News Archive

28 March 2008: Visit the new site of UNESCO’s Marine Spatial Management Initiative at: http://www.unesco-ioc-marinesp.be/.
The purpose of this initiative is to help countries protect their wealth of marine biodiversity while at the same time allow sustainable use of the economic potential of their ocean spaces. One practical way to do this is through the use of ecosystem-based marine spatial management. Between November 2008 and April 2009, the core activity of this initiative is the development of an international manual of guidelines and principles that will lay out a step by step approach toward the implementation of ecosystem-based marine spatial management.

26 March 2008: The Third Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE EWS-III) was held in Panama City, Panama, 12-14 March 2008.  The meeting was attended by nearly 70 participants from 13 countries in the Caribbean Region and six regional organizations.  
The ICG reviewed the progress made during the intersessional period, noted reports and recommendations from its Working Groups and adopted the CARIBE EWS Implementation Plan, as a permanent tool for monitoring the establishment and performance of the CARIBE EWS.  ICG received progress reports on training activities as well as on the process of nominations of Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFP) and Tsunami National Contac (TNC): to date 23 out of 29 countries have already made either complete (19) or partial (4) formal nominations.  The Group agreed to convene a meeting of experts on preparedness, readiness and resilience at the community level for tsunami and other coastal hazards in Panama, in July 2008 with the support of IOC/UNESCO, USAID/OFDA and UN/ISDR in collaboration with other partners.  This experts meeting is expected to produce a compilation of best practices.  

The ICG endorsed the definition of a core network of seismic stations and accepted the definition of a core network of sea level stations for tsunami monitoring, as described and listed by its Working Group 1 on Monitoring and Detection Systems and Warning Guidance. The Group agreed that data from the core network of seismic stations will be freely and openly available to the national, regional and tsunami warning centers for the timely production of tsunami and other early warning information.  It further agreed to instruct its Working Group 1 to identify and present the technical, logistical and administrative requirements of a Regional Tsunami Warning Centre, taking into account the discussions at ICG-III and considering the work and documentation provided for other Tsunami Warning Systems on defining these operational requirements. Working Group 1 shall report to ICG Officers no later than 30 June 2008 for subsequent submission by the Secretariat to Member States for their comments in view of establishing a Caribbean Tsunami Warning Center in the region at least by 2010.

26 March 2008: Reminder - Precipitation forecasts by CIIFEN for Western South American countries for March to May 2008.

17 March 2008: Scholarships in ocean governance for Caribbean nationals. PROGOVNET is a two-year project (2008-2009), funded by the Nippon Foundation in collaboration with Dalhousie University (Marine Affairs Programme and the Marine & Environmental Law Institute), the International Ocean Institute – Canada and the University of the West Indies (Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies).
PROGOVNET is offering a variety of scholarships to nationals of the Wider Caribbean aimed at building regional capacity in ocean governance: Master’s level degrees at Dalhousie University in the Marine Affairs Programme and the Marine & Environmental Law Institute in September 2008 and 2009; Master’s of Philosophy (MPhil) degree at University of the West Indies, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies in September 2008 ; International Ocean Institute - Canada eight-week training programme on ocean governance at Dalhousie University in May - July 2008 and May – July 2009 .

3 March 2008: The UNESCO monographs on oceanographic methodology: Real-time Coastal Observing Systems for Marine Ecosystem Dynamics and Harmful Algal Blooms - Theory, Instrumentation and Modelling, edited by Marcel Babin, Collin Roesler and John Cullen can now be ordered. All information and order form are available on HAB and GEOHAB web sites.

26 February 2008: Traineeships in Observational Oceanography for Students from Developing Countries. The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence in Operational Oceanography. The Centre will offer a 10-month Programme of study at Bermuda on Observational Oceanography. Tentative Programme dates are from 1 August 2008 to 31 May 2009. Travel and living expenses of the trainees will be covered by NF-POGO Centre of Excelllence.
Full details available at: http://www.bios.edu/education/cofe.html.

23 January 2008: The Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) and its partner, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), announce the Fellowship Programme for 2008. This programme is designed to promote training and capacity building leading towards a global observation scheme for the oceans. The fellowship programme is open to scientists, technicians, graduate students (PhD) and Post Doctoral Fellows involved in oceanographic work at centres in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Deadline for application: 15 April 2008.

