In addition to updating and expanding the IACMST Information Document 'Climate of UK Waters at the Millennium: Status and Trends' (IACMST, 2001), one of the aims of this report is to demonstrate the value of long-term marine measurements in aiding the effective management of the UK's marine environment; thus encouraging their commencement, their continuation or their restoration.

It should be noted that the data included in this report have been assembled from a wide range of sources. These data were originally collected for a number different purposes using a variety of techniques and sampling strategies. The spatial and temporal coverage of UK waters is by no means complete.

One major specific aim is to provide input on Marine Processes and Climate to the Government’s ‘State of the Seas Report’, together with other sector reports on Environmental Quality, Fish and Fisheries, and Habitats and Species. (Plankton, chlorophyll and nutrients are not covered in this report but are included in other sector reports.)

Further specific aims are:
- to stimulate further scientific study of the parameters and their interactions,
- to increase public awareness of the present status and trends in UK waters,
- to enhance marine data inventories, e.g. the existing UK Inventory of Marine Monitoring Measurements and the EU-funded European Directory of the Initial Ocean-observing System (EDIOS, http://www.edios.org/),
- to provide reference to measurements for the validation of, and assimilation into, operational marine forecasting models (EuroGOOS, 1996), and
- to enhance the use of marine indicators of climate change (Hulme et al., 2002; Law et al., 2003).

This report should be read in the context of other reports on the UK's marine environment, concerning:
- the status of the ocean climate and fisheries in Scottish waters (FRS, 2003),
- the quality of UK coastal waters (Defra, 2002a; ICES, 2003b; MPMMG, 1998),
- the quality status of the NE Atlantic by the Oslo-Paris Commission (OSPAR , 2000), and
- assessments made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the science of climate change (IPCC, 2001a).

References:
Defra (2002a). Safeguarding our Seas; a Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Our Marine Environment, Defra, London.

FRS (2003). Scottish Ocean Climate Status Report 2000 - 2001. Fisheries Research Services Report 05/03, Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen.

Hulme, M., G.J. Jenkins, X. Lu, J.R. Turnpenny, T.D. Mitchell, R.G. Jones, J. Lowe, J.M. Murphy, D. Hassell, P. Boorman, R. McDonald and S. Hill (2002). Climate Change Scenarios for the United Kingdom: The UKCIP02 Scientific Report. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. 120pp.

IACMST (2001). Climate of UK Waters at the Millennium: Status and Trends. Edited by Graham Alcock and Lesley Rickards. IACMST Information Document No. 9. (Also available at http://www.oceannet.org/UKclimate-status).

ICES (2003b). Environmental status of the European seas. Edited by Neil Fletcher. Retrieved 26th September 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ices.dk/reports/germanqsr/23222_ICES_Report_samme.pdf

IPCC (2001a). Climate Change 2001, the scientific basis. J. T. Houghton, Y. Ding, D. J. Griggs, M. Noguer, P. J. van der Linden and D. Xiaosu, Editors, Cambridge Univ. Press.

Law, F.M., F. Farquharson, A. Brampton, M. Dale and R.A. Flather (2003). Environmental change indicators (including those related to climate change) relevant to flood management and coastal defence. Defra/EA R & D technical report FD2311-TR.

MPMMG, (Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group (1998). National Monitoring Programme – Survey of the Quality of UK Coastal Waters. MPMMG, Aberdeen, 80 + iv pp. ISBN 0 9532838 3 6.

OSPAR Commission (2000). Quality Status Report 2000, Region II - Greater North Sea. OSPAR (Oslo-Paris Commission), London, 136 +xiii pp.