Photo (above): Indian Ocean atol by Roberto Nickson (Unsplash).
The Indian Ocean is warming faster than any other ocean, and its climate is uniquely driven by monsoons and reversing currents. The food, water, and energy security of the Indian Ocean rim countries, home to almost one-third of humanity, are intrinsically tied to its climate. This drives a need for comprehensive Indian Ocean observations.
The Indian Ocean Observing System (IndOOS), is a sustained observing system that monitors large-scale ocean and atmospheric conditions. It is designed to be flexible to accommodate new technologies emerging scientific questions and societal needs.
This paper reviews the societal and scientific motivations, current status, and future directions of IndOOS, while also discussing the need for enhanced observations in priority areas.
Knowledge of Indian Ocean climate and ecosystems, and predictability of their future depends on a wide range of socio-economic and environmental data, of which a significant part is provided by IndOOS.
- Paper: Hermes, J.C., Masumoto, Y., Beal, L.M., Roxy, M.K., Vialard, J., Andres, M., Annamalai, H., Behera, S., D’Adamo, N., Doi, T., Feng, M., Han, W., Hardman-Mountford, N., Hendon, H., Hood, R., Kido, S., Lee, C., Lee, T., Lengaigne, M., Li, J., Lumpkin, R., Navaneeth, K.N., Milligan, B., McPhaden, M.J., Ravichandran, M., Shinoda, T., Singh, A., Sloyan, B., Strutton, P.G., Subramanian, A.C., Thurston, S., Tozuka, T., Ummenhofer, C.C., Unnikrishnan, A.S., Venkatesan, R., Wang, D., Wiggert, J., Yu, L. and Yu, W. (2019). A Sustained Ocean Observing System in the Indian Ocean for Climate Related Scientific Knowledge and Societal Needs. Frontiers in Marine Science 6: 355.