G7 Future of Seas and Ocean Initiative

1st meeting of G7 FSOI resource strategy group: towards a global Biogeochemical Argo array 2030

Image credit: Emilie Diamond Riquier, IMEV -Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (France)

On 28-29 March 2022, more than 30 experts and government representatives from the G7 met to discuss ways and means to support the implementation of a global Biogeochemical Argo Array by 2030.  Along with the chairs of the OneArgo and BGC Argo mission teams, the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) Resource Strategy Group (RSG) reviewed existing and future G7 commitments to support the array, and discussed strategies for reducing costs and finding new sources of funding. It is expected that the G7 members will financially support approximately 90% of the global array.

During the meeting RSG members agreed to:

  • establish a clear set of float-deployment targets for G7 members,
  • strengthen commitments and forward planning to provide incentives for sensor developers to reduce prices,
  • actively encourage multiple sources of sensors to reduce delivery times and costs,
  • collaborate to improve access to and sharing of deployment opportunities, and
  • develop science-policy briefs to highlight the visibility of the BGC Argo programme and its ability to address international ocean governance issues.    

The G7 FSOI Coordination Centre will work with the OneArgo team and with international partners beyond the G7 to drive forward actions required to implement and sustain the global array by 2030.

Click here to access workshop summary report.

 

BGC Argo Contributions 2022

BGC Argo provides valuable data for a range of science and marine resource management issues, including ocean carbon uptake and the impacts of global actions to reduce atmospheric CO2, oxygen minimum zones and the nitrate cycle, ocean pH (ocean acidification), the biological carbon pump, phytoplankton community composition, and the impact of real-time data for the management of living marine resources.

About the G7 FSOI RSG on BGC Argo

 

The G7 FSOI RSG works to support the development of a sustained Global Biogeochemical Argo Array by encouraging and facilitating G7 commitment for the implementation of the full-1000 float Array by 2030, contributing to G7 FSOI Action Areas 1, 3, and 4. The scope of the RSG includes information sharing on implementation progress and identifying priorities for coordinated joint investment. The European Coordinator of the FSOI coordination centre, hosted by Mercator Ocean International is the lead coordinator for this RSG.