A-4. Open Ocean and Other Initiatives

Discussions and planning for studies at open ocean sites under the aegis of U.S. GLOBEC are not as advanced as they are for the other ecosystem types. No specific U.S. GLOBEC activities are contemplated at this time. However many of the activities discussed in U.S. GLOBEC Report 9 on the Arabian Sea are being pursued under the auspices of U.S. JGOFS, NSF's Biological Oceanography, the Office of Naval Research, and the NOAA Office of Global Programs. Evidence exists that the carrying capacity for zooplankton and higher carnivores, including salmon, in the North Pacific may be under climatic control. U.S. GLOBEC has proposed a workshop to address the themes that U.S. researchers might pursue under an international project, jointly sponsored by PICES and GLOBEC International, to investigate the carrying capacity of the North Pacific and its relation to climate.