The Scientific and Technical Workshop with DBCP-XXI was opened in the conference room of the Regente Palace Hotel, at 09.30 hours on Monday, 17 October 2005. On behalf of the Argentine Air Force, Comodoro D. Miguel Angel Rabiolo, Director General of the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) and Permanent National Representative with WMO, extended a warm welcome to all participants in the forthcoming workshop and session. In doing so, Commodore Rabiolo congratulated the Panel on its fruitful and constant activities since 1985, as an official joint body of WMO and IOC.  In the recent historic milestone of reaching the consolidation of an array of 1250 floats in operation, he noted that the joint efforts by WMO and IOC through the Joint WMO/IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) is a concrete example of future practice, and expressed his pleasure to exercise such a practice in Argentina through jointly hosting this session and scientific workshop with Servicio de Hidrografía Naval (SHN).  Commodore Rabiolo finally wished a fruitful session and enjoyable stay in Buenos Aires.

On behalf of the Argentine Navy, Capitán de Navío D. Raúl Eduardo Benmuyal, Chief of the Servicio de Hidrografía Naval (SHN) welcomed participants to the meeting and to Buenos Aires.  Given the influence of the oceans in global change and sustainable development, Captain Benmuyal stressed that it is essential to understand and predict global and regional oceanic conditions, as well as their interaction with the atmosphere, biosphere and the earth.  He wished the Panel’s activities would contribute to and influence the ongoing efforts for research and operation of global observing systems.  He then expressed his pleasure to jointly host this session with SMN, and introduced Captain Luis Capurro, retired from the Argentine Navy, who was a pillar of the development of oceanography in the country and the region, and also took part in the creation of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).  Captain Benmuyal also introduced Captain Javier Valladares who is actively leading the IOC Bureau as a vice-chairperson of IOC.  He closed his remarks by wishing a pleasant stay of the participants.

Replying on behalf of the Panel, Mr David Meldrum, chairperson of the Panel, sincerely thanked Captain Benmuyal and Commodore Rabiolo for their kind words of welcome, and for agreeing to host the Panel session at short notice.  The Panel’s appreciation was also offered to Captain Capurro, a founding figure and former vice-chairperson of the IOC, for honouring the Panel by his participation in the official opening ceremony.  Special mention was accorded to Ms Miriam Andrioli, Ms Paula Etala and their team of local organizers for the detailed preparations, and for arranging such agreeable surroundings for the Panel’s session.

Mr Meldrum then moved on to note the long tradition and fine achievements of Argentina in the field of ocean observations, and the particular benefits that the Panel would draw from Argentina’s experience in operational oceanography.  The good will and collaboration that existed between the Naval Hydrographic Service and the National Weather Service had allowed Argentina to make effective progress in this area which, for most nations, had proved particularly challenging.  For the Panel itself, good will and collaboration had been critical to its success by enabling individuals, organizations and even UN agencies to transcend traditional boundaries in the pursuit of common aims.  Nonetheless many challenges lay ahead for the Panel if it were to maintain its position as a pivotal force in ocean observations.

In closing his address, Mr Meldrum reminded the Panel of its debt of gratitude to Mr Louis Vermaak, who had served as its vice-chairperson until his untimely death in May 2005. Mr Vermaak had worked tirelessly for the Panel and had been a vigorous and vocal contributor to its activities and sessions.  Over the years he had earned much respect and admiration both for his achievements and for his humanity: his enthusiasm and friendship would be greatly missed.

The theme of the workshop was “Applications of Collected Data”; the three sessions of the workshop reflected a breakout of the overarching theme:

Twenty papers were presented during the workshop representing a broad global effort under the three themes . The formal presentations, either in the form of a paper or the slide presentation, are included on this CD-ROM. Where the author did not provide material, only the abstract is provided here.

(i) Vision and Possibilities / Technological Developments – including novel or emerging demands for new or improved technology and network performance (applications pull); and developments in buoys / instruments (technology push);

(ii) Operational Enhancements – evaluation / analysis of operational performance or trials; data communications and data assimilation; performance and efficiency benchmarking; new systems and practices;

(iii) Applications of Collected Data – research and operational data applications; case studies, with a particular focus on the host country’s region.

We express our sincere appreciation to the authors for their work, and to the Workshop chairpersons, Mr Ken Jarrott (Australia) and Mr William Scuba (USA) for their excellent work in organizing and chairing the Workshop. At the conclusion of the workshop, Mr Jarrott expressed special thanks to SMN and SHN for the assistance in the organization and smooth running of the Workshop.