In this second supplement to Oceanography on frontiers
in ocean observing, articles describe the many creative
and promising ways in which scientists are now sampling
and studying the ocean and its constituents, from carbon
dioxide and oxygen, environmental DNA (eDNA), plastics,
and microplastics, to coral reefs, fish, and whole ecosys-
tems. These papers show, for example, how acoustic tech-
niques are critical components for early warning of natural
hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides
and how they play significant roles in investigations such
as determining how ocean soundscapes may be used to
monitor coral reef ecosystem health. Several articles
demonstrate the application of long-used technologies for
new and important data-gathering purposes, while others
describe how data collected by multiple technologies
deployed simultaneously have improved monitoring of
threats such as harmful algal blooms and oil spills. Some
authors detail the application of eDNA analyses, especially
to midwater environments, where they are providing new
insights, in combination with other sampling and sensing
methods. Modeling is a key aspect of several of the stud-
ies, where ocean observing data serve as critical inputs
and for validation. These innovative observing technolo-
gies and analytical techniques are advancing our under-
standing of the world ocean and supporting its sustainable
use and management.
Similar to last year’s supplement, we invited potential
authors to submit letters of interest aligned with the pri-
orities of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable
Development (2021–2030), though topics were further
narrowed into specific themes. In addition, this year each
topic had guest editors, some of whom are early career sci-
entists. The idea was that this supplement would provide
an opportunity for a senior scientist to mentor one from
the next generation and for early career scientists to gain
some experience as guest editors for a journal.
OCEAN-CLIMATE NEXUS
THEME: Observations for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal
GUEST EDITORS: Toste Tanhua and Jens Daniel Müller
How ocean observations and emerging technologies
are helping to identify potential marine carbon dioxide
removal (mCDR) opportunities and to measure the effec-
tiveness of mCDR actions, including studies evaluating the
potential adverse effects of human interventions on bio-
diversity and ecosystem function.
ECOSYSTEMS AND THEIR DIVERSITY
THEME: Patterns and Trends in Ocean Biodiversity Under
Climate Change
GUEST EDITORS: Mark John Costello, Qianshuo Zhao,
Charles Lavin, and Cesc Gordó-Vilaseca
Ocean observing efforts that record environmental and
related biodiversity changes occurring in different eco-
systems, from the coasts to the deep ocean and from
the tropics to the high latitudes, and that address the link
between observations and policy.
OCEAN POLLUTANTS
THEME: Assessing the Damage Caused by Marine
Plastic Pollution
GUEST EDITORS: Luisa Galgani and Shiye Zhao
Both classical oceanographic approaches and new tech-
niques for quantifying marine plastic pollution as well as
its long-term consequences on ecosystems and climate
through their interaction with natural elements of the
marine environment.
MULTI-HAZARD WARNING SYSTEMS
THEME: Ocean Observations for Coastal Hazard Warning
GUEST EDITORS: Benoît Pirenne and Soroush Kouhi
Observations and monitoring, forecasting, alerting, and
hazard research together with the systems developed
around them and their applications in coastal communities.
TECHNOLOGY
THEME: Environmental DNA Technology
GUEST EDITORS: Annette Govindarajan and Luke McCartin
Recent developments in all aspects of eDNA technology
and interpretive approaches relevant for observing and
studying animal biodiversity, especially in the ocean mid-
water environment.
We thank Ocean Networks Canada, the US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Ocean
Monitoring and Observing Program, and the Partnership
for Observation of the Global Ocean for generously sup-
porting publication of this supplement to Oceanography.
ARTICLE DOI. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2023.s1.1
INTRODUCTION TO FRONTIERS IN OCEAN OBSERVING
By Ellen S. Kappel, Mark John Costello, Luisa Galgani, Cesc Gordó-Vilaseca,
Annette Govindarajan, Soroush Kouhi, Charles Lavin, Luke McCartin, Jens Daniel Müller,
Benoît Pirenne, Toste Tanhua, Qianshuo Zhao, and Shiye Zhao