Observation Activities in the Ross Sea: Current and future national contributions to the Southern Ocean Observing System

This document summarises both known and planned observational programmes in the Ross Sea, with the aim of describing observing activities that contribute to the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS). In turn, this will allow the identification of significant gaps that restrict the observation and understanding of future change. The current state of observations in the Ross Sea cannot be considered comprehensive by any standard, but there are significant data sets (particularly for physical oceanography) that can form the basis of an observing system in the Ross Sea.