Science for an Ocean Nation: Update of the Ocean Research Priorities Plan
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20502
February, 2013
Dear Colleague:
I am pleased to transmit this document, Science for an Ocean Nation: An Update of the Ocean Research Priorities Plan, which presents national research priorities in key areas of interaction between society and the ocean.
Our Nation’s first ocean research priorities plan, Charting the Course for Ocean Sciences in the United States, was developed during 2005-06 and published in January 2007. Although it
remains useful for many purposes, a number of issues not thoroughly addressed in that report have since risen in importance, including ocean acidification and rapidly changing conditions in the Arctic Ocean. Further, in July 2010 President Obama signed Executive Order 13547 establishing America’s first National Ocean Policy, which calls for science-based decisionmaking as the Nation works to manage our ocean resources. For these and other reasons, the interagency National Science and Technology Council has crafted this update.
Structured around six societal themes, this report recommends research priorities designed to advance our understanding of critical ocean processes and phenomena that are
relevant to human health, economic well-being, environmental sustainability, adaptation to climate and other environmental change, and national and homeland security. The report also
provides updates on research progress in a number of these areas.
I am confident that the full spectrum of stakeholders with interests in the health of the global ocean and the importance of the ocean to society will find this report to be of great value.
Sincerely,
John P. Holdren
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
