The CLIVAR Global Synthesis and Observations panel is established to (inter alia): 1. Develop, promote and seek to implement strategies for a synthesis of global ocean, atmosphere and coupled climate information through analysis and reanalysis efforts and through the use of other techniques where appropriate. Initial emphasis will be on global ocean synthesis efforts, building on previous experiences and developments; and 2. Be responsible for the definition and fulfilment of CLIVAR's global needs for sustained observations (in collaboration with relevant WMO and IOC bodies, including GCOS, GTOS, GOOS, AOPC and OOPC, and JCOMM), and for the development of a strategy for their evolution/optimization based on new science and reanalysis insights, and fostering the use of resulting data sets in global synthesis efforts.

Global Ocean Data Analysis Project

The GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a cooperative effort to coordinate global synthesis projects funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study - Synthesis and Modeling Project (JGOFS-SMP). Cruises conducted as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), JGOFS, and the NOAA Ocean-Atmosphere Exchange Study (OACES) over the decade of the 1990s have created an oceanographic database of unparalleled quality and quantity. These data provide an important asset to the scientific community investigating carbon cycling in the oceans. The project includes an Atlas, data and data visualization tools, evaluation of data quality, project summaries and publications.

The CARINA project, started in 1999, assembled a large collection of Atlantic carbon data from more than 180 cruises, where 80% of the data were previously unavailable. Data have been quality controlled following WOCE / GLODAP standards, and the final CARINA product will consist of the individual cruise data files with accompanying metadata, as well as 3 merged data products (Arctic mediterranean seas, North Atlantic, and Southern Ocean). Final publication of the CARINA data set is scheduled for 2009 and is being integrated into the GLODAP Atlas.
See also:
The report of the Initial Atlantic Ocean Carbon Synthesis Meeting (June 2006, Iceland)
The report of the International Workshop of the CarboOcean Carbon Synthesis Groups (December 2007, Germany)