1. OPENING
The Chairman, Dr Tom Malone, opened the meeting at 09:30 and welcomed the participants (Annex I) to Paris, thanking them for making themselves available to work on this important activity. He explained that the Panel is responsible to the GOOS Steering Committee chaired by Dr Worth Nowlin and that the broad objective of the Panel is to develop the coastal element of a Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), bearing in mind the activities of the related GOOS Panels on Living Marine Resources (LMR), and on the Health of the Ocean (HOTO), and the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC). The terms of reference for the panel were reviewed. He noted that the primary objectives of the meeting are to (i) agree on goals, (ii) evaluate and build on the conclusions and recommendations of the Miami Workshop on Coastal GOOS, (iii) determine the scope of the Coastal GOOS (C-GOOS) Module, and (iv) develop an Action Plan for achieving the goals. The time table calls for the completion of the Strategic Plan in 1-year and the Implementation Plan by the end of year 2. Substantial inter-sessional work will be required to achieve this objective in the 2-3 year time frame allotted. The results of this meeting will be reported to the GOOS Steering Committee, which meets next on April 20-23, 1998.
The Director of the GOOS Project Office, Dr Colin Summerhayes, welcomed participants to UNESCO on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and also on behalf of the other sponsors of GOOS, namely the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). NOAA was thanked for its financial support for the meeting.
2. ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS
The Provisional Agenda (Annex II) was accepted with no change. Ms Muriel Cole was designated as Rapporteur. A list of background documents was provided (Annex III). Dr Summerhayes provided information on logistics and administration.

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3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
To inform the discussions, a series of talks were given on a number of topics:
3.1 THE STATUS OF GOOS
Dr Summerhayes explained the vision, mission, goals and objectives of GOOS, and reminded participants of the phases of implementation:
  • phase 1: planning;
  • phase 2: pilot and demonstrator projects;
  • phase 3: capitalising on existing systems;
  • phase 4: establishment of a fully comprehensive GOOS;
  • phase 5: review and adjustment.
He emphasised that, while there is still much planning to do in GOOS, implementation has begun with establishment of pilot projects (Annex IV), demonstrator projects (GODAE - the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment of the OOPC), and a GOOS Initial Observing System made up from existing systems. GOOS is about information required for operational environmental and resource management. Although it is operational, research is also required to develop GOOS fully. In addition, researchers will be among GOOS users. C-GOOS will need to identify the full spectrum of users and specify their requirements. En route to developing C-GOOS as a global initiative, we will see regional programmes develop as pilot projects, probably in regions where there is a community keen to take such projects forward. Examples of such projects are listed in Annex IV, and it is recommended that members of the C-GOOS Panel familiarize themselves with these efforts as C-GOOS will need to interact with these ongoing and developing projects.
In discussion, the need was stressed for capacity building for developing countries, and for eventual cost-benefit analyses of selected components of C-GOOS as they are identified. Among other things, ecological economics need to be assessed. These points are expanded on later in the text.
Discussion also addressed the question of what is global about coastal issues. This question was addressed in some detail in the Miami Workshop, and the rationale for C-GOOS developed in section 2 of the report of that Workshop is given in Annex V.
3.2 THE GLOBAL TERRESTRIAL OBSERVING SYSTEM (GTOS)
The Director of the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), Jeff Tschirley, explained the nature and rationale of GTOS, and the role of the global observing systems in providing information to enable Governments to meet their obligations under Conventions and other international Agreements, such as the Global Plan of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land Based Activities (briefly referred to as the GPA). GTOS is developing a coastal working group with which C-GOOS will need to interact. GOOS, GTOS and GCOS are working together through (i) GOSSP, the Global Observing Systems Space Panel, and (ii) J-DIMP, the Joint Data and Information Management Panel, to develop requirements for space-based observations, and a data and information management plan.

