CoastPredict – Programme for the UN Decade of Ocean Science

Predicting the Global Coastal Ocean: Toward a more resilient society

Dedicated to contribute to the fulfilment of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development objectives of a predicted, healthy and safe ocean, operational oceanography leaders and experts in coastal ocean monitoring and prediction are proposing to run a programme under the UN Decade. The programme will focus on “Predicting the Global Coastal Ocean” and is called CoastPredict.

The coastal ocean is the interface area where land, hydrology, ocean and atmosphere interact in a multiplicity of space and time scales and give rise to the highest ocean productivity and the strongest interaction between fresh waters, including glacier waters, and salt waters. At the same time 200 million people worldwide live along coastlines less than 5 meters above sea level, and it is estimated that this figure could increase to 400 to 500 million by the end of the 21st century *.

CoastPredict will contribute to the UN Ocean Decade objective of “A predicted ocean” by improving the understanding of the coastal area processes using a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach and focusing on the many common worldwide features of the coastal ocean that we need to understand for knowledge based and sustainable management. The major science challenge is to advance the understanding of the role played by the coastal ocean in the global ocean dynamics, from short time scale events to climate.

OceanPredict will work with CoastPredict to help it achieve its objectives and to support the UN Decade for Ocean Science.

More information about CoastPredict