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November 20, 2023 Rachele Bordoni, Giulia Dapueto, Francesco Misurale, Beatrice Maddalena Scotto, Petra ten Hoopen, JeanBaptiste Sallée, Andrew Meijers, Ruth Mottram, Antonio Novellino

Located at the nexus of Earth’s climate and oceanic processes, the Southern Ocean plays a central role in regulating global climate systems and carbon cycling. Its importance demands international cooperation to comprehensively observe and understand this vast and complex region. In response to these needs, the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) was established in 2011 and acts as a unifying force, fostering collaboration and streaming data delivery across stakeholders.

SOOS endorses programs and projects that support SOOS goals. Since 2017, SOOS and EMODnet Physics are collaborating for facilitating data sharing and data discovery. EMODnet provides the data management framework to integrate existing data products from multiple data resources. This collaboration was strengthened in 2020 when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for long-term partnership was signed.

While SOOS relies on EMODnet for in situ data management, two more projects, SO-CHIC and OCEAN:ICE, are participating in the development of data access and data discovery by supporting and contributing to the development of SOOSmap. SOOSmap, launched in October 2017, is an interactive online platform for visualizing and distributing oceanographic data. It offers curated and standardized data from various oceanographic and Antarctic research programs globally.

The Southern Ocean Carbon and Heat Impact on Climate (SO-CHIC) project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, is dedicated to monitoring heat and carbon budgets. It actively promotes collaboration with various European, national, and international initiatives to tackle the challenges posed by climate change.

The Ocean-Cryosphere Exchanges in Antarctica (OCEAN:ICE) project, supported by Horizon Europe and UK Research and Innovation, seeks to enhance our comprehension of the Antarctic Ice Sheets’ impact on global climate, deep water formation, and ocean circulation. Moreover, OCEAN:ICE seeks to reduce uncertainties in projections of freshwater fluxes and sea-level rise associated with melting while also improving ocean observations and providing free and open access to the data generated.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.13127/MISC/80