JAMSTEC experts participated in the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) Working Group meeting
The G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) Working Group* meeting was held at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) from 14 to 16 November 2023, hosted by the G7 Presidency, Japan, – co-chaired with the incoming Presidency, Italy.
Recalling the G7 Science and Technology Ministers’ Communique (Sendai, Japan, 12-14 May 2023), which reaffirmed the importance of ocean science, the meeting started with workshop-style discussions on two emerging issues: ‘Arctic Ocean Observing’ and ‘Marine Research Infrastructures integration and harmonisation’. The Working Group continued discussions, reviewing the recommendations provided by the expert groups for the topics identified in the 2023 FSOI Work Plan**, which included ‘OneArgo’,*** ‘Digital Twin Ocean Capability’, ‘Ocean Carbon’ and ‘Augmented Observing and Forecasting for Marine Life’, as well as developing the Work Plan for 2024.
Experts from the Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC) and the International Affairs Section of JAMSTEC, in cooperation with the Ocean and Earth Division of the Research and Development Bureau of MEXT, Japan's National Focal Point (NFP) for the G7 FSOI Working Group, participated in person to share their scientific knowledge. Furthermore, they took part in discussions on the activities of the G7 FSOI Working Group and, together with the participating G7 members, developed several sound proposals for the future of the Ocean.
JAMSTEC expresses its sincere gratitude to the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre, hosted by the UK and the EU, for its tremendous support and guidance. JAMSTEC also looks forward to continuing to work with the members of the G7 FSOI Working Group to promote international cooperation in ocean science.
Link: https://www.g7fsoi.org/g7-fsoi-working-group-meeting-2023-2/
G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) Working Group
An expert working group of the G7 to discuss the future of the seas and oceans was established in 2016, led by the UK. ‘Future of the Seas and Oceans’ was on the agenda of the G7 Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting in Tsukuba, Japan, in 2016, where it was agreed to maintain the G7 expert working group as a Working Group under the G7 Science and Technology Sherpa Meeting. Five main Action Areas were developed, namely observing system, assessments and reporting, data sharing infrastructure, regional observing capacity, and political cooperation.
In Japan, relevant ministries and agencies work together on the activities of the G7 FSOI Working Group, in collaboration with the Ocean and Earth Division of the Research and Development Bureau of MEXT, which serves as the NFP for the G7 FSOI. Experts from JAMSTEC, including Dr Shuhei Masuda, Director-General of the Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), who acts as the Scientific Adviser to NFP of Japan, have been taking part in the FSOI-related activities.
The expert groups for the topics identified in the 2023 FSOI Work Plan
The following experts from JAMSTEC participated in the intersessional discussions with other G7 members:
- Dr Takashi Kikuchi, Director of the Institute of Arctic Climate and Environment Research (IACE) of RIGC, for 'Arctic Ocean Observing'
- Dr Toshio Suga, Visiting Principal Scientist of RIGC (Professor, Tohoku University), for ‘OneArgo’
- Dr Yoichi Ishikawa, Director of the Center for Earth Information Science and Technology (CEIST) of the Research Institute for Value-Added-Information Generation (VAiG), for ‘Digital Twin Ocean Capability’
- Dr Akihiko Murata, Principal Scientist of the Physical and Chemical Oceanography Research Group, Global Ocean Observation Research Center (GOORC) of RIGC, for an international workshop on ‘Ocean Carbon’
- Dr Takehisa Yamakita, Senior Researcher of the Marine Environmental Impact Assessment Research Group (M-EIA), Marine Biodiversity and Environmental Assessment Research Center (BioEnv) of RIGC, for an international workshop on ‘Marine Life’
OneArgo
OneArgo is a global ocean observing network of Argo profiling floats which can automatically descend and ascend between the ocean surface and the deep sea to observe physical and biogeochemical conditions and provide those data in quasi real time.
Photos are provided by MEXT.