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