Motivation and international context of ocean forecasting

The OceanPredict website describes a first series of ocean forecasting systems, projects and centres, illustrating the worldwide dynamism of this scientific and operational domain: they are BlueLink in Australia, Concepts in Canada, ECCO, Hycom and NCEP in the United States, ECMWF and the Met Office in the United Kingdom, INCOIS in India, Mercator Ocean International in France, CMCC (Centro Euro Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici) in Italy, MOVE/MRI in Japan, NMEFC (National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center) in China, REMO in Brazil and the NERSC (Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center) in Norway: they have in common their global and basin-scale geographical extensions and also their international visibility. But how many other OOFS could we map all over the world? What about SAMOA (Sistemas de Apoyo Meteorológico y Oceanográfico de las Autoridades Portuarias) in Spain (Alvarez Fanjul et al., 2018)? How many of them are in the Pacific or along the African coast? In the Mediterranean only, and for the currents only, we can find 32 different forecasting systems according to the MonGOOS webpage (🔗10): they can be local, they can have different purposes, missions or maturities but they are exemplary of the richness and readiness of the OOFS community worldwide. It is time for us all to structure further this talented community and make it visible. The new international momentum offered by the UN Decade of Ocean Science on one hand and the technological breaks proposed by the integration of digital twining is a real chance. Ocean prediction centres are ready for a new step in this digital oceanography, and they are well prepared: committed for a sustainable ocean, for a state-of-the-art common set of assets nourished by all and benefitting to all, and for an open and inclusive approach.