8 January 2008: In Memoriam Professor Carlo Morelli - It is with deep sadness that we learn that Professor Carlo Morelli from Italy passed away on 30 December 2007. He joined the IOC Ocean Mapping Programme more then 40 years ago and his contribution to the International Bathymetric Chart of Mediterranean Sea (IBCM) and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) has been tremendous. As Head, and later member, of the Italian Delegation he actively participated in all IOC Executive Councils and IOC Assemblies of the last 30 years. We express our deepest condolences to his widow, relatives and colleagues from the University of Trieste. -Patricio Bernal

20 December 2007: The IOC signed an agreement today in London with Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, to further upgrade and enhance the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. More.

20 December 2007: First issue of Vai Pasifika, the quarterly newsletter of the Pacific Islands Observing Systems. The aim of the newsletter is to provide a combined update for the 3 observing systems operating in the Pacific Islands region, namely Pacific HYCOS (hydrology), PI-GCOS (climate) and PI-GOOS (coasts and oceans). 

18 December 2007: All the decisions adopted by the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the Bali Action Plan and the Adaptation Fund, are available on-line at: http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_13/items/4049.php. More.

14 December 2007: First announcement of the world conference on Global Climate Change and its Impact on Structures of Cultural Heritage, to take place in Macau, 5-7 May 2008.

13 December 2007: Representatives of IOC Member States were elected to the "Working Group on the Future of IOC" announced the IOC Secretariat through Circular Letter No.2249. Brazil, China, Croatia, Cuba, Japan, Portugal, United States of America, Russian Federation, Senegal and South Africa will meet on 19 and 20 February 2008 at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris. The first meeting of the working group is open-ended. More.

13 December 2007: The European Space Agency (ESA) invites young researchers to join leading experts in Earth Observation (EO), Earth System Modelling and Data Assimilation for keynote lectures, hands-on computing practicals and poster sessions, on the occasion of the 4th ESA EO Summer School on "Earth System Monitoring & Modelling", which will be held in ESRIN (Frascati, near Rome) between 4th and 14th August 2008. More information and the on-line application form are available at: http://envisat.esa.int/envschool/ All enquiries should be sent to: envschool@esa.int.

16 November 2007: The sponsors of GOOS are seeking candidates for the position of Chair of the GOOS Scientific Steering Committee.
Deadline for application/nomination: 31 December 2007. More.

16 November 2007: Announcement - a post-graduate course on "Reproduction and growth functional morphology of decapod crustaceans" will take place from 17 March to 1 April 2008 at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. More.

12 November 2007: Applications are open for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Water and Coastal Management, an innovative master that integrates river-basin and coastal management. Students have to study in at least two European Universities for obtaining a title with international recognition. The programme includes a 1-year taught programme and a 6-month research project and thesis. Scholarships for students are available.

2 November 2007: Following the unanimously strong support expressed for IOC by UNESCO Member States during the Joint Meeting of the Programmes and Administrative Commissions on 2 November 2007, the 34th General Conference of UNESCO adopted an additional allocation of $500,000 to the IOC for 2008-2009 with respect to the proposed allocation contained in the Draft 34 C/5 2nd version – Corrigendum ($3,492,200), for a total of $3,992,200, or 3% more than in the biennium 2006-2007 ($3,876,400). Figures are inclusive of common charges.
              The General Conference also encouraged the Director-General to look for ways to reinforce the IOC budget to meet the full request of $1,045,000 as expressed by the 24th IOC Assembly in its Resolution  XXIV-15 and conveyed to the UNESCO General Conference by Draft Resolution 39 submitted by Brazil and co-sponsored by Guatemala, Peru, Portugal and Saint Lucia. 
              The relevant resolution and detail will be published in the Records of the 34th General Conference and the Approved Programme and Budget for 2008-2009.

1 November 2007: Argo successfully reaches a significant milestone with its 3000th float operating in the ocean. Attaining the 3000th float target in so short a time (the first Argo float was launched in 2000) has been a remarkable achievement and is a tribute to the hard work and international cooperation of many individuals, countries and agencies. Argo improves our estimates and forecasts of sea-level rise, climate and hurricanes. Maintaining the array's size and global coverage in the coming decades is the next challenge of Argo. Argo 3000 Press release. More on the Argo Information Centre, including today's Argo float distribution map.

15 October 2007: The WMO-UNEP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice-President Al Gore share the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change,” announced the Nobel Foundation on 12 October 2007.

