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The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has been involved for 50 years in promoting the close coordination needed to ensure comparability of oceanographic measurements. In particular, IOC played a key role in encouraging the development of chemical standards and reference materials for oceanic measurements. This paper briefly reviews this history, and also the early work of the author's laboratory in producing reference materials for oceanic carbon dioxide measurements. The success of the latter program in improving the state of the art of such measurements encouraged others to develop, produce, and distribute additional reference materials for dissolved organic carbon, trace metals, and nutrients. The widespread use of these various reference materials is playing a significant role in ensuring the comparability of ocean data from a variety of laboratories, thus enabling the data to be put to use in global studies.

As one of few who have been involved in the equation of state of seawater over the last 40 years, I was invited to review some of the history behind its early development and also the more recent thermodynamic equation of state. The article first reviews early (late 1800s) work by Knudsen and others in defining the concept of salinity. This summary leads into the development of the practical salinity scale. Our studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, along with the work of Alain Poisson's group at Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, and that of Alvin Bradshaw and Karl Schleicher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, were instrumental in deriving the 1980 equation of state (EOS-80) that has been used for 30 years. The fundamental work of Ranier Feistel at Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research led to the development of a Gibbs free energy function that is the backbone of the new thermodynamic equation of state (TEOS-10). It can be used to determine all of the thermodynamic properties of seawater. The salinity input to the TEOS-10 Gibbs function requires knowledge of the absolute salinity of seawater (SA), which is based upon the reference salinity of seawater (SR). The reference salinity is our best estimate of the absolute salinity of the seawater that was used to develop the practical salinity scale (SP), the equation of state, and the other thermodynamic properties of seawater. Reference salinity is related to practical salinity by SR= SP(35.16504/35.000) g kg⁻¹ and absolute salinity is related to reference salinity by SA= SR+ δSA, where δSAis due to the added solutes in seawater in deep waters resulting from the dissolution of CaCO₃(s) and SiO₂(s), CO₂, and nutrients like NO₃ and PO₄ from the oxidation of plant material. The δSAvalues due to the added solutes are estimated from the differences between the measured densities of seawater samples compared with the densities calculated from the TEOS-10 equation of state (Δρ) at the same reference salinity, temperature, and pressure, using δSA= Δρ/0.75179 g kg⁻¹. The values of δSAin the ocean can be estimated for waters at given longitude, latitude, and depth using correlations of δSAand the concentration of Si(OH)₄ in the waters. The SAvalues can then be used to calculate all the thermodynamic properties of seawater in the major oceans using the new TEOS-10. It will be very useful to modelers examining the entropy and enthalpy of seawater.

The Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program was a 10-year international climate research effort carried out between 1985 and 1994 under the auspices of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). TOGA's goals were to determine the predictability of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system in the tropics on seasonal-to-interannual time scales, to understand the mechanisms responsible for that predictability, and to establish an observing system to support climate prediction. The US contribution to TOGA focused mainly on the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, which is the most prominent climate signal on seasonal-to-interannual time scales. One of TOGA's great strengths was that it forged the three fields of observation, theory, and modeling into a coherent program. TOGA also included climate impact studies from the very beginning by collaborating with scientists outside the field of physical climate research. This article highlights some key successes of TOGA and assesses its legacy from a perspective of progress over the past 15 years. It also celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), established within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote international cooperation in marine research, services, and observations. IOC, together with the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council of Science, co-sponsored not only TOGA, but also antecedent and follow-on climate research programs under WCRP. The continuity of these research programs over the time span of decades is one of the reasons for their long-term successes.

Since its creation within UNESCO a half-century ago, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has been at the vanguard of ocean observation, serving to promote international cooperation, coordinate ocean research, and facilitate capacity development. Beginning with the International Indian Ocean Expedition in the early 1960s, and through meaningful partnerships with the Scientific Committee of Ocean Research (SCOR), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), and related organizations, IOC has provided invaluable leadership needed to help justify and promote large-scale ocean observation programs. A recent international meeting, co-sponsored by IOC, OceanObs’09: Ocean Information for Society – Sustaining the Benefits, Realizing the Potentials was held in Venice, Italy, in September 2009. The conference was attended by more than 600 participants from 36 nations to present and discuss ongoing and planned global ocean observation activities. These field efforts represented a diverse spectrum of time-series programs, including the use of satellite remote sensing, moored buoys, autonomous gliders, repeat hydrographic surveys, volunteer ships of opportunity, profiling floats, cabled seafloor observatories, and ship-supported time-series programs, to name a few examples. Each observation program is designed to address a specific set of scientific goals, and each has its own set of challenges to sustain and optimize data return. This article focuses on ecosystem-based, time-series programs that presently rely on ships to make observations, collect samples, and conduct experiments. These ecosystem investigations are an important subset of the much larger portfolio of research-based, ocean time-series programs that derive, in large part, from sustained IOC leadership (Valdés et al., 2010).

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become an important subdiscipline within oceanography. Heightened attention to this topic as well as significant research advances reflect the global nature of the problem and the development of strong national and international programs for HAB research and management. The planning, communication, coordination, and capacity-building activities of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) have been a key factor in this growth. Here, we highlight selected advances in science and management capacity for HABs and document the impressive growth of the field in the context of activities supported directly or indirectly by IOC. As we look to the future, the field has significant momentum and stability. Nevertheless, it will require scientific guidance and coordination going forward. With an appropriate commitment of resources from member states, the IOC HAB program can continue to be a major factor in the sustained growth of this important scientific discipline and its delivery of improved observation and management systems.

