Knowledge Gaps & Global Ocean Assessments

Long considered too inaccessible to be significantly influenced by human activities, the deep ocean is now recognized to be impacted by a growing number of activities, including dumping and pollution, fishing, and oil and gas extraction. Within only a few decades of their inception, deep-ocean fisheries have depleted fish stocks worldwide and severely impacted seamount and cold-water coral habitats. There is an urgent need to properly assess the state of deep-ocean ecosystems, and establish a deep-ocean observation network to acquire proper baseline and time series data to assess natural cycles and anthropogenic change.

This DOSI working group will seek to ensure that assessment and management of the deep ocean are based on comprehensive input from the scientific community, including natural and social scientists.

Working Group Activities (current):

  1. Identify major ocean assessments, their scope, how the deep ocean is included, and active contributors. We have begun with the United Nations World Ocean Assessment and ensured that many deep-sea scientists have led and contributed to a number of chapters.
  2. Produced 1st listing of international ocean assessments
  3. Ensure the deep-sea is represented in the latest North Pacific Marine Science Organisation (PICES) Ecosystem Status Report.  This is currently underway and Tony Koslow is co-convener.

Working Group Activities (planned):

  1. Evaluate the adequacy of deep-ocean representation based on a DOSI survey.
  2. Through a workshop and brief, organize deep-ocean inputs to assessments, conduct a gap analysis and develop recommendations to rectify gaps.
  3. Coordinate interactions of deep-sea experts through dedicated workshops leading to consensus syntheses that can be input to current assessments & management
  4. Identification of future major ocean assessments and alert community
  5. Identify how assessments are defined & scope of deep sea inclusion
  6. Consideration of adequacy of deep-sea representation in process (topics & expert representation)

If you are interested in participating in the DOSI-Knowledge Gaps and Global Ocean Assessment working group, please contact WG Leads Tony Koslow & Maria Baker