Frequently Used Abbreviations and Acronyms

Extended from Volume 1 of the IOC Manual and to be used in combination with Volume 3.

AAGN 	Afro-America GLOSS News
ACCLAIM	Antarctic Circumpolar Currents Levels by Altimetry and Island 
	Measurement (UK sea level programme in the South Atlantic Ocean)
ARGOS	[No longer an acronym] A satellite data acquisition system of CLS
ASEAN	Association of South East Asian Nations
AVISO	Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Data in
	Oceanography (France)
BGI	Bureau Gravimetrique International (FAGS Service)
BODC	British Oceanographic Data Centre
CCCO    Committee on Climate Changes and the Ocean
CERSAT	Centre ERS d'Archivage et de Traitment (France)
CDDF	Central Data Distribution Facility
CEOS    Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
CIESM	Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de
	la Mer Mediterranee (based in Monaco)
CLIVAR	Climate Variability and Predictability programme (of the WCRP)
CLS	Collecte, Localisation, Satellites (French data acquisition company)
CMSLT	Commission on MSL and Tides (of IAPSO)
CNES	Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (France)
CTD	Conductivity, Temperature, Depth oceanographic instrument
DAC	Data Assembly Centre (of WOCE)
DATARING Data Acquisition for Tidal Applications for the Remote Interrogation of 
	Network Gauges (UK)
DCP	Data Collection Platform
DORIS	Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite
ECMWF   European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
EGS     European Geophysical Society
ENSO	El Nino - Southern Oscillation
ENVISAT	ENVironmental SATellite (European Space Agency)
ERS-1/2	European Remote Sensing Satellite -1/2 (European Space Agency)
EU	European Union
EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
EUREF	European REference Frame (an IAG Commission)
FAGS	Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services
FCCC	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
G3OS	The three Global Observing Systems (GCOS, GOOS, GTOS)
GCOS	Global Climate Observing System
GEOSAT	GEodetic and Oceanographic SATellite
GEWEX	Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (of the WCRP)
GFO	Geosat Follow-On (US Navy altimeter mission)
GLOSS	Global Sea Level Observing System
GLOSS-ALT GLOSS subset used for ALTimetry calibrations
GLOSS-LTT GLOSS subset used for long term trends studies
GLOSS-OC  GLOSS subset used for ongoing ocean circulation monitoring
GMS	Geostationary Meteorology Satellite (Japan)
GOCE	Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer
GODAE	Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment
GOES	Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite System
GOOS	Global Ocean Observing System
GPS	Global Positioning System
GTOS	Global Terrestrial Observing System
GTS	Global Telecommunications System
HOTO	Health Of The Oceans (of GOOS)
IAC	International Archiving Centre (of GLOSS)
IAG	International Association for Geodesy
IAHS    International Association of Hydrological Sciences
IAPSO	International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Ocean
IAU	International Astronomical Union
ICES    International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
ICSU	International Council for Science
        (formerly International Council of Scientific Unions)
IERS	International Earth Rotation Service
IGBP	International Geosphere Biosphere Programme
IGCP	International Geological Correlation Programme
IGOS	Integrated Global Observing Strategy
IGOSS	Integrated Global Ocean Services System
IGS	International GPS Service (FAGS Service)
IHB/IHO	International Hydrographic Bureau/Organisation
ILP	International Lithosphere Programme
INMARSAT International Maritime Satellite Organisation
INQUA	International Union for Quaternary Research
IOC	Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (of UNESCO)
IPCC	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ISLP-Pac IGOSS Sea Level Programme in the Pacific
ITRF	International Terrestrial Reference Frame
IUGG	International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
IUGS	International Union of Geological Sciences
IVS	International VLBI Service (FAGS Service)
JASL	Joint Archive for Sea Level (University of Hawaii)
JASON	the TOPEX/POSEIDON Follow On (not an acronym)
LOICZ	Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (IGBP)
MedGLOSS IOC/CIESM Mediterranean Sea Level Project
MEDS	Marine Environmental Data Service (Canada)
METEOSAT Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (Europe)
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
MSL	Mean Sea Level
MSS	Mean Sea Surface
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration (US)
NERC	Natural Environment Research Council (UK)
NGWLMS	Next Generation Water Level Measurement System (of NOAA)
NOAA	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
NODC	National Oceanographic Data Center (USA)
NOS	National Ocean Service (of NOAA)
NTF	National Tidal Facility (of Australia)
OOPC	Ocean Observation Panel for Climate (WCRP-GOOS-GCOS)
OOSDP	Ocean Observing System Development Panel (WCRP-GOOS-GCOS)
PGR	Post Glacial Rebound
PODAAC	Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (Jet Propulsion
	Laboratory, USA)
POL	Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (UK)
PSMSL	Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (FAGS Service)
PTT	Platform Transmitter Terminal
PTWC	Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
QC	Quality Control
RLR	Revised Local Reference (of the PSMSL)
RSL	Relative Sea Level
RQDS	Research Quality Data Set (of UHSLC)
SCAR	Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
SCOR	Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research
SLR	Satellite Laser Ranging (or Sea Level Rise)
SOSLC	Southern Ocean Sea Level Centre (of NTF)
SSH	Sea Surface Height
SSP	Sub-Surface Pressure
SST	Sea Surface Temperature (or Sea Surface Topography)
SSTOP	Sea Surface Topography
STWS	Storm Tide Warning Service (UK)
SWH	Significant Wave Height
TEMA	Training, Education and Mutual Assistance (UNESCO-IOC)
TGBM	Tide Gauge Bench Mark
TOGA	Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere programme (of the WCRP) (now ended)
T/P	TOPEX/POSEIDON (altimeter mission)
TPFO	TOPEX/POSEIDON Follow-On (now called JASON)
UHSLC	University of Hawaii Sea Level Center
UN	United Nations
UNCED	United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UOP	Upper Ocean Panel (of CLIVAR)
VLBI	Very Long Baseline Interferometry
WCRP	World Climate Research Programme
WDC	World Data Centre
WMO	World Meteorological Organisation
WOCE	World Ocean Circulation Experiment (of the WCRP)
WWW	World Wide Web
XBT	Expendible Bathythermograph oceanographic instrument