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well as for longer-term economic planning, e.g. in agriculture, sea fishery, shipping, coastal 
protection, or in the insurance industry, interpreted data and products are needed. 
GOOS Programme Elements 
The data to be obtained within GOOS will be needed, e.g., for the following programme 
elements (list is incomplete): 
investigations into sea level rise, 
impact of coastal engineering works on the coastal zone 
introduction of alien species by vessels and their potential ecological impacts, 
impact of pollutant discharge into the oceans, 
long-term development of nutrient situation in different ocean areas 
monitoring of oxygen depletion in summer, which may cause death of benthic organisms in 
the North and Baltic Seas, 
early detection of major algal blooms, including toxic algae, 
temporal development of extreme-value situations, e.g. wind, waves, and storm surges, 
periodic recurrence of oceanic extreme events, e.g. El Niño, 
the influence of climate changes on ecosystems 
investigation of changes of heat transport from subtropical sea areas to the Northeast 
Atlantic Ocean, 
investigation of changes of CO2 transport in deeper ocean layers, 
investigation of long-term development of fish stocks. 
The purpose of GOOS is an early identification of hazards and a compilation of arguments 
facilitating political decisionmaking to minimize hazards by suitable measures. 
National Co-ordination and Co-operation 
In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW) is in charge 
of GOOS. Technical co-ordination and updating of the German GOOS contribution is carried 
out by the BSH. 
GOOS is closely linked to the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the 
International Geosphere/Biosphere Programme (IGBP). The research programmes will utilize 
GOOS data and, conversely, the scientific findings of the research programmes will serve to 
update and continually improve the GOOS observing system. Climate prediction and 
ecosystem models to be developed in the research sector will have to be translated into 
operational applications. It will have to be decided later which institutions in Germany should 
produce and distribute such operational products. 
The BSH collaborates with the Senate Commission for Oceanography of Deutsche 
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Research Society) with a view to correlating the GOOS 
activities with research programmes such as CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) 
and JGOFS (Joint Global Ocean Flux Study). The German activities within the scope of the 
module "Living Marine Resources" will be defined jointly with the Deutsche Wissenschaftliche 
Kommission fur Meeresforschung (DWK, German Scientific Commission for Marine 
Research).