The report of the 6th International XBT Workshop, held in Oostende, Belgium between 18-20 April 2018, has been published as IOC Workshop Report No. 283.
The 6th International XBT (Expendable bathythermograph) Science team workshop took place at the IODE Project Office of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, in Ostend, Belgium from 18 to 20 April 2018 following on from the 5th IODE Steering Group for the International Quality Controlled Ocean Database (SG-IquOD) meeting at the same venue. The workshop was divided in oral presentations and plenary discussions, held with the objective of exchanging ideas on how to proceed with the implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of the XBT network. A total of 19 scientists participated (4 remotely) from Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Africa, UK, and the USA.
The IOC Secretariat is hiring an IT expert to assist with the development, documenting and maintenance of web-based IOC data and information products, hosted by the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, Belgium. The full job description can be found HERE. The deadline for applications is 1 June 2018. This is a 1-year contract with option to renew.
UNESCO is committed to promoting geographical distribution and gender equality within its Secretariat. Therefore, women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply, as are nationals from non- and under-represented Member States. Persons with disabilities equally are encouraged to apply.
The First Session of the Intersessional Working Group to Develop a Concept Paper for an Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) was held at the IOC Project Office for IODE, Oostende, Belgium between 5-8 March 2018. The meeting discussed potential options for the development of ODIS and identified an options that it deemed realistic and useful for IOC. This will be very elaborated for submission to IODE-XXV (February 2019) and the 30th Session of the IOC Assembly (2019).
It fills us with great sadness to inform you of the unexpected passing of our colleague Mark Vam Crombrugge. Mark was a valued member of the Oostende team for more than 10 years. He was always ready to help out colleagues and visitors to the Project Office. Recently Mark had taken charge of the editing and overall management of the OceanExpert database and project. Mark was also in charge of managing the project office computer hardware. We will always remember Mark as a warm hearted man and he will be dearly missed.
If you have know Mark and want to offer your condolences to his familiy then please send them to us. We will then pass your message to Mark's partner Linda.
The Eduardo Mondlane University Marine Research and Technology Center (Centro de Pesquisa e Tecnologia do Mar – CePTMar) in partnership with the UNESCO/IOC/IODE OceanTeacher Global Academy, organized a short-term training course on "Application of Remote Sensing and GIS for Coastal and Marine Zone Management" for the Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOP’s). The course was held at the Computer Center of the Eduardo Mondlane University (CIUEM), between 22 – 26 January, 2018.
The course provided a comprehensive introduction to remote sensing and GIS and their application to integrated coastal zone and marine ecosystem management using Bilko, ArcGIS and Q-GIS. The course encompassed data acquisition, processing, analysis and interpretation of spatial data and generated specific thematic inputs to marine and coastal programs, including coastal planning, disaster risk management, operational oceanography, fisheries and impacts of climate change.
The 17 participants, of which 10 Mozambicans and 6 from overseas (Angola and Sao Tome) originated from various fields related to marine sciences and maritime services from government, academic and research institutions, defense and NGOs, amongst university students and researchers.
The training course was funded by the Government of Flanders, Belgium (FUST) and received the kind support of the Eduardo Mondlane University through the Marine Research and Technology Center (CePTMar) and the UNESCO Office in Maputo.
For more information on the course please visit the IODE events calendar and the OceanTeacher Global Academy website.
The World Ocean Database (WOD) represents the world’s largest collection of ocean profile-plankton data available internationally without restriction. All data in WOD are freely available as public domain data. The World Ocean Database is maintained by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in Silver Spring, MD, United States using data from the IODE National Oceanographic Data Centres, international ocean data management projects as well as near real-time ocean observing systems. WOD was first released in 1994 but established as an IODE project in 2000 (Recommendation IODE-XVI.6). A mirror copy of the World Ocean Database has now been established at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, Belgium (http://wod.iode.org) to further promote and increase the use of WOD. If you have questions about WOD or would like to contribute your data then contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) recently launched a re-designed Web site with the same URL as before (see www.iqoe.org). The site features all the content as before, with more modern graphics and better integration of the Aquatic Acoustic Library and the database of observing systems. The projects needs your help to improve the site.
For the Library function (http://iqoe.org/library), Prof. Christine Erbe (Director, Centre for Marine Science & Technology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia) initiated this Library with funds from IQOE and programming help from Jon Thompson. Projects supported by many other funding agencies have enabled its growth. Thanks to Prof. Erbe and all contributors and supporters! Continued growth and value of the site depends on YOU. Please let IQOE know of missing articles related to the field of noise impacts on aquatic life by emailing the article URL or .enw file to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For the Observing System function (http://iqoe.org/systems), we included information from Appendix II of the IQOE Science Plan. We have received comments that this information is extremely useful, but it needs to be updated. Please review the information and let Ed Urban (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) know of any changes needed. This database will need to be updated continually to remain current. New features will be added soon, such as a map and a feature allowing direct community input to the database to add new systems and update obsolete information.
The IOC Secretariat is hiring an IT expert to assist with the development, documenting and maintenance of web-based IOC data and information products, hosted by the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, Belgium. The full job description can be found 
It fills us with great sadness to inform you of the unexpected passing of our colleague Mark Vam Crombrugge. Mark was a valued member of the Oostende team for more than 10 years. He was always ready to help out colleagues and visitors to the Project Office. Recently Mark had taken charge of the editing and overall management of the OceanExpert database and project. Mark was also in charge of managing the project office computer hardware. We will always remember Mark as a warm hearted man and he will be dearly missed. 
The International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) recently launched a re-designed Web site with the same URL as before (see