In January 2007, the US National Science and Technology Council's Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (JSOST) released its Ocean Research Priorities Plan (ORPP - http://ocean.ceq.gov/about/docs/orppfinal.pdf). This plan identified Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and its relationship to sudden climate change as one of four near-term (5 year) research priorities.

In response to the ORPP, a US inter-agency group established a process whereby the research community, supported by the US CLIVAR Office, developed a 5-yr phased AMOC Implementation Plan identifying program goals and required activities. The goals of the program include:

• The design and implementation of an AMOC monitoring system
• An assessment of AMOC's role in the global climate
• An assessment of AMOC predictability

An AMOC Science Team helps implement (along with international partners) the needed research activities and monitor and report on program achievements. For further information on the AMOC program, contact Bill Johns (RSMAS/University of Miami) or Cathy Stephens in the US CLIVAR Project Office.