C-SCOPE: new approaches for marine carbon observations. Part 1: Open Science for the Ocean

The German-Brazilian research project C-SCOPE aimed to take marine carbon observations to a new level by combining, perfecting and expanding existing and new observation networks. Here we present our joint findings, based on a three-year long, interdisciplinary collaboration between oceanographers, chemists, data managers, modelers, and social scientists. This abstract focuses on the social science contribution. A parallel submission focuses on natural science-based insights.

 

The ocean plays an essential role in regulating the global climate, absorbing around 26 % of global greenhouse gas emissions (Friedlingstein et al. 2023, Bakker et al. 2016). Improving the scientific knowledge of the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink and other greenhouse gasses is therefore pivotal for policy-making at the national and international level. It is also essential in order to track progress and to improve the effectiveness of measures geared towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. However, the current capacity of the existing marine science system is limited in space and time. In its current form, the marine science system also creates barriers for scientists based in less affluent countries to contribute to and gain equitable access to scientific knowledge production (e.g. Bakker et al. 2023, Ostende Declaration 2024). 

 

As a first step,  this work investigates how information flows across the transnational network in which knowledge on marine CO2 is produced, based on a social network analysis (SNA) and qualitative interviews. It demonstrates the intense coordination effort required to integrate observations from numerous sources, and identifies key bottlenecks and vulnerabilities. 

 

In a second step, we apply the six guiding principles of Open Science as a yardstick for science in the service of society to assesses the current state of marine (carbon) science, pointing out strengths and shortcomings, and deriving recommendations for science policy developments such as the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO)’s recently announced Global Greenhouse Gas (G3W) Initiative (WMO n.d., WMO 2023).