Southern Ocean Observing System for sustained and coordinated observations in a changing world

The Southern Ocean is a critical component of the global climate system. It controls, to a large extent, the uptake of human-generated heat and carbon into the ocean and the rate of melt of the Antarctic continental ice and consequent sea level rise. We are currently observing critical changes and extreme events in the Southern Ocean including record low levels of sea-ice extent, high temperatures, enhanced ice sheet melt, and dramatic shifts in penguin populations, plankton and benthic communities. Despite a significant growth in Southern Ocean observations over the last decade, observations of this remote and extreme environment are still sparse. This chronic lack of observations is constraining our understanding of the underlying processes of change, ability to predict potential future states and the downstream consequences for the Earth system. It is evident that expanding Southern Ocean observations will require a sustained commitment from the global scientific community, governments and international organizations, and that these efforts are integrated and coordinated into a comprehensive Southern Ocean observing system. These are core objectives of the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), a body whose mission is to facilitate the delivery of a sustained and coordinated Southern Ocean observing system to provide diagnostics and understanding of current conditions, inform predictions of future states, and support policies and regulations for the benefit of society.