The third session of the GOOS Steering Committee took place on March 10-12, 2000, in Paris, France. The Committee was advised of the progress in science planning by the four advisory panels dealing with Climate (OOPC), Coastal seas (C-GOOS), Health of The Ocean (HOTO), and Living Marine Resources (LMR). The Committee considered and approved plans for the integration of the last three of these panels into one new advisory panel dealing with all aspects of coastal seas (Coastal Ocean Observations Panel, or COOP). The Committee considered progress with and plans for space-based observations and data and information management. It agreed that the Joint Data and Information Management Panel (JDIMP) of the three oberving systems (GOOS, GCOS and GTOS) should be dissolved. Progress with and plans for regional GOOS activities were considered and approved, along with a discussion document on how regional GOOS bodies could and should relate to one another. Plans for the further development of JCOMM were endorsed, as were selected extensions to the GOOS Initial Observing System. The Principles of Capacity Building for GOOS were endorsed, with minor modifications being requested to the document before its publication. Progress with and plans for communication and information about GOOS were approved, as was the GOOS work programme and budget.

Published