The Oceanography Society (TOS) is a non-profit

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 society founded in 1988, based in Rockville, Maryland

Rockville, Maryland

Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...

, U.S. and incorporated in the District of Columbia

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. It is an oceanographical

Oceanography

Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...

 organization that aims to promote communication among oceanographers, spread knowledge through research and education, and to provide a constituency for building consensus amongst the sub-disciplines of the field. The society publishes the scientific journal

Scientific journal

In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...

 Oceanography

Oceanography (journal)

Oceanography is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published quarterly by the Oceanography Society, that chronicles ocean science and its applications. Oceanography also has a special section for news and information, society meeting reports, book reviews, and shorter editor-reviewed articles on...

, which publishes articles on all oceanic disciplines.

History

The idea for forming a oceanographic society was hatched by a group of scientists, who approached both the American Geophysical Union

American Geophysical Union

The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...

 and the American Meteorological Society

American Meteorological Society

The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...

 with the idea. The two groups both responded positively, leading to several oceanographical events at the time. However, the need developed for the creation of an independent community, resulting in the formation of the Oceanography Society in March 1988. These early developments by the society were paralleled by developments in the Challenger Society for Marine Science

Challenger Society for Marine Science

The Challenger Society for Marine Science is a learned society established in 1903 in the United Kingdom around the interdisciplinary subject of marine science...

.

Awards

The Oceanography Society gives out three awards—the Jerlov Award, the Walter Munk Award, and the Oceanography Society Fellows Program.

Jerlov Award

The Jerlov Award is awarded "in Recognition of Contribution Made to the Advancement of Our Knowledge of the Nature and Consequences of Light in the Ocean". It is named after Nils Gunnar Jerlov, an early leader in the area of ocean optics research. Jerlov's work on ocean optical and other similar processes helped to create modern ocean optical research. His book Marine Optics, published in 1976, is still widely referenced by other sources and is read by students of ocean optics and ocean color sensing. The society uses the Jerlov Award to "recognize outstanding achievements in ocean optics and ocean color remote sensing research".

Walter Munk Award

The Walter Munk Award is "awarded in Recognition of Distinguished Research in Oceanography Related to Sound and the Sea". It is named after Walter Munk

Walter Munk

Walter Heinrich Munk is an American physical oceanographer. He is professor of geophysics emeritus and holds the Secretary of the Navy/Chief of Naval Operations Oceanography Chair at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.-Early life:Born in 1917 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary,...

, the first recipient in 1993. The award is given by the society jointly with the Office of Naval Research and the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy.

Oceanography Society Fellows Program

The Fellows Program "recognizes individuals who have attained eminence in oceanography through their outstanding contributions to the field of oceanography or its applications during a substantial period of years". Individuals in the Society can be elected as a TOS Fellow with outstanding contributions to the field of oceanography as well as devotion to the field. An individual is usually considered for nomination after he or she has been a member of the society for at least three years.

Journal

Oceanography is published quarterly—every March, June, September, and December. It contains peer-reviewed

Peer review

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...

articles on many aspects of ocean science. The journal was first published in 1988; all of its issues are available both in print and online as PDF files.

External links

• Oceanography Society home
• Oceanography Online Archive – all back issues of the journal are fully online
• Facebook feed