The Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) was founded in 1999 by directors of oceanographic institutions around the world as a forum to promote and advance the observation of the global ocean. POGO is a UK-registered charity with member institutions from around the world, and works closely with other international and regional programmes and organisations.
POGO seeks to expand international support for ocean observing, through innovation of the ocean observing system, capacity development and outreach/advocacy.
Find POGO news, announcements and training opportunities. Check back regularly for updates.
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The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is a science-driven ocean observing network that delivers real-time data from more than 900 instruments to address critical science questions regarding the world’s oceans. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation to encourage scientific investigation, OOI data are freely available online to anyone with an Internet connection.
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The West Africa Marine Science Symposium (WAMSS) took place in Ghana from 18 – 20 August 2023, with 163 participants from 18 countries – both within the region and overseas. It was an Ocean Decade endorsed activity that brought together marine and coastal experts, storytellers, youth, government bodies, Non-governmental organisations, funders, and National Geographic Society
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The Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network is an endorsed #UNOceanDecade programme that will monitor, research & understand ocean life by analyzing biomolecules. POGO is the lead partner and a founder of OBON.
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“Linking Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions with Climate and People”. The global and multidisciplinary research project Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) was established to provide international science coordination and capacity building. Initiated with a first Open Science Conference in 2000 and formally launched in 2004, SOLAS research aims to understand the key biogeochemical-physical interactions and feedbacks
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The Lounsbery Foundation was founded in 1959, with a goal to enhance US national strengths in science and technology and foster strong French-American cooperation. To this day, the Foundation has stayed true to its roots while expanding to promote science among youth and to support components of US policy issues pertaining to science. The Foundation
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The Sloan Foundation is a US not-for-profit grant-making institution that supports high quality, impartial scientific research; fosters a robust, diverse scientific workforce; strengthens public understanding and engagement with science; and promotes the health of the institutions of scientific endeavor. Seed funding from the Sloan Foundation was instrumental in getting POGO started, by supporting the first
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The Nippon Foundation (NF) has been the main sponsor of POGO Capacity Building programmes since 2004. With the NF-POGO Centre of Excellence, the Ocean Training Partnership (OTP) and the NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans (NANO), NF and POGO are investing in young researchers from all over the world by providing a forum for training, networking and exchange.
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GEO is a partnership of more than 100 national governments and in excess of 100 Participating Organizations that envisions a future where decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations. GEO is a unique global network connecting government institutions, academic and research institutions, data providers, businesses,
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The International Council for Science (ICSU) formed the Special Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) in 1957 to help address interdisciplinary science questions related to the ocean. SCOR was the first interdisciplinary body formed by ICSU. SCOR’s name was later changed to “Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research” to reflect its more permanent status. SCOR activities focus
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The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is a sustained collaborative system of ocean observations, encompassing in situ networks, satellite systems, governments, UN agencies and individual scientists. It is organised around a series of components undertaking requirements assessment, observing implementation, innovation through projects, and a core team. POGO works with and supports IOC/GOOS in advancing global ocean observing
UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) promotes international cooperation and coordinates programmes in marine research, services, observation systems, hazard mitigation, and capacity development in order to understand and effectively manage the resources of the ocean and coastal areas. By applying this knowledge, the Commission aims to improve the governance, management, institutional capacity, and decision-making processes of
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NANO (NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans) is a global network of former scholars of NF and POGO programmes on capacity building. The network is organised into regional coalitions such as NANO Africa, NANO Latin America, NANO India and NANO South-East Asia. Within the NANO network, NF and POGO promote joint research activities and training and provide a platform for networking and exchange.
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SMART Subsea Cables for Observing the Global Ocean: This Joint Task Force sponsored by 3 UN agencies (IOC, ITU, WMO) aims to integrate sensors into the repeaters of future trans-oceanic telecommunications cable systems. Sensors would “piggyback” on the existing power and communications infrastructure, with the potential for global coverage at modest incremental cost. Initial sensors
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POGO is a sponsor of the Southern Ocean Observing System, which published its Science Plan and established a Project Office at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, in 2011. The SOOS Data Network is the primary access point for search, discovery, mapping and download of data that has been determined to be of significance to
POGO member institutions have been driving the establishment of OceanSITES, a network of deep-ocean, multi-disciplinary time-series reference sites, measuring many variables and monitoring the full depth of the ocean from the surface down to 5,000 metres. This network comprises about 30 surface and 30 sub-surface arrays. At its 2011 meeting in Seoul, POGO’s directors decided
The Global Alliance of Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys was initiated by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) during a workshop held in Plymouth in September 2011. POGO was invited to attend to provide advice on setting up a new international programme, and to sign as a witness the Memorandum of Understanding. Members of
Together with SCOR, and with seed funding from the Sloan Foundation, POGO is supporting the development of the International Quiet Ocean Experiment. The IQOE is a programme set to last a decade, aimed at mesuring sound in the ocean and the effects of anthopogenic sound on marine life. The programme will make use of existing ocean
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ChloroGIN was created in 2006 during a workshop sponsored by POGO, GOOS, GEO, IOCCG and PML, and was inspired by the Latin American Network Antares. It aims to promote in situ chlorophyll measurements in combination with satellite-derived estimates. ChloroGIN is funded by the Canadian Space Agency, and was included as a Task within the first GEO Work
The creation of the “Oceans and Society: Blue Planet” Task was an initiative of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) in 2011, to bring together all the existing ocean observation programmes within GEO, to add new ones to the GEO portfolio, and to create synergies between them. This has evolved into the
AMT is a multidisciplinary scientific programme, hosted by Plymouth Marine Laboratory in collaboration with the National Oceanographic Centre. AMT undertakes biological, chemical and physical oceanographic research during an annual voyage between the UK and the South Atlantic and provides the longest time series of oceanographic observations on an ocean-basin scale. The programme was established in
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Around the time POGO was being started, the Argo programme was also beginning. One of the first crusades of POGO was to throw the collective weight of its members behind the world expansion of Argo. A collaboration among 50 research and operational agencies from 26 countries, Argo now has charge of more than 3,500 floats
POGO helped to fund the meeting at which the Latin-American network of bio-optical oceanographers called Antares was born and led subsequently to the formation of a global-scale analogue, ChloroGIN (see below). POGO continues to collaborate with and provide support to Antares, particularly through its capacity building programmes and the NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans.