Co-Convenors: Jack Barth (U.S.A.), Dake Chen (China), Michael Foreman (Canada), Phillip Mundy (U.S.A.), Young-Jae Ro (Korea) and Sei-Ichi Saitoh (Japan)

Invited Speaker:
Nikolay Diansky (Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russia)
Yoichi Ishikwa (Kyoto University, Japan)
Alexander Kurapov (Oregon State University, U.S.A.)
Shoshiro Minobe (Hokkaido University, Japan)
Kenneth Rose (Louisiana State University, U.S.A.)

Given the importance of models to FUTURE, it is crucial to examine their skill and utility through comparison with data. Models are being used to study and forecast physical (atmospheric and oceanic circulation and mixing), chemical (air-sea fluxes, dissolved oxygen), biological (primary production, trophic dynamics) and fisheries (individual based modeling, migration pathways) processes. Climate forcing and coupling between processes is of prime importance. Presentations are invited over the range of modeling scales, from local to global, and from hours to decades. Contributions are also welcome identifying data sets that we currently have that are helpful for assessing model skill and what new data sets are needed and might be obtained through ocean observing efforts. Discussions of uncertainty in model predictions and ways to reduce that uncertainty are also invited.