high-quality, complete modern hydrographic
stations including temperature, salinity and
nutrients; and
¥ appropriate methods for obtaining in-situ
measurements of deep currents, needed for
verification purposes, should be looked into.
Having heard the basic strategy for WOCE as
formulated by the Design Options group, the 3rd
meeting of CCCO in March 1982 offered these
further observations:
¥ the importance of direct current measurements
at the equator and over continental slopes;
¥ the importance of including global wind stress
data;
¥ the advantage of combining satellite altimeter
data with tide gauge data; and
¥ that deep-sea pressure gauges would be needed
to support altimeter measurements.
The stage was now set for presentation of WOCE to
a wider scientific community at the Tokyo conference (World Climate Research Programme, 1983).
The conference concluded that WOCE would be
crucial for understanding the role of ocean circulation in the behaviour of the physical climate system
and would be a major contribution to meeting the
objectives of the WCRP. The conference recommended that the WCRP, JSC and CCCO create a
Steering Group to review and guide the development of WOCE as a major activity within the
WCRP. It was also recommended that the Steering
Group, as a matter of priority, carry out detailed
studies of such matters as:
¥ the appropriate mix of observing and assimilation systems needed to achieve the WOCE
objectives;
¥ evaluation of the critical gaps of existing knowledge; and
¥ the actions needed to fill such gaps.
The conference pointed out that further specification of the required satellite systems (precision
altimeters and scatterometers) was of particular
urgency. Explicit requirements needed to be
developed for forwarding to the various satellite
agencies explaining:
¥ the desired and minimum accuracy needed;
¥ the desired orbital (sampling) parameters;
¥ the possible compromises stemming from a
multinational but coordinated programme; and
¥ the value that would be gained by WOCE of
having accuracy or sampling beyond the minimum levels needed (and up to the levels that
were seen as desirable).
Finally, the notion of an experiment aimed at both
the general circulation of the ocean and water
mass transformation was welcomed by the conference and emphasized in the conference report. In
particular, the list of observational foci of WOCE
specifically refers to the determination of ventilation times and rate of water mass conversion. The
discussions in Tokyo added to the list the need to
make observations of the large-scale aspects of the
seasonal cycle. This included the depth of the latewinter convective overturning and the study of
broadband inherent variability.
In late 1982, the CCCO and JSC officers agreed,
based on the Bretherton group report and the
Tokyo conference conclusions and recommendations, to collaborate in establishing a WOCE Scientific Steering Group (SSG). Early in 1983, CCCO
and JSC established the WOCE SSG and appointed
Carl Wunsch as its chairman. WOCE had now
become the principal oceanographic contribution
to WCRP stream 3 on the prediction of decadal
variations of climate.
1.3.4 Implementation of WOCE
(SSG initiatives)
The first informal meeting of the WOCE SSG took
place appropriately during a meeting on satellites
at San Miniato, Italy, in April 1983, but the first
formal meeting of the SSG was at Woods Hole in
August that year. This immediately followed a US
National Academy of Sciences Workshop on
‘Global Observations and Understanding of the
General Circulation of the Ocean’ (National Academy of Sciences, 1983) at which Carl Wunsch presented an outline of WOCE (Wunsch, 1983).
The next 5 years were a period of intense activity, refining the scientific objectives through a
series of workshops, and entraining the enthusiasm of both national funding authorities and scientists and producing both a Science Plan (World
Climate Research Programme, 1986) and an
Implementation Plan (World Climate Research
Programme, 1988a,b). This planning phase culminated in the International WOCE Scientific Conference at the end of 1988 (World Climate
SECTION 1 THE OCEAN AND CLIMATE
36
stations including temperature, salinity and
nutrients; and
¥ appropriate methods for obtaining in-situ
measurements of deep currents, needed for
verification purposes, should be looked into.
Having heard the basic strategy for WOCE as
formulated by the Design Options group, the 3rd
meeting of CCCO in March 1982 offered these
further observations:
¥ the importance of direct current measurements
at the equator and over continental slopes;
¥ the importance of including global wind stress
data;
¥ the advantage of combining satellite altimeter
data with tide gauge data; and
¥ that deep-sea pressure gauges would be needed
to support altimeter measurements.
The stage was now set for presentation of WOCE to
a wider scientific community at the Tokyo conference (World Climate Research Programme, 1983).
The conference concluded that WOCE would be
crucial for understanding the role of ocean circulation in the behaviour of the physical climate system
and would be a major contribution to meeting the
objectives of the WCRP. The conference recommended that the WCRP, JSC and CCCO create a
Steering Group to review and guide the development of WOCE as a major activity within the
WCRP. It was also recommended that the Steering
Group, as a matter of priority, carry out detailed
studies of such matters as:
¥ the appropriate mix of observing and assimilation systems needed to achieve the WOCE
objectives;
¥ evaluation of the critical gaps of existing knowledge; and
¥ the actions needed to fill such gaps.
The conference pointed out that further specification of the required satellite systems (precision
altimeters and scatterometers) was of particular
urgency. Explicit requirements needed to be
developed for forwarding to the various satellite
agencies explaining:
¥ the desired and minimum accuracy needed;
¥ the desired orbital (sampling) parameters;
¥ the possible compromises stemming from a
multinational but coordinated programme; and
¥ the value that would be gained by WOCE of
having accuracy or sampling beyond the minimum levels needed (and up to the levels that
were seen as desirable).
Finally, the notion of an experiment aimed at both
the general circulation of the ocean and water
mass transformation was welcomed by the conference and emphasized in the conference report. In
particular, the list of observational foci of WOCE
specifically refers to the determination of ventilation times and rate of water mass conversion. The
discussions in Tokyo added to the list the need to
make observations of the large-scale aspects of the
seasonal cycle. This included the depth of the latewinter convective overturning and the study of
broadband inherent variability.
In late 1982, the CCCO and JSC officers agreed,
based on the Bretherton group report and the
Tokyo conference conclusions and recommendations, to collaborate in establishing a WOCE Scientific Steering Group (SSG). Early in 1983, CCCO
and JSC established the WOCE SSG and appointed
Carl Wunsch as its chairman. WOCE had now
become the principal oceanographic contribution
to WCRP stream 3 on the prediction of decadal
variations of climate.
1.3.4 Implementation of WOCE
(SSG initiatives)
The first informal meeting of the WOCE SSG took
place appropriately during a meeting on satellites
at San Miniato, Italy, in April 1983, but the first
formal meeting of the SSG was at Woods Hole in
August that year. This immediately followed a US
National Academy of Sciences Workshop on
‘Global Observations and Understanding of the
General Circulation of the Ocean’ (National Academy of Sciences, 1983) at which Carl Wunsch presented an outline of WOCE (Wunsch, 1983).
The next 5 years were a period of intense activity, refining the scientific objectives through a
series of workshops, and entraining the enthusiasm of both national funding authorities and scientists and producing both a Science Plan (World
Climate Research Programme, 1986) and an
Implementation Plan (World Climate Research
Programme, 1988a,b). This planning phase culminated in the International WOCE Scientific Conference at the end of 1988 (World Climate
SECTION 1 THE OCEAN AND CLIMATE
36