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3.3 THE GLOBAL CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEM (GCOS)
Colin Summerhayes explained the nature and rationale of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), one of the main drivers of which is to enable states to meet the requirements of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. GOOS and GCOS are linked through the work of the OOPC, management of which they share with the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The Coastal Panel will need to consider in detail the requirements for climate information and related global change in coastal seas, and provide that information to the OOPC. Changes in climate may affect coastal seas in many ways, for instance changing regional meteorological patterns and run-off, or changing ocean thermal structure and the mechanisms by which nutrients are trapped near-shore.
3.4 THE OCEAN OBSERVING PANEL FOR CLIMATE (OOPC)
George Needler outlined the way in which the OOPC and its predecessor, the Ocean Observing System Development Panel (OOSDP) have worked to identify a number of requirements and to specify the type, resolution, frequency, and accuracy of measurements needed to meet them. Most of the requirements were for information about climate change and variability on various time-scales. He also explained how the WCRP's Climate Variability (CLIVAR) project was expected to work over the next few years to measure and understand decadal change. CLIVAR will be one user of long term observations made by GOOS.
Dr Needler also requested that the C-GOOS Panel consider the kinds of data and information that will be needed from the OOPC.
3.5 CORAL REEFS
Edgardo Gomez introduced the programmes of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), which has become associated with the International Coral Reef Initiative. The GCRMN is in the process of identifying a list of observing requirements, including socio-economic considerations. It has also identified a number of regional components, or nodes, some of which are already operational.
3.6 HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (HABs)
Adriana Zingone summarized the activities of the IOC-Harmful Algal Bloom Programme, which are aimed at developing capacity in research and management of problems related to harmful marine microalgae. Under the generic terms "harmful algal blooms", a rather wide array of different problems are grouped, which are caused by different algae and affect human health and economic activities at various levels in coastal waters all around the world. HAB monitoring is carried out in several countries with the aim of minimizing damage to human health and living marine resources, as well as economic loss. The coverage is far from being adequate, especially in developing countries, along the African, south Asian and South American coasts, where the implementation of monitoring projects designed on the basis of local needs would be required. A global, long-term monitoring network in representative coastal regions would constitute a significant step forward in the attempt to understand the causes and consequences of HABs.

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3.7 COASTAL INFORMATION
Tom Allen explained how satellite data are being used increasingly in ocean observations for a wide variety of users. He described the GANDER proposal for making closely spaced observations of waves from a network of 12 altimetric satellites.
In the ensuing discussion about space-based observations, Dr Summerhayes drew participants' attention to the interests of the space agencies, through (i) CEOS (Committee for Earth Observation Satellites), and (ii) the sponsors of the three global observing systems (GOOS, GCOS and GTOS), in the development of an Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS), which would encourage the integration of in situ and space-based data. CEOS is testing the feasibility of an IGOS through 6 pilot projects, one of which is GODAE. The other oceanic pilot project is on ocean colour, for which the link is the IOCCG, the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group of SCOR (ICSU's Scientific Committee on Ocean Research). However, in addition to getting advice on ocean colour via the IOCCG, CEOS will also get it from each GOOS Panel, because the panels are expected to identify their requirements for ocean colour data, and to feed them to CEOS through GOSSP (the Global Observing Systems Space Panel), which is jointly managed by GOOS, GCOS, and GTOS.
3.8 COASTS AND SMALL ISLANDS PROJECT
Dirk Troost introduced the UNESCO programme on Coastal Regions and Small Islands (CSI), which serves the interests, among others of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). CSI deals with the social, economic, and environmental factors in Integrated Coastal Management. CSI works through networks and Pilot Projects in the field, backed by creation of University Chairs to provide continuity and build local capacity.

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3.9 LIVING MARINE RESOURCES (LMR) MODULE OF GOOS
George Grice gave participants a briefing on the meeting of the LMR Panel of GOOS, which met in Paris the previous week. The goal of the LMR module of GOOS is to provide operationally useful information on changes in the state of living marine resources and ecosystems, to describe and predict the future states of those ecosystems, and to identify more powerful methods for monitoring those ecosystems. Initially, LMR will focus on offshore conditions dominated by oceanic processes, to minimize overlap with C-GOOS.
He noted that the meeting began with reviews of the major programmes relevant to the LMR Module, including: GLOBEC; JGOFS; the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) programme; the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) programme; the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) for monitoring the Baltic; the Oslo and Paris Commissions (OSPARCOM) for monitoring the North Sea; HAB; ICES; and PICES; and the Sloan Foundation's discussions on a proposed "Census of the Fishes".
At the LMR meeting three working groups had been formed to consider:
  1. what methods/data were needed to meet users' needs?;
  2. how were these methods applicable to different ecosystems?; and
  3. how would the data be assessed and provided to modelers for conversion into useable and user-friendly products?