5 October 2007: The summary report of the 24th session of the IOC Assembly, which took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, 19-28 June 2007, is available on-line in English.

5 October 2007: The IOC Annual Report for 2006 is available on-line.

28 September 2007: The IOC announces the second call of the Fellowship Programme in Sea Level Science and Applications 2007-2008 for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Deadline for applications: 15 November 2007.

24 September 2007: Letters of intent are solicited from institutions interested in hosting a Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) Observing Programme Support Centre (OPSC). Letters should include information as detailed in the "Announcement and Call for Letters of Intent", and should be submitted to the JCOMM Secretariat at either the IOC or WMO by 15 November 2007.

19 September 2007: Job opening at IOC/UNESCO: Head of Ocean Sciences Section needed for IOC/UNESCO in Paris, France. Deadline for application: 19 November 2007. Details/contact here.

18 September 2007: Reminder - Precipation forecasts by CIIFEN for Western South American countries for September to November 2007.

14 September 2007: Mare Forum and Euromed Marseille, Ecole de Management are organizing an intensive one-day conference entitled "MARSEILLE MARITIME 2007 - Global Maritime Industries - Quo Vadis?" on 14 November 2007 in Marseilles, France. Programme.

12 September 2007: Reminder - Call for proposals: Access to Trondheim Marine Systems Research Infrastructure. Deadline for application: 30 September 2007. Through the project, the European Commission finances access to the research infrastructures, in addition to travel and subsistence expenses for all group members. Please visit www.ntnu.no/trondheim-marine-RI/ for further details regarding available facilities, call text and application form.

10 September 2007: All researchers, policy-makers and potential users of airborne and spaceborne data who want to become acquainted with imaging spectroscopy are invited to participate in the HyperTeach@SADC Training course in Imaging Spectroscopy (19-22 November 2007) and the Hyperspectral Research Strategy Workshop (23 November 2007) to be held at the premises of the University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa. There will be an equal focus on theory and practical hands-on exercises during the HyperTeach@SADC course. After two days of theoretical introduction, the participants can decide which of the two applications (water and aquatic ecosystems or biodiversity) they prefer to follow during a two-day parallel session with hands-on exercises. Participation is free thanks to the kind support of sponsors (UNESCO, IOC/UNESCO, BELSPO and EWI-Vlaanderen). Participants will have access to experts in imaging spectroscopy at both the training course and workshop. Please visit www.hyperteach.co.za for more information.

4 September 2007: IN MEMORIAM DALE C. KRAUSE. It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Dale C. Krause, the former director of the former Division of Marine Sciences at UNESCO, on Friday, 17 August 2007, in Anaheim, California. He was 77 and succumbed after a long battle against cancer. In addition to the overall focus of the Division of Marine Sciences on capacity building in developing countries, Dr Krause himself was a dedicated promoter of new technologies. It is for this reason that he enthusiastically supported a proposal to establish a communication network between marine science institutions in East Africa. This was the start of RECOSCIX-WIO (Regional Cooperation in Scientific Information Exchange in the Western Indian Ocean region) implemented by the IOC in 1989 and which later led to the successful ODINAFRICA projects. More.

21 August 2007: Third Announcement for the Second Global Conference on Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) to take place in Qindgao, China, 11-13 September 2007.

9 August 2007: Launch of the IOC ocean acidifcation site: in preparation for the 2008 Ocean in a High CO2 World symposium, the sponsors (IOC, SCOR, IGBP, IAEA-MEL) have developed the “Ocean Acidification Network” as a communication / coordination service for the research community. 

18 July 2007: Apply now for the Summer Institute 2008 in Coastal Management to be held at the campuses of the University of Rhode Island, United States, 9-27 June 2008. Programme available on-line.

5 July 2007: The 3rd session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the establishment of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean was held in Bonn, Germany, 7-9 February 2007. The executive summary and the full report of the meeting are now available on line.

3 July 2007: The Austral Summer Institute VIII will take place at the University of Concepcion, Chile, in December 2007 and January 2008 and will be dedicated to: automated plankton recognition, sediment biogeochemistry; marine microorganisms; and oceanography and climate change. Deadline for applications: 28 September 2007. Fellowships available for qualified applicants.

2 July 2007: The 24th Session of the IOC Assembly, which just took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, 19-28 June 2007, adopted 15 resolutions which can be found on-line (subject to final copy editing). The summary report will be available by the end of July.

