A Surface Ocean CO2 Reference Network (SOCONET)

It is becoming increasingly evident that urgent actions are needed if the world is to meet the societal goals put forth in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris, France. More recently, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Carbon Stocktake and the WMO Global Greenhouse Gas Watch articulated the acute need for the development of a global surface water CO2 observing network which would provide high-quality observations at a spacial and temporal coverage adequate to inform scientists and policymakers abut the state and impact of the ocean carbon cycle. The steps and challenges to establish such a network from what exists already are described here.