The Panel had used the same approach as the OOPC to create a table of requirements listing monitoring methods, resolution and accuracy. In addition the Panel recognised the following gaps that would be addressed by inter-sessional activities:

  1. there is a need for a compendium of significant living marine resource and ecosystem programmes worldwide;
  2. once these have been identified they must be assessed to see to what extent they supply what GOOS requires;
  3. FAO's catch statistics are currently provided in regions that are too large to be useful in relating them to environmental and ecological controls. Compilation in smaller regions is needed;
  4. FAO's catch data also need to be revised to facilitate assessments of geographically extensive straddling stocks which cross regional boundaries.
Inter-sessional assignments include:
  1. development of pilot monitoring programmes. These will assess the old monitoring data from areas of significant regime shifts, to see if those shifts could have been predicted from the data;
  2. individual essays by each panel member on the panel's work and on gaps in the LMR's developing programme.
Consideration had been given to regarding the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) programmes as LMR pilot projects. However, the LME programmes focussed on Exclusive Economic Zones, so miss the ocean component of these continental margin ecosystems.

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3.10 HEALTH OF THE OCEANS (HOTO) MODULE OF GOOS
Neil Andersen reviewed development of the plans for the HOTO Module of GOOS, which had led to a strategy for focussing first on making technically straight forward measurements that have a high impact (such as nutrients). The HOTO Plan provides a prioritorized, generic framework for the development of pilot projects, several of which have recently been proposed. The plan also identifies where research is needed as the basis
  1. for developing or refining the necessary observing technology for a GOOS, and
  2. for developing appropriate models with which to process the data and produce products.

The main driver for the HOTO Plan is the requirement by Governments for global and regional assessments of the state of the health of the environment. Capacity building and sustainable development must be an important part of the eventual implementation.

The close connection between the HOTO Module and the IOC/UNEP/IMO Global Investigations of Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME) was also detailed. It was emphasized that the IOC Assembly has designated GIPME as the IOC programme within which HOTO pilot projects are to be implemented in full consultation with the GOOS Project Office, the GOOS Steering Committee, and relevant GOOS panels (Resolution XIX-4).
3.11 U.S. COASTAL GOOS
Neil Andersen also reviewed plans for the development of a US Coastal GOOS programme. US C-GOOS has three major operational categories reflecting different user groups:
  1. sustainable healthy coasts (building on the needs of the HOTO Module),
  2. natural hazards,and
  3. safe navigation.

In developing the goals for the sustainable healthy coasts element, it was decided to divide coastal systems into 5 categories:

  1. urban estuary;
  2. barrier island;
  3. rocky shore;
  4. inland sea/lake; and
  5. river-dominated.

The GTOS connection will be essential, especially for inland sea/lake and river-dominated systems where land run-off is likely to be a significant contributor, for instance, in urban estuaries. To take this work forward, an important next step will be to identify the sensor technology needed to underpin the programme; to this end, a session on in situ sensor technology is being organized by Andersen and Malone for the next Marine Technology Society (MTS) conference in Baltimore (16-19, November, 1998).

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3.12 LAND-OCEAN INTERACTION IN THE COASTAL ZONE (LOICZ)
Julie Hall reviewed the LOICZ programme, reminding participants that this major programme aims to improve understanding of much of the science of coastal seas and their interactions with the land and the open ocean. Participants were provided with the LOICZ Science and Implementation Plans and the LOICZ Typology.
3.13 COASTAL MEETING (Miami)
Eduardo Marone reminded participants of the recommendations of the meeting of the ad hoc Working Group on the GOOS Coastal Module, which took place in Miami on February 24-28, 1997, and which the present Panel is expected to follow up (Annex V). The report of the meeting was among the background papers provided to participants.

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