Approach to the operational Ocean Observing System in the Yellow Sea through China-Korea bi- lateral cooperation

Abstract Cooperation between the countries sharing the same water body is essential for the estab- lishment of an operational ocean observing and prediction system for the regional sea. There are many on-going international cooperation programmes aiming at building regional ocean observing systems. However, it is not easy to secure the required resources from all the participating countries for the establishment of a regional ocean observing system. One of the effective ways to implement a cooperative regional observing system is to initiate bi-lateral or sub-regional cooperation programmes between neighbouring countries in the same sub-regional sea by preparing a specific action plan for a specific sub-regional sea rather than covering the entire regional sea. The People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea share the Yellow Sea, and the development, utilisation and conservation of this sea are common problems to both countries. The Sino-Korea Joint Ocean Research Center (SKORC) was established as a bridge linking Chinese and Korean institutes and researchers in the field of ocean sciences. Recently, SKORC decided to pursue an initial operational oceanographic system for the Yellow Sea as one of its main functions by preparing a specific plan to build an operational ocean observing and prediction system in the Yellow Sea through bi-lateral cooperation between the two countries.