Baltic operational oceanographic system — BOOS

BOOS is a formal association of institutes from Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark taking national responsibility for operational oceanographic services, which shall support the protection of lives and properties and the promotion of the development of society. Operational oceanography includes the routine collection, interpretation and presentation of data from the ocean and atmosphere to: give a reliable description of the actual conditions of the sea including its living resources; provide prognoses for the future development of the conditions in the sea; and establish a marine database from which time series and statistical analysis can be obtained for descriptions of trends and changes in the marine environment, including consequences for the living conditions in, on and around the sea. BOOS focuses primarily on observations, analysis and model predictions for water level, waves, currents, temperature, salinity, sea ice, oxygen, nutrients, algae, and chlorophyll, and contributes thereby to improve efficiency of marine operations, reduce the risk of accidents, optimise the monitoring of the marine environment and climate, improve the assessment of fish stocks and improve the foundation of public marine management. Developments of new products and services are implemented through projects. At present the BOOS members are working closely together in the EU financed project PAPA, which will in a cost-effective manner integrate and further develop the present operational ocean monitoring, data management and modelling activities within the Baltic Sea with the purpose of producing data products and ocean forecasts of a higher quality to the benefit of the users. PAPA is considered by the partners to constitute a valuable advance towards the establishment of an effective operational oceanographic service for the Baltic Sea.