Efficient monitoring and predicting of the oceans state and its evolution is a collaborative effort of global, national and local dimension. A first and foremost requirement for such collaborative ocean observing is the need to follow well-defined and reproducible methods across activities - collectively labelled: “Ocean Best Practices” (OBP). OBP include multiple facets – strategies for structuring observing systems, sensor deployment and usage, the generation of data and information products, but also include ethical and governance aspects related to executing ocean observing. A recently established “Ocean Best Practices System” (OBPS) provides a resource for the centralized and coordinated discovery and enhancement of OBP. An open access, permanent, digital repository of OBP documentation (oceanbestpractices.org) provide the base to create superior methods for every activity in ocean observing from research to operations to applications.
One part of the OBPS is to provide the ocean observing community with the option to publish OBP related documentation in an open-access journal. This has been realized via this Frontiers Research Topic “Best Practices in Ocean Observing”.

Scope of the Research Topic
In this Research Topic, we primarily solicit papers describing quality methodologies over the entire range of ocean observing and addressing the challenges of improving observing capabilities (including observations, data management and applications) and interoperability. Papers can be linked to one or more fully documented protocols archived in the digital repository of OBP documentation (oceanbestpractices.org) at the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE). We also accept OBP elated submissions such as recommendations to expand the usage and reporting of methods and descriptions of major obstacles to their implementation. It is requested that references to methods in papers clearly cite the repository location or DOI of each method being discussed. We would highly appreciate if relevant documents (e.g. methods) are submitted to the OBPS repository (www.oceanbestpractices.org).

The Research Topic covers the following domains:
• The design of observatories (and observatory networks), logistics, and operations procedures (incl. deployment/recovery, procedures for Exclusive Economic Zone, notice to mariners, and others)
• Sensor design, calibration, metrology, instrument handling and application
• Measurement methodologies
• Methods and standards for hardware interoperability
• Data and information handling, quality control, and FAIRness (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability), including real-time (RT) and delayed mode (DM) data
• Data assimilation and model protocols
• Guidelines (formats, procedures, documentation) for observational and model data comparison strategies (e.g. Obs4MIPs; www.earthsystemcog.org/projects/obs4mips/)
• Creation of applications and information for users
• Knowledge transfer and capacity building (including script books for multimedia productions on OBP matters)

We welcome manuscripts submissions on these but also other relevant areas. Abstracts are not required but we are happy to provide feedback on ideas.

If the publishing fees are a barrier to your publication, please contact the editorial office for more information: marinescience.submissions@frontiersin.org

The Topic Editors declare that they are collaborating on the Ocean Best Practices repository of UNESCO IODE.

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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Frontiers in Marine Science

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