Why observing the oceans ?

Long term, global and high quality ocean observations are thus needed to understand the role of the ocean on the earth’s climate and to predict the evolution of our weather and climate. The oceans store, transport and exchange with the atmosphere large amounts of heat, water and gases. These exchanges dramatically affect world and regional climates on time scales ranging from days (storms and hurricanes), to seasons (monsoons), to years (El Niño) and centuries (climate change).

The oceanic circulation, the great ocean conveyor belt which regulates the planet’s climate.