A brief personal introduction to the history and status of the ocean observing system and acoustical measurements.

Abstract

Integrated ocean observing systems (IOOSs) originated during the early 1990s as a way to provide valuable information to society as return on decades of investment in oceanographic research. The archetypical Argo program (www.argo.ucsd.edu) was initiated following the landmark OceanObs’99 conference and reassessed during OceanObs’09. With the possibility of significant sustained funding for comprehensive oceanic observations, one hallmark of planning conferences has been their political overtones. Regional ocean observing systems (www.ioos.gov, www.usnfra.org, and www.nanoos.org), purposely distinct from NOAA, began to develop in the early 2000s. The OOSes are not research programs, but sustained monitoring and information‐providing services. The ocean observing initiative (OOI) developed out of the deep earth observing system (DEOS) idea of the early 2000s to deploy platforms over the world’s oceans for geophysical research. With the advent of significant funding for such platforms, the geophysical thrust was thrust aside in favor of two components: the undersea cabled networks and a small set of “Pioneer” platforms for oceanographic research. There has been little representation of acoustical techniques in these programs. Successful implementation of acoustical components for the IOOS requires the sustained cooperation and encouragement of three factions: the oceanographic community, the national and state funding agencies, and the acoustics community.