We would like to announce that the Organizers of OceanObs’19 are seeking experts to join its Program Committee (PC), which will shape the agenda and outcomes of the conference set for September 16-20, 2019 at the Honolulu Convention Center, in Honolulu, HI, USA. Nominations or self-nominations are welcome for OceanObs’19 program committee members until October 15, 2017. Please fill out the linked form and submit a one-page CV of the nominee to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Purpose and Time Commitment:

The Program Committee comprised of 15-20 individuals will be responsible for defining the conference agenda, identifying plenary presenters, and reviewing the community input to the meeting.  They may also lead in the selection of abstracts for development into White Papers, identify plenary paper authors and presenters, review the community input to the meeting, and provide key messages and communications related to the conference. They should anticipate conference calls at monthly intervals, and at shorter intervals (e.g., bi-weekly to weekly as needed) for the months leading up to the conference.

Selection of PC will consider the balance of disciplinary expertise and institutional background, as well as gender and geographical balance, and will be based on one or more of the following criteria:

• Expertise in ocean observations and related science and applications: internationally recognized in their field with a broad systems perspective of the science and applications of observations
• Expertise in data product and information delivery for sustained observations
• Experience in socio/economic and conservation/management policy relevant issues
• Experience with linking ocean observations with end users and stake-holders

Conference Overview:

Each conference of the OceanObs series has focused/will focus on a new area in need of enhanced guidance. OceanObs’99 resulted in an internationally coordinated system for physical climate and ocean carbon observations. OceanObs’09 expanded the range of communities working together to undertake more comprehensive and sustain ocean observations and led to the Framework for Ocean Observing. OceanObs’19 will seek to better connect observers with end user communities.

As part of the decadal conference series, OceanObs’19 galvanizes ocean-observing communities to coordinate regional and national efforts to better observe the global ocean, to explore the scientific and societal benefits of a sustained ocean observing system, and review the global and regional governance arrangements.

There are seven important themes for this conference: Blue Economy, Ocean Hazards and Maritime Safety, Climate Variability and Change, Water-Food-Human Health-Energy Securities, Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity, Pollution, and Discovery. Two underlying themes: Data and Information Systems and Ocean System Governance, have been conceived as transverse overarching issues for all the six principal themes. The themes will be examined by their relationship to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and how support for each theme can be reflected in requirements, observing network coordination, and products/data management.

Thanks for your interest on behalf of the OceanObs’19 Co-Chairs:

Sanae Chiba, JAMSTEC / UNEP-WCMC

Minhan Dai, Xiamen University

Tony Lee, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Sabrina Speich, École Normale Supérieure LMD-IPSL