28 June 2007: IOC-WMO JCOMM Newsletter No.5 of June 2007 just published. To subscribe to JCOMM Newsletter, send an e-mail to: sympa@cls.fr

15 June 2007: Two memorial lectures will be delivered during the upcoming 24th Session of the IOC Assembly:

• Prof. Leonid Alexandrovich Timokhov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Peterburg, Russia: “The Arctic and Southern Oceans: Origin, physical and chemical properties and circulation, variability and its role in the World Ocean and Global Climate System”, UNESCO House, 19 June 2007, 16:30, Room II.
• Dr Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, President, Global Research Alliance, National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, India: “Information Exchange and Development: The Challenges ahead for the Intellectual Property Regime”, UNESCO House, 22 June 2007, 11:15, Room II.

4 June 2007: The Second Meeting of the ad hoc Working Group on Global Ocean-related Hazards Early Warning and Mitigation System (GOHMWS) will take place on Saturday 16 June 2007 from 9h00 to 13h00 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (Room IX). The meeting will discuss, inter alia, a framework document for the global tsunami and other ocean-related hazards early warning system. IOC Member States are invited to communicate their designated representatives by 11 June 2007 to the IOC Secretariat.

25 May 2007: The IOC is pleased to announce the Fellowship Programme in Sea Level Science and Applications 2007-2008 for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Deadline for applications: 30 June 2007.

22 May 2007: The 6th European Conference on Ecological Modelling "Challenges for Ecological Modelling in a Changing World: Global Changes, Sustainability and Ecosystem Based Management" will be held in Trieste, Italy, 27-30 November 2007. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 31 May 2007. Pre-registration requested. Limited funds available for assisting young scientists and scientists from emerging countries - apply by 31 May 2007! Before the conference, 1.5 days will be devoted to a workshop on "Integration of biogeochemical processes and fish dynamics in food web models for end-to-end conceptualization of marine ecosystems. Theory and use of Ecopath with Ecosim", 26-27 November 2007.

20 April 2007: The IOC invites its Member States Representatives to participate in the 24th Session of the IOC Assembly, which will take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, 19 - 28 June 2007. More information and documents available on this site.
Deadline for pre-registration: 2 May 2007.
Closing date for nominations for IOC elections: 20 June 2007.
The IOC Assembly will be preceded by a session of the Executive Council (40th Session) on 18 June 2007.

5 April 2007: The G8-UNESCO World Forum on Education, Research and Innovation: New Partnership for Sustainable Development will be held in Trieste, Italy, 10-12 May 2007. The Forum builds on the discussion launched at the St. Petersburg summit on the interconnections between the 3 components of the triangle of knowledge -education, scientific research and technological innovation- from the perspective of sustainable development, and seeks to identify risks and opportunities for industrialized countries as well as developing and low-income countries.

2 April 2007: GLOBEC is pleased to announce the first call for an international symposium on eastern boundary upwelling ecosystems: Eastern Boundary Upwelling Ecosystems: Integrative and Comparative Approaches, which will take place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spain), 2-6 June 2008. Main sponsors: EUR-OCEANS, IRD, GLOBEC, IMBER. Deadlines for abstract submission: 1 January 2008; early registration: 15 February 2008; final paper submission: 2 June 2008.

27 March 2007: The Third Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS-III) was held in Bonn, Germany, 7 - 9 February 2007. It was attended by 92 participants from 16 ICG/NEAMTWS Member States, representatives from 9 organizations, and 19 observers. The ICG reviewed the progress made during the inter-sessional period from June 2006 to January 2007 and adopted the Implementation Plan for the period 2007-2011.
The ICG adopted a preliminary list of facilities that qualify as regional tsunami watch centres. In this regard, Italy announced that it would provide a 24/7 processing and watch coverage of seismic data from the seas around Europe. During the meeting three more national tsunami warning focal points were nominated.
The Fourth Session of the ICG/NEAMTWS will be held in November 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal. 

20 March 2007: The 5th SACC International Course on Physical and Biological Ocean Modeling: Biogeochemical (ROMS/NPZ/PISES) and Individual Based (IBM) Modeling will take place at the University of Concepción, Chile, 3-14 July 2007.
The South American Climate Change (SACC) - Cooperative Research Network is sponsored by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. The general goal of SACC is to coordinate and enhance human and institutional resources in the participating countries in order to advance the understanding of the coupled effects of global change and climate variability on the oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems of the South American region.
Limited funds available for travel support. Deadline for application: 20 April 2007.

