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The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2 (Cant) that humans have emitted into the atmosphere has been pivotal for limiting global warming. The transport of Cant from the surface into the ocean interior, where most of it is accumulating, is the rate limiting step for this uptake. Yet multi-decadal trends in the ocean interior storage of Cant have not been assessed at global scale. We determined such trends by applying the eMLR(C*) regression method to ocean interior observations collected between 1989 and 2020, and found that the global ocean storage of Cant grew by 29 ± 3 Pg C dec-1 and 27 ± 3 Pg C dec-1 (±1σ) from 1994 to 2004 and 2004 to 2014, respectively. Although the two growth rates are not significantly different, they imply a reduction of the oceanic uptake fraction of the anthropogenic emissions from 36 ± 4 % to 27 ± 3 % during the respective decades. We attribute this reduction to a decrease of the ocean buffer capacity and changes in ocean circulation. In the Atlantic Ocean, the maximum storage rate shifted from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, plausibly caused by a weaker formation rate of North Atlantic Deep Waters and an intensified ventilation of mode and intermediate waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Between 1994 and 2004, the oceanic Cant accumulation exceeded the net air-sea flux by 8 ± 4 Pg C dec-1, suggesting a loss of natural carbon from the ocean during this decade. Our results reveal a substantial vulnerability of the ocean carbon sink.

25 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables.-- This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a synthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface-to-bottom ocean biogeochemical bottle data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistry and related variables determined through chemical analysis of seawater samples. GLODAPv2.2021 is an update of the previous version, GLODAPv2.2020 (Olsen et al., 2020). The major changes are as follows: data from 43 new cruises were added, data coverage was extended until 2020, all data with missing temperatures were removed, and a digital object identifier (DOI) was included for each cruise in the product files. In addition, a number of minor corrections to GLODAPv2.2020 data were performed. GLODAPv2.2021 includes measurements from more than 1.3 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 989 cruises. The data for the 12 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, and CCl4) have undergone extensive quality control with a focus on systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias. For this annual update, adjustments for the 43 new cruises were derived by comparing those data with the data from the 946 quality controlled cruises in the GLODAPv2.2020 data product using crossover analysis. Comparisons to estimates of nutrients and ocean CO2 chemistry based on empirical algorithms provided additional context for adjustment decisions in this version. The adjustments are intended to remove potential biases from errors related to measurement, calibration, and data handling practices without removing known or likely time trends or variations in the variables evaluated. The compiled and adjusted data product is believed to be consistent with to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1% in oxygen, 2% in nitrate, 2% in silicate, 2% in phosphate, 4 μmolkg-1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 μmolkg-1 in total alkalinity, 0.01–0.02 in pH (depending on region), and 5% in the halogenated transient tracers. The other variables included in the compilation, such as isotopic tracers and discrete CO2 fugacity (fCO2), were not subjected to bias comparison or adjustments., The original data, their documentation, and DOI codes are available at the Ocean Carbon Data System of NOAA NCEI (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-data-system/oceans/GLODAPv2_2021/, last access: 7 July 2021). This site also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones – the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans – under https://doi.org/10.25921/ttgq-n825 (Lauvset et al., 2021). These bias-adjusted product files also include significant ancillary and approximated data and can be accessed via https://www.glodap.info (last access: 29 June 2021). These were obtained by interpolation of, or calculation from, measured data. This living data update documents the GLODAPv2.2021 methods and provides a broad overview of the secondary quality control procedures and results, This research has been supported by EU Horizon 2020 through the EuroSea action (grant no. 862626), internal strategic funding from NORCE Climate, Prociencia/UERJ (grant 2019–2021), IEO RADIALES and RADPROF projects, the UK Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science (CLASS) NERC National Capability Long-term Single Centre Science Programme(grant no. NE/R015953/1), the BOCATS2 (PID2019-104279GBC21) project funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and contributing toWATER:iOS CSIC PTI, the NOAA Global Observations and Monitoring Division (fund reference 100007298), the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of NOAA Global Observations and Monitoring Division (fund reference 100007298), the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of NOAA, the BONUS INTEGRAL project (grant no. 03F0773A), the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership and the Integrated Marine Observing System, EU Horizon 2020 action SO-CHIC (grant no. 821001), and the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association through the project “Digital Earth” (grant no. ZT-0025)

Framework of the envisioned time-series synthesis product used to indicate the consistency of biogeochemical time-series data (in-)between different ship-based sites.

The last few decades have seen dramatic changes in the hydrography and biogeochemistry of the Mediterranean Sea. The complex bathymetry and highly variable spatial and temporal scales of atmospheric forcing, convective and ventilation processes contribute to generate complex and unsteady circulation patterns and significant variability in biogeochemical systems. Part of the variability of this system can be influenced by anthropogenic contributions. Consequently, it is necessary to document details and to understand trends in place to better relate the observed processes and to possibly predict the consequences of these changes. In this context we report data from an oceanographic cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on the German research vessel Maria S. Merian (MSM72) in March 2018. The main objective of the cruise was to contribute to the understanding of long-term changes and trends in physical and biogeochemical parameters, such as the anthropogenic carbon uptake and to further assess the hydrographical situation after the major climatological shifts in the eastern and western part of the basin, known as the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Transients. During the cruise, multidisciplinary measurements were conducted on a predominantly zonal section throughout the Mediterranean Sea, contributing to the Med-SHIP and GO-SHIP long-term repeat cruise section that is conducted at regular intervals in the Mediterranean Sea to observe changes and impacts on physical and biogeochemical variables. The data can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.905902 (Hainbucher et al., 2019), https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913512 (Hainbucher, 2020a) https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913608, (Hainbucher, 2020b) https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913505, (Hainbucher, 2020c) https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.905887 (Tanhua et al., 2019) and https://doi.org/10.25921/z7en-hn85 (Tanhua et al, 2020).

The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a synthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface-to-bottom ocean biogeochemical bottle data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistry and related variables determined through chemical analysis of seawater samples. GLODAPv2.2022 is an update of the previous version, GLODAPv2.2021 (Lauvset et al., 2021). The major changes are as follows: data from 96 new cruises were added, data coverage was extended until 2021, and for the first time we performed secondary quality control on all sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) data. In addition, a number of changes were made to data included in GLODAPv2.2021. These changes affect specifically the SF6 data, which are now subjected to secondary quality control, and carbon data measured on board the RV Knorr in the Indian Ocean in 1994–1995 which are now adjusted using certified reference material (CRM) measurements made at the time. GLODAPv2.2022 includes measurements from almost 1.4 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 1085 cruises. The data for the now 13 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11), CFC-12, CFC-113, CCl4, and SF6) have undergone extensive quality control with a focus on systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but converted to World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias. For the present annual update, adjustments for the 96 new cruises were derived by comparing those data with the data from the 989 quality-controlled cruises in the GLODAPv2.2021