American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations. Phase II: Space Science and Geophysics.

Global ocean circulation is one of two major physical processes for which climate modelers lacked measurements commensurate with the sophistication of their models. WOCE, which is managed by the International WOCE Science Steering Committee on the authority of the World Climate Research Programme, has mobilized several approaches to the cause of creating model-relevant data. It consists of three "core" projects: a hydrographic survey of the Pacific Ocean, a hydrographic survey of the Indian Ocean, and a set of process experiments in the Atlantic Ocean. It also employed several other measuring techniques, including deployment of innovative floats and construction of an altimeter-equipped satellite to measure sea levels. The United States WOCE Science Steering Committee, which oversees a United States WOCE Office at Texas A&M University, made the hydrographic surveys its top priority. The AIP study focused on the Pacific hydrographic survey and the American and international planning for WOCE.