Since its inception in 1960, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has been responsible for organizing and coordinating the scientific investigation of ocean carbon. Roger Revelle (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) first articulated the principal need for international and intergovernmental coordination to address global-scale problems such as climate change when IOC was first developed. Regional to global-scale carbon studies started in earnest with the International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE) and Geochemical Ocean Sections Study (GEOSECS) programs in the 1970s, but they were hampered by technological barriers that limited both the precision of carbon system measurements and the greater sampling frequency needed for a comprehensive global view. In 1979, IOC established the Committee on Climate Change and the Ocean (CCCO) with Revelle as Chair. CCCO called for a carbon observation program and sampling strategy that could determine the global oceanic CO₂ inventory to an accuracy of 10–20 petagrams of carbon (Pg C). Perfection of the coulometric analysis technique of total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in seawater by Ken Johnson (University of Rhode Island) and introduction of certified reference materials for DIC and alkalinity by Andrew Dickson (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) made such a study possible. The first global survey of ocean CO₂ was carried out under the joint sponsorship of IOC and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) in the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) in the 1990s. With these programs and underwaypCO₂ measuring systems on research vessels and ships of opportunity, ocean carbon data grew exponentially, reaching about a million total measurements by 2002 when Taro Takahashi (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) and others provided the first robust mapping of surface ocean CO₂. Using a new approach developed by Nicolas Gruber (ETH Zurich) and colleagues with JGOFS-WOCE and other synthesized data sets, one of this article's authors (Sabine) with a host of coauthors estimated that the total accumulation of anthropogenic CO₂ between 1800 and 1994 was 118 ± 19 Pg C, just within the uncertainty goals set by JGOFS and IOC prior to the global survey. Today, ocean carbon activities are coordinated through the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP). Ocean carbon measurements now accumulate at a rate of over a million measurements per year—matching the total number achieved over the first three decades of ocean carbon studies. IOCCP is actively working to combine these data into uniform data sets that the community can use to better understand ocean carbon uptake and storage. The problem of ocean acidification caused by uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ is now a major target of IOC and IOCCP.

As the only United Nations organization specializing in ocean sciences, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has the responsibility to promote basic marine scientific investigations globally. IOC has always given special attention to planning and forecasting new developments in ocean sciences, taking into account both the steady evolution of knowledge and fundamental changes leading to major scientific breakthroughs. Following that tradition, and in honor of IOC's fiftieth anniversary, we focus on two distinct objectives n this article. First, we provide a glimpse of past IOC scientific achievements. Second, we share IOC's vision for a marine science strategy for the next 15 years. For that purpose, IOC has identified three critical elements that will likely provide the scientific and technical means to redefine the future of ocean sciences: (1) science drivers, (2) ocean instrumentation and technological developments, and (3) strategic frameworks for cooperation. The third element is of particular importance because research at unprecedented geographic scales is required to improve our understanding of climate change and ecosystem functioning, including biodiversity conservation and management options. Because this effort calls for extensive national and international efforts, we also discuss the role of comprehensive international core projects.

Over the last 50 years, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has had a profound influence upon the willingness of United Nations Member States to share and provide access to their international and interdisciplinary oceanographic data. (For an early history and review of IOC achievements, see Roll, 1979.) Ocean science over the last half century has been transformed from a predominately modular, single-disciplinary, and individualistic science into a national and multinational interdisciplinary enterprise (Briscoe, 2008; Powell, 2008). The transformation began slowly, but as computing power increased, the pace accelerated, and along with these alterations came shifts in cultural practices regarding the sharing of data. The transformation of ocean science to a multidisciplinary national and international enterprise was abetted by the new availability of a multiplicity of data sources, thanks, in no small part, to IOC. Observations from ships, moorings, satellites, and manned submersibles are now complemented by remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles, floats, and gliders (D’Asaro et al., 2008). Both at sea and in shore-based laboratories, biogeochemical and genetic tools and techniques have changed the nature of the experimental side of the science. High-resolution coupled physical, biogeochemical, and biological models are now used to hindcast with existing data sets and are setting the stage for the forecasting needed to assist in anticipating climate change and the future management of our planet (Rothstein, 2006).

Through its promotion of coordinated international research programs, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has facilitated major progress on some of the most challenging problems in oceanography. Issues of global significance—such as general ocean circulation, the carbon cycle, the structure and dynamics of ecosystems, and harmful algal blooms—are so large in scope that they require international collaboration to be addressed systematically. International collaborations are even more important when these issues are affected by anthropogenic processes—such as climate change, CO2 enhancement, ocean acidification, pollution, and eutrophication—whose impacts may differ greatly throughout the global ocean. These problems require an entire portfolio of research activities, including global surveys, regional process studies, time-series observations, laboratory-based investigations, and satellite remote sensing. Synthesis of this vast array of results presents its own set of challenges (Hofmann et al., 2010), and models offer an explicit framework for integration of the knowledge gained as well as detailed investigation of the underlying dynamics. Models help us to understand what happened in the past, and to make predictions of future changes—both of which support the development of sound policy and decision making. We review examples of how models have been used for this suite of purposes, focusing on areas where IOC played a key role in organizing and coordinating the research activities.

Over the past 50 years, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission has significantly influenced the direction and advancement of ocean science by using its unique position to encourage synthesis and integration across diverse activities and disciplines. International oceanographic programs focused on marine ecosystems, ecology, and living resources (Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics project), ocean carbon (International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project), and harmful algal blooms (Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms program) are used to illustrate IOC's role in synthesis activities. Results of these projects, including fundamental changes in how the marine science community approaches measurement protocols, data availability, and data sharing, along with IOC publications and periodic assessments of the status of ocean science enabled synthesis activities that engaged the wider community and extended across disciplines. Ensuring informed development and application of marine science and technology is an important role for IOC as issues related to climate change, resource extraction, and the use of the marine environment become more pressing and the need for informed ocean management increases.