Two long time contributors to the GOOS, Peter Dexter and Colin Summerhayes, have created an eloquent summary of the purpose and need for a GOOS. This is a chapter of the recently published book, “Troubled Waters: Ocean Science and Governance” edited by David Pugh and Geoff Holland.
Dexter, P., and Summerhayes, C.P., 2010, Ocean Observations – the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Chapter 11 in Pugh, D., and Holland, G., (eds.), Troubled Waters: Ocean Science and Governance. CUP, Cambridge.161-178
Peter Dexter was Co-President of JCOMM, the Joint WMO/IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology, which in effect is the operational arm of GOOS.
Colin Summerhayes was Director of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Project Office in IOC for 7 years before joining the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) as Executive Director in 2004.