IOC-UNESCO

The IOC, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, is the UN body that coordinates ocean science, observation, and services among its member states, established in 1960. It co-sponsors and houses the Global Ocean Observing System, runs the IODE network for ocean data and information exchange, and coordinates the regional tsunami warning systems through its intergovernmental coordination groups. The IOC leads the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 to 2030). Working with WMO through the joint technical commission for oceanography and marine meteorology, it sets the institutional frame under which Argo, GO-SHIP, and the drifter and moored-buoy arrays operate as a coordinated system.