What is an Ocean Observing System?
One hundred years ago, oceanographers studied the ocean and the life within it by venturing out on ships. In order to discover what was happening within the ocean, they would often literally throw a bucket over the side of the ship and analyze what came back. While these types of experiments expanded out knowledge of the ocean, scientists soon discovered that the ocean is a large, complex and dynamic environment. To gain a better understanding of the ocean, they would need more than a few buckets, and they would need to find a way to study the ocean even during large storms, when few people would venture out or return alive. As instruments, communication networks and even ships improved throughout the twentieth century, scientists were able to collect more and more complex datasets over larger areas and longer time periods. This new knowledge aided our understanding of physical, biological, chemical and geological processes in the ocean. But because many of these processes are interrel
