Back
Home › News & Events › News
General news | Mon, 01/06/2025 - 12:00

OceanPrediction DCC's Regional Team on Indian Seas

The Indian Seas regional team is one of nine teams across the globe making up the organisational backbone of the OceanPrediction DCC community. This team primarily focuses on the activities within the Indian Ocean region, working collaboratively with other regional teams. A dedicated steering team, comprising experts from different fields has been established to guide the efforts of the Indian Seas team. 

The Indian Seas steering team met on 26 November 2024 to brief the steering team members about key developments in the OceanPrediction DCC. Key updates included the release of the ocean forecasting architecture guide, a forecasting system evaluation framework based on operational readiness level and the launch of a new project aimed at strengthening ocean prediction capabilities in Africa. The team also reviewed the status of the ocean forecast systems and use cases in the Atlas specific to the region. Further discussions covered plans for crosscutting meetings and activities, including preparations for UNOC-3 and a survey to evaluate existing ocean forecasting capabilities, identify gaps and assess regional needs. 


Towards a cross-regional network of specialists 
In the first quarter of 2025, cross-cutting meetings are being planned to enhance collaboration between regional teams and address shared priorities collectively. Each meeting will focus on a specific subject area, inviting one expert from each regional team to participate. Topics include ocean observing, ocean physics and biogeochemistry forecasting, ocean climate, digital twins, digital twins, ocean literacy, capacity building, among others. The primary goal is to establish a global network of experts in each subject area, promoting knowledge sharing and coordinated efforts. 


Survey to understand ocean forecasting needs and priorities
A survey will be conducted to identify current challenges and future needs for ocean forecasting and related services in Indian Seas, building on the success of a similar survey in Africa. This survey aims to target both experts and stakeholders to gather a full understanding of user needs, expert perspectives on existing capabilities, gaps and recommendations.  The questionnaire will be carefully designed after team discussions, using simple and clear language to make it accessible to everyone, with possible translations and adapted for the Indian Seas context. 


Establishing the Indian Seas regional team
The first Indian Seas regional team meeting was held on 3 May 2023, hosted by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). Following this meeting, the steering team for the region was established, chaired by Dr Sudheer Joseph and consisting of 8 members, including an Early Career Ocean Professional. Subsequent online meetings have taken place with other regions to review preparation of key documents such as the Architecture guide. Additionally, the OceanPrediction DCC was represented at the Indian Ocean Regional Decade Conference 2024 (IO-con 2024) held at INCOIS, fostering collaborative efforts planned between INCOIS and other members to advance regional ocean prediction initiatives.

 

 

USEFUL LINKS: