Better Informed Marine Operations and Management: Multidisciplinary Efforts in Ocean Forecasting Research for Socioeconomic Benefit

In Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), forecast systems are used to transform meteorological observations into forecasts that provide the basis for information services to the general public and many other users. In oceanography, in order to best exploit the observations, it is similarly necessary to transform them into coherent analyses and predictions that can be the basis for information services about the marine environment, its ecosystem, and the cryosphere that can be used in many applications and that can provide boundary data for weather predictions. Marine industries (e.g., commercial fishing, aquaculture, shipping, oil and gas, renewable energy, tourism), government agencies (e.g., those responsible for search and rescue, defense, coastal management, environmental protection), and other stakeholders (e.g., recreation, water sports, artisanal and sport fishing) depend on timely and accurate information about the marine environment.