OceanPrediction DCC Cross-Cutting Meetings

From 14 October to 2 December 2025, the OceanPrediction DCC community held a series of cross-regional thematic meetings that brought together more than 50 members from across the network. These meetings focused on assessing the current state of ocean forecasting across a range of thematic areas, identifying gaps in resources, capacity, and human expertise, examining governance-related barriers, and reflecting on how effectively the community connects with society. 

The discussions followed a clear and collaborative progression. Participants first worked to identify key gaps and challenges, then explored how the OceanPrediction DCC community could move forward together by leveraging its collective network, skills, and tools. This process led to the identification of concrete lines of action aimed at strengthening and advancing ocean forecasting efforts. 

A wide range of themes was addressed during the meetings, including ocean observations, forecasting physics and biogeochemistry, climate downstream services, ocean literacy, policy and legal aspects, the Digital Ocean, ECOP contributions, ocean health, and capacity building. Bringing these perspectives together helped ensure a holistic view of both scientific and societal dimensions of ocean prediction. 

Overall, the meetings provided a valuable opportunity for OceanPrediction DCC members to reconnect across disciplines, strengthen collaboration within and between areas of expertise, and develop realistic, actionable goals to move the work forward in a collective and constructive manner. We now look forward to putting these action items into motion and to sharing progress and updates in future communications.  

For those interested in learning more about key takeaways from specific thematic meetings or in getting involved in shaping the future of ocean forecasting, we warmly encourage you to reach out to the team.