ABOUT

The Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) was founded in 1999 by directors of oceanographic institutions around the world as a forum to promote and advance the observation of the global ocean.  POGO is a UK-registered charity with member institutions from around the world, and works closely with other international and regional programmes and organisations.

POGO Strategy

The purpose of this strategy is to look forward to our priorities for future years.  It reaffirms our commitment to work collectively as a global community to promote and deliver the development of the truly global ocean observation system needed to advance understanding of the ocean and its wise use for the benefit of all humankind.

THREE PILLARS

POGO seeks to expand international support for ocean observing, through innovation of the ocean observing system, capacity development and outreach/advocacy.

Innovation in ocean observing

POGO seeks to lead innovation and development of the crucial components of the ocean observing system. POGO members are at the forefront of oceanographic methods and technology development, often in partnership with industry, as they are the future “users” of such new technologies. Thus, POGO is in a critical position to identify the emerging methods and technologies that POGO members are developing and using, and highlighting those that can be expanded and deployed on a global scale in order to achieve global datasets of specific parameters measured using common methods. POGO is also strongly focused on the affordability issues associated with ocean observing, particularly for developing countries, and is therefore engaged in projects (such as OpenMODs) looking to develop low-cost sensors and systems for coastal ocean observing.

At the time that the Argo programme was just beginning, one of the first priorities of POGO was to throw the collective weight of its members behind the concept and the world expansion of Argo. Because the members of POGO are directors with the power to commit resources and influence decision makers, a resolution to accord full support to Argo had immediate effect, and the distribution of floats around the world ocean improved rapidly.

Fixed-point time-series measurements were also an early priority of POGO, and POGO member institutions made a concerted effort to support the establishment of OceanSites (coordinated, deep-ocean, multi-disciplinary time-series reference sites), in particular by adding deep temperature and salinity sensors to these sites.

More recently, POGO has been focusing on emerging technologies and pressing issues for biological observations, and has a Task Force supporting POGO with this effort. With funding from the Lounsbery Foundation, POGO held a workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Biological Ocean Observations, in 2019, and is planning a virtual workshop on products and applications of biodiversity observations using eDNA.

POGO supports projects and Working Groups proposed by its members, which aim to identify and fill gaps in global ocean observation.  Observation and innovation projects are also supported by the Nippon Foundation grant, via the NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans (NANO).

Capacity development

In the Sao Paulo Declaration of 2001, POGO drew attention to the world imbalance between Northern and Southern Hemispheres in the capacity to observe the oceans, recommending immediate action to enhance such capacity in developing countries. Since then, capacity development has been a central element of the POGO agenda. Over the years, POGO has developed an extensive array of training programmes targeted primarily at early-career scientists from developing countries. Of equal importance is the continued support POGO provides to its alumni, particularly through the NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans (NANO) and its collaborative ocean observation projects. POGO also recognises that new technologies, and the emergence of low-cost technologies for ocean observing, can provide solutions to enhance ocean observations in developing countries and fill current gaps in data coverage. To this end, POGO is funding two projects on developing low-cost sensors for coastal monitoring: OpenMODS and SAGITTA.

In the Sao Paulo Declaration, POGO also underscored the relative paucity of ocean observations in the Southern Hemisphere compared with the Northern Hemisphere. In response, in 2003-04, POGO member JAMSTEC organised a circumnavigation of the Southern Hemisphere, the BEAGLE Expedition, using its ship Mirai, at a cost estimated to be around $35M. This was followed some 5 years later by the establishment of the AMT Shipboard Training Fellowship and lead to the development of an extensive shipboard training programme, funded by the Nippon Foundation.

In 2001 POGO also established a Visiting Fellowship programme, initially in partnership with IOC and SCOR, and which continues to this day in partnership with SCOR. The Nippon Foundation has been a major sponsor of POGO capacity development, particularly through the establishment of the NF-POGO Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography, now hosted by the Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI) Helmholtz centre for polar and marine research.

The POGO capacity development programme is highly regarded, receives very positive feedback from both those receiving and providing the training, has had a demonstrable impact on individuals as well as institutions, and is often used as an exemplar for successful training and capacity development. The POGO Secretariat and members have shared POGO’s experience and lessons learnt with other organisations, through presentations and posters at conferences, informal discussions and publications.

Outreach and advocacy

Many actors, working together internationally, are needed to bring about sustainable management of the oceans that is informed by sound science, underpinned by a comprehensive global ocean measurement system.

These include:

• National governments working individually and through intergovernmental structures and bodies – who are agents for political action and international consensus and support the governance framework for international cooperation.
• Non-governmental organisations aimed at coordinating science, influencing policy and/or raising public awareness at regional and global scales.
• The wider scientific community, working nationally and internationally – who undertake research, share and synthesise ideas and findings and identify key scientific challenges and develop internationally agreed research agendas.
• Funders of research and monitoring programmes whether they be governments, businesses or not for profit foundations – who provide the resources needed.
• Individual citizens working individually and collectively whose support and desire for a better life and world provides continuing motivation and inspiration for all involved.

POGO seeks to work with all of these stakeholders, and particularly with Governments, Foundations and Industry, to articulate the benefits to society and required funding to build and sustain the global ocean observing system.

To achieve this, POGO has produced a number of Declarations, brochures and videos highlighting the many societal benefits of ocean observation. Since 2003, POGO has also been a strong advocate for ocean observing within the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which operates at the Ministerial level, particularly through its leadership role in the GEO Blue Planet initiative. POGO also participates in relevant outreach events and exhibitions, and has recently been developing outreach activities for schools as part of its shipboard training programme.

Contact

POGO SECRETARIAT