2004 IAPSO Activities
During 2004, IAPSO had two major activies. The first of these was the IAPSO/SCOR Conference on Ocean Mixing held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 11 - 14 October 2004. There were more than 120 conferees representing 14 countries. There were 29 oral presentations and 76 poster presentations. A significant number of conclusions and recommendations were made, and various concerns were raised. A full report is posted on the page for Commissions and Permanent Services (*). There are plans to publish a proceedings volume in a special "Ocean Mixing" issue of Deep- Sea Research Part 2. A Symposium at the 2007 IUGG General Assembly is proposed, and a future follow-up conference is being considered.
The second major activity was the International Workshop on Forecasting & Data Assimilation in the Benguela and Comparable Systems held in Cape Town, South Africa on 8 - 11 November 2004. There were over 100 invited participants in the Workshop including 35 from overseas and 25 from neighboring African countries. An important objective of the Workshop was the development of a strong base for an effective and affordable forecasting capability for the Southeast Atlantic within the global network. The summary assessment was that we are now ready to design an operational system for forecasting in the Benguela. One of the output products from the Workshop will be a peer-reviewed book entitled, "The Benguela: Predicting a Large Marine Ecosystem," to be published in 2005 by Elsevier.
Other activities included planning for the August 2005 IAG/IAPSO/IABO Joint Assembly in Cairns, Australia. The Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004 led to an initiative to add a special session to the Assembly. Information on IAPSO, and on the 2005 Joint Assembly, was distributed at the AGU Ocean Sciences meeting in January and the AGU Fall meeting in December. IAPSO also co-sponsored a symposium at the COSPAR meeting held in 2004.
The Commission on Groundwater-Seawater Interaction (CGSI) continued to be sponsored by IAPSO during 2004. The CGSI held a business meeting and workshop in Monaco, and has sponsored ongoing intiatives in the Philippines and Thailand. Other work is proposed by the CGSI in Brazil, Italy, and Mauritius. Work of other Commissions and Premanent Services continued, including the Permanent Service on Mean Sea Level. There is an ongoing restructuring of the Commission on Sea Level and Tides.
A final document on the future of IAPSO was distributed. A proposed revision to the IAPSO Statutes and By-Laws was distributed to the IAPSO National Correspondents for approval by a mail ballot. The decision on the revision is pending as approval has not yet been received from a majority of the member countries. A major consideration is the proposed separation of the Treasurer and Secretary General duties.
The Secretariat continued maintenance of the IAPSO Web page, general correspondence, and distribution of information. The IAPSO President and Secretary General attended the IUGG Executive Committee meeting in Boulder, Colorado, USA in August 2004.