non-profit, membership organization, registered in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The organization is dedicated to promoting the educational, scientific and technological development of all aspects of marine sciences throughout the region of Western Indian Ocean (Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Réunion (France)), with a view toward sustaining the use and conservation of its marine resources. The association has about 1000 individual members as well as about 50 institutional members from within and outside the region.
Gerold Siedler is a German physical oceanographer. He is professor emeritus at the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel and at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
The Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), formerly Ocean Biogeographic Information System, is a web-based access point to information about the distribution and abundance of living species in the ocean. It was developed as the information management component of the ten year Census of Marine Life (CoML) (2001-2010), but is not limited to CoML-derived data, and aims to provide an integrated view of all marine biodiversity data that may be made available to it on an open access basis by respective data custodians. According to its web site as at July 2018, OBIS "is a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development." 8 specific objectives are listed in the OBIS site, of which the leading item is to "Provide [the] world's largest scientific knowledge base on the diversity, distribution and abundance of all marine organisms in an integrated and standardized format".
The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council. SCOR was established in 1957, coincident with the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. It sought to bring scientists together to answer key ocean science questions and improve opportunities for marginalised scientists.
The International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) is a global scientific research program aimed at improving understanding of the distributions of sounds in the ocean, and studying the effects of underwater noise pollution on marine life. The program has worked on promoting research, observations, and modelling to advance understanding of ocean soundscapes and the effects of sound on marine organisms. The IQOE was launched in 2015 by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO). The program comprises an international consortium of scientists, industry partners, and governmental organizations working together to further understanding of the impact of underwater noise on the ocean environment.
