PICES Program Overview
PICES is the North Pacific Marine Science Organization. It's functions are similar to those of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and is therefore generally referred to as Pacific ICES or PICES. Its present members are Canada, People's Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States of America. The purposes of the organization are:
- promote and coordinate marine research in the northern North Pacific and adjacent seas especially northward of 30 degrees North
- advance scientific knowledge about the ocean environment, global weather and climate change, living resources and their ecosystems, and the impacts of human activities
- promote the collection and rapid exchange of scientific information on these issues
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Program Management
PICES is managed by the PICES Secretariat which is located at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sydney, British Columbia, Canada. PICES was established in 1992. As with ICES, PICES provides a meeting place for researchers in the marine environment for the North Pacific Ocean. The output of the research programs is used by governments and regulatory agencies that manage various aspects of the North Pacific Ocean.
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Data Management
PICES member countries collect and manage hydrographic, biological, and chemical data (nutrients, oxygen, pollutants) that are of interest to a broad range of user communities. The data are maintained by the member countries. PICES does not include a data center as does ICES. PICES is a partner with NOAA, who developed the North Pacific Ecosystem Metadatabase to assemble and make available through various mechanisms an inventory of biological and physical data for the North Pacific and its marginal seas. Information about data, reports, databases, catalogs, proposals are included.
PICES is involved with the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) in further developing the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey of the North Pacific. PICES maintains information on the program and the data analysis on its web site. |
