Lead institution:
IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC), UNESCO – Thailand; Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Change (WPI-AIMEC), Tohoku University & JAMSTEC – Japan
Recognizing that the global warming has been driving widespread ecosystem shifts, threatening biodiversity, fisheries and coastal communities, the COSMEC aims to rapidly advance our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems and their response to environmental stressors in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, by integrating ocean observations (e.g., Biogeochemical (BGC) Argo float), environmental DNA (eDNA) and advance data science and AI-based methods.
These innovations will significantly expand the capacity of ocean science to deliver biological and ecosystem-level data, complementing traditional physical and chemical oceanographic parameters. By contributing real-time, high-resolution data to global databases and Earth System Models (ESMs), COSMEC will support evidence-based marine policy and resource management. The COSMEC also emphasizes capacity building, stakeholder engagement, science-policy-society interface, and collaboration among WESTPAC Member States.
Start Date: 4/1/2025
End Date: 12/31/2030
Lead Contact: Wenxi Zhu (w.zhu@unesco.org), Toshio Suga (suga@tohoku.ac.jp), and Vaninovita Alviani (vani.novita.alviani.d7@tohoku.ac.jp).