Scientists are meeting in Venice next week, at OceanObs ‘09, to see how they can expand the global observing system that monitors the world's oceans and, perhaps most importantly, secure it for the long term. The system, devloped over the past decade, uses a combination of satellite observations with data from in-water recording devices such as buoys, tide gauges and an array of more than 3000 Argo robots to monitor the world's oceans.

The benefits that an operational ocean observing system will bring, are, say the organizers of OceanObs ‘09,  clear: the system is already providing data for the International Panel on Climate Change assessments, and it will also provide better data for maritime security, oil spill prevention, management of marine resources, marine meteorology, seasonal and long term weather forecasting, coastal activities, and monitoring of water quality.

However, making sure the existing ocean observation system, both satellite and in situ data, is sustainable in the long-term is one of the key aims of Oceanobs’09, where the ocean observing community will take stock of progress to date and map out the priorities for the next decade - a task that is unlikely to be easy in the current financial climate.

OceanObs ‘09 is organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA).