The 41st Session of the IOC Executive Council will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 24 June - 1 July 2008.

François Gérard, I-GOOS Chair, will introduce the agenda item on GOOS for discussion on 26 June. Other issues to be discussed: GEOSS, UNFCC, IPY/IWPE, WCRP.

The Session will deliberate on ongoing plans to develop a new equation of state for seawater. In September 2008 the SCOR/IAPSO scientific working group 127 on Thermodynamics and Equation of State of Seawater will complete its work and a peer-reviewed update to the thermodynamic potential of standard seawater will be available to the oceanographic community for the first time since the currently used UNESCO standard (Fofonoff and Millard, UNESCO 1983. Algorithms for computation of fundamental properties of seawater) was put in place. The 2009 IOC Assembly provides an opportunity to renew IOC?s role as an international standard setting body for oceanography and for its 137 member states to formally resolve to adopt the new standard.

More information on IOC EC webpage.