Classes of Essential Ocean Variables

Biology and Ecosystems

• Phytoplankton biomass and diversity
• Zooplankton biomass and diversity
• Fish abundance and distribution
• Marine turtles, birds, mammals abundance and distribution
• Hard coral cover and composition
• Seagrass cover and composition
• Macroalgal canopy cover and composition
• Mangrove cover and composition
• Microbe biomass and diversity (*emerging)
• Invertebrate abundance and distribution (*emerging)

Biochemistry

• Oxygen
• Oxygen production in sea ice
• Dissolved oxygen in sea ice
• Nutrients
• Nutrients in sea ice
• Inorganic carbon
• Transient tracers
• Particulate matter
• Particulate organic carbon in sea ice
• Nitrous oxide
• Stable carbon isotopes
• Dissolved organic carbon

Physics

• Sea state
• Ocean surface stress
• Sea ice
• Sea surface height
• Sea surface temperature
• Subsurface temperature
• Surface currents
• Subsurface currents
• Sea surface salinity
• Subsurface salinity
• Salinity of sea ice
• Brine volume
• Ocean surface heat flux
• Ocean bottom pressure

Cross-disciplinary (including human impact)

• Ocean colour
• Ocean sound
• Marine debris (*emerging)