Messenger - Vol. 4, No. 3, Page T-5 1995 On Technology The Ocean Information Center Scientists from more than 40 countries are collecting data from ships, satellites, drifting buoys, tidal stations and sensors as part of a World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). Keeping track of all that information recently became a little easier when the University's College of Marine Studies in Lewes, Del., set up an electronic forum where WOCE researchers can exchange data and compare notes. Dubbed OCEANIC, for Ocean Information Center, the forum may be accessed via U-Discover!, the UD's campus-wide link to the Internet. Ultimately, data that appears on-line in OCEANIC may shed light on the impact of suspected greenhouse gases, explains Marine Studies Prof. Ferris Webster. Every year, Webster notes, "We're adding an estimated 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels to power cars and other machines." Roughly one-third of this carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, while another third is pulled into the ocean by circulating currents. Some scientists believe that carbon dioxide may be a "greenhouse gas" that traps the sun's heat near the surface of the Earth and contributes to global warming. To study the possibility of global warming, scientists, therefore, must understand the rate at which carbon dioxide enters the ocean. "The ocean is an enormous reservoir for carbon," Webster says. "The rate at which carbon moves from the atmosphere to the ocean is controlled at the water's surface by many processes, including how quickly ocean currents are bringing fresh water to the surface. So, if we understand ocean circulation, we can understand how quickly the ocean pulls carbon down into deep water." OCEANIC includes WOCE data gathered by the National Oceanic Data Center, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ocean Data System, plus other organizations and universities. In addition to WOCE data, OCEANIC has become a forum for researchers involved in the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (CORE), which is focusing on events related to El Nino as a weather phenomenon. Wind-stress maps of the Pacific and Indian oceans and other products developed using WOCE data also are described on OCEANIC. Finally, the OCEANIC system includes a searchable database that lets scientists know when various research vessels and supply ships are scheduled to set sail.