Last month, the co-design team for ocean forecasting at the OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Center (OceanPrediction DCC) authored a special issue of the State of the Planet journal dedicated to ocean forecasting. This publication is the result of two years of work involving contributions from 68 authors within the ocean forecasting co-design team, including regional teams, supported by Ocean Decade programs (DITTO, OBPS/Ocean Practices, and OceanPredict/Foresea), and contributions from 12 experts at Mercator Ocean International.
The publication, titled “Ocean Prediction: Present Status and State of the Art”, features 26 peer-reviewed articles offering a global overview of the current state of ocean forecasting, highlighting its capabilities and innovations, and describing its role as an essential tool for informed decision-making in areas such as maritime safety, coastal management, and disaster risk reduction. The collection also explores emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, illustrating their growing impact on the future of ocean sciences.
Mercator Ocean scientists who contributed to the publication include Enrique Alvarez Fanjul, Pierre Bahurel, Alain Arnaud, Pierre-Yves Le Traon, Lillian Diarra, Romane Zufic, Marina Tonani, Yann Drillet, Audrey Hasson, Cécile Thomas-Courcoux, and Angélique Melet.
The next issue is already in preparation and will focus on gap analyses and future directions informed by this recent publication.
The OceanPrediction DCC, hosted by Mercator Ocean International, is a cross-cutting structure of the Ocean Decade that works globally to foster collaboration between Decade actions and other key stakeholders to improve ocean forecasting capabilities, knowledge sharing, and cooperation. To support its global outreach efforts, the OceanPrediction DCC has developed an ATLAS to map ocean forecasting activities worldwide. It operates through nine regional teams and partners from other Decade initiatives. Technically, the DCC has created a framework to guide the development, operation, and promotion of best practices in ocean forecasting systems, as well as to support downstream service development.
State of the Planet (SP) is a journal dedicated to publishing scientific synthesis reports and assessments on all Earth and environmental science topics.