15 March 2007: Preliminary programme of the EU-DG-INFSO and EARSC Workshop "Integrating in situ Monitoring and Remote Sensing in the Framework of GMES and GEOSS", open cluster meeting, Brussels, Belgium, 31 May 2007, now available on-line.

8 March 2007: The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) was officially inaugurated on 1 March 2007. The celebration held at the Palais de la Découverte, Paris, launched the two-year programme of Arctic and Antarctic Polar research. The event was presided by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and covered by the international media. In attendance were representatives of the ICSU and WMO, as well as all members of the Joint Committee who have been working tirelessly for four years to reach this point. In co-ordination with the international opening ceremony in Paris, dozens of IPY opening events were held around the globe, including many educational programmes hosted in schools and museums .
Now the real purpose of the IPY will begin when the 220 science projects involving thousands of scientists from over 60 countries begin their work and co-ordination. This IPY differs from the previous IPY's (1882-83, 1932-33 and 1957-58) by integrating inter-disciplinary science and building partnerships with indigenous communities to provide a wide ranging view of the natural and social sciences of the Polar regions.
More information on IOC IPY website.

8 March 2007: The first African Marine Atlas was officially launched on 23 February 2007 at the Project Office of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) in Ostend, Belgium. The Atlas has been developed by the Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa (ODINAFRICA) with support from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and the Government of Flanders, Belgium. The African Marine Atlas can be accessed at http://iodeweb2.vliz.be/omap/OMAP/index.htm and provides substantial maps, images, data and information to coastal resource managers, planners and decision-makers from various administrative institutions and specialized agencies in Africa.

5 March 2007: First announcement of the training course on "Methods and Applications of Ocean Colour Remote Sensing in African Coastal and Regional Seas" to be held in Mombasa, Kenya, 24 September - 5 October 2007. Deadline for application: 15 April 2007. No registration fees; limited travel support available.

20 February 2007: The Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) and its partner, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), announce the POGO-SCOR Visiting Fellowship Programme for 2007. This programme is designed to promote training and capacity building leading towards a global observation scheme for the oceans. A limited number of fellowships will be awarded to those involved in oceanographic work or study in developing countries, providing airfare and a cost-of-living stipend for a training period of up to three months in oceanographic institutions worldwide. Deadline for application: 15 April 2007.

19 February 2007: IOC-WMO JCOMM Newsletter No.4 of February 2007 just published. To subscribe to the JCOMM Newsletter, send an e-mail to List-Subscribe.

12 February 2007: The official opening ceremony to launch the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) will take place at the Palais de la Découverte, a famous science museum in central Paris, France, on 1 March 2007. The event will start at 11.00 Central European Time (CET) with a press conference. The co-sponsors of IPY, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), are hosting the event. For more information, contact Keith Alverson at IOC or visit the new IOC IPY website.

12 February 2007: Coastal Institute Asia : Integrated Ecosystem Management - class dates: 23 July - 10 August 2007. Coastal Institute Asia is an intensive three-week programme for coastal resources management professionals. It is held at the Asian Institute of Technology's (AIT), Bangkok Campus. Programme on-line.

12 February 2007: Announcement of the first IOC-WMO JCOMM Scientific and Technical Symposium on Storm Surges to take place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, 2 - 6 October 2007. Call for papers - deadline for submission of abstracts: 6 April 2007.

8 February 2007: The IOC invites its Member States Representatives to participate in the 24th Session of the IOC Assembly, which will take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, 19-28 June 2007. Deadlines - for submission of supplementary items: 19 April 2007; for pre-registration: 2 May 2007. Closing date for nominations for IOC elections: 20 June 2007. The IOC Assembly will be preceded by a session of the Executive Council (40th Session) on 18 June 2007. More information to be available on this site soon. Contact: IOC Documentalist.

5 February 2007: Improved observations of global ocean temperatures, salinity, sea level, and chemistry underpinned a number of statements and projections in the latest WMO-UNEP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on observations and projections of climate change. The report also highlighted limited data coverage in some regions. The global module of GOOS is designed to provide information and products for climate monitoring, forecasts, and research. More on GOOS website ....

5 February 2007: The 8th Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Intergovernmental Committee for GOOS will take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, 13 - 16 June 2007, prior to the IOC Assembly. Deadlines for registration: 1 March 2007 - provision of national reports: 1 May 2007. More.