The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) Program Overview

The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) is an intergovernmental scientific organization and was established in 1992 to promote and coordinate marine research in the northern North Pacific and adjacent seas. Its present members are Canada, Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America.

PICES does not include a data center, but member countries collect and manage hydrographic, biological, and chemical data.PICES is a partner with NOAA, who developed the North Pacific Ecosystem Metadatabase to assemble and make available through various mechanisms an inventory of biological and physical data for the North Pacific and its marginal seas. See below for more information and links to the metadatabase.

PICES Data Access

Updated June 17, 2011

Organization Structure

Program Management

PICES held its first Annual Meeting in October 1992, in Victoria, British Columbia. From the beginning, the PICES approach has been multidisciplinary, with standing committees concerned with biological oceanography, fishery science, physical oceanography and climate, and marine environmental quality. This list was augmented by the establishment of technical committees on monitoring and data management and specialty sections on harmful algal blooms and carbon-climate interactions. There is growing interaction among these specialties, with jointly organized scientific sessions a regular occurrence at PICES Annual Meetings. PICES has joined forces with other international organizations on many occasions. Foremost among these was the association with GLOBEC during the development and implementation of the Climate Change and Carrying Capacity Science Program (1996-2009). PICES it has become a major focus for leadership and international cooperation in marine science in the North Pacific.

The purposes of the organization are to: Promote and coordinate marine research in the northern North Pacific and adjacent seas especially northward of 30 degrees North; to Advance scientific knowledge about the ocean environment, global weather and climate change, living resources and their ecosystems, and the impacts of human activities; Promote the collection and rapid exchange of scientific information on these issues .

• History of the PICES
• Annual Reports

Data Management

PICES member countries collect and manage hydrographic, biological, and chemical data (nutrients, oxygen, pollutants) that are of interest to a broad range of user communities. The data are maintained by the member countries. PICES does not include a data center. PICES is a partner with NOAA, who developed the North Pacific Ecosystem Metadatabase to assemble and make available through various mechanisms an inventory of biological and physical data for the North Pacific and its marginal seas. Information about data, reports, databases, catalogs, proposals are included.

PICES is involved with the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) in further developing the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey of the North Pacific. PICES maintains information on the program and the data analysis on its web site. See PICES Projects for more information.