IN REALIZATION OF THE DISPROPORTIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN TO THE GLOBAL OCEAN AND IN LIGHT OF THE LACK OF YEAR-LONG DATA CHARACTERIZING IT A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS PUT TOGETHER A PLAN TO BUILD A 200 STRONG PROFILING-FLOAT BASED OBSERVATORY COUPLED WITH STATEOF- THE-ART CIRCULATION AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL MODELS. THIS PLAN WAS FUNDED AND THE CONSORTIUM FOR SOUTHERN OCEAN CARBON AND CLIMATE OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING (SOCCOM; HTTPS://SOCCOM.PRINCETON.EDU/) WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2014 WITH FUNDING SECURED THROUGH 2020. SOCCOM HAS ALREADY RETURNED MUCH ON ITS INVESTMENT (SEE SPECIAL ISSUE IN JGR OR HTTPS://SOCCOM.PRINCETON.EDU/CONTENT/SOCCOMPUBLICATIONS). THROUGH A PREVIOUS NASA PROPOSAL FUNDED IN 2014 AND WITH TWO AUGMENTATION IN FUNDS FROM NASA OBB WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO INSTRUMENT 108 PROFILING FLOATS (OUT OF 123 DEPLOYED) AND PURCHASE FOUR ADDITIONAL BGC FLOATS TO INCREASE THE FLOAT ARRAY. THESE DATA ARE USED TO CONSTRAIN CHLOROPHYLL AND POC DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE SO (FUNDS TO CALIBRATE SENSORS AT EACH DEPLOYMENT WERE ALSO PROVIDED AS PART OF THIS EFFORT). ANALYSIS OF RESULTS TO DATE ENABLED US TO SHOW CONTRARY TO CONCLUSIONS ARRIVED AT IN A SERIES OF PUBLICATION THAT NASA S CHLOROPHYLL ALGORITHM IN THE SO IS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY BIASED. THIS RAPID RESPONSE PROPOSAL IS INTENDED TO CONTINUE TO LINK NASA S OCEAN COLOR REMOTE SENSING CAPABILITIES AND INVESTMENT TO THIS PROJECT THROUGH: 1. ADDITION BIO-OPTICAL SENSORS TO THE FLOAT ARRAY THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHERN OCEAN OVER THE NEXT 2 YEARS (ALL 66 REMAINING SOCCOM FLOATS) 2. COLLECTION OF VALIDATION DATA FOR OCEAN COLOR PRODUCTS (BACKSCATTERING CHLOROPHYLL AND PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON POC) ON BOARD THE VESSELS THAT DEPLOY THE PROFILING FLOATS AND 3. INGESTION OF THESE DATA INTO BIOGEOCHEMICAL MODELS TO FURTHER CONSTRAIN THE BIOLOGY AND CARBONATE SYSTEM STATE OF THE SO. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THE SPECIFIC SCIENCE OUTCOMES (SEE THE 2010 SCIENCE PLAN FOR NASA S SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE AVAILABLE AT HTTP://NASASCIENCE.NASA.GOV/ABOUT-US/SCIENCE-STRATEGY/ AND FOCI THEREIN) WHICH ARE TO ACHIEVE: PROGRESS IN QUANTIFYING GLOBAL MARINE PRODUCTIVITY AND IN IMPROVING CARBON CYCLE AND ECOSYSTEM MODELS. PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF OCEANS IN THE CLIMATE SYSTEM AND IN IMPROVING PREDICTIVE CAPABILITY FOR ITS FUTURE EVOLUTION.