The sixteenth session of the Group of Experts for the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS GE XVI) took place in Busan, Republic of Korea, on 11-13 April. The Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS), a component of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), was established by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO in 1985. GLOSS is an in situ sea level observing network coordinating high-quality data delivery to support a broad research and operational user base.
At the event, Begoña Pérez Gómez, Chair of EuroGOOS Tide Gauge Task Team, presented the main achievements and on-going activities of the task team. The EuroGOOS Tide Gauge Task Team works to recover available tide gauge data and feed into activities of the global GLOSS network and the European Copernicus programme, among many others.
Begoña Pérez Gómez explained at the meeting that the task team has analysed the status of the European tide gauge systems and found alarming sustainability gaps. In 2017, the task team issued a statement to policymakers demonstrating that at least 25% of the surveyed tide gauges are under threat of immediate funding cuts. The survey also showed that only 37% of the systems have an open and free data policy.
“This simple and reliable technology is being explored and improved since the 19th century”, says Begoña Pérez. “But still today it is key to measure sea level, helping to predict trends, prevent extreme events, such as tsunamis, floods and storm surges, and support harbour operations, among many other uses. We were in shock when the results of our survey showed significant sustainability threats to the tide gauge systems in Europe. At the level of political attention to the blue economy activities and environmental monitoring, ocean observing networks must not be decreased.”
Presentation by Begoña Pérez Gómez, Chair of EuroGOOS Tide Gauge Task Team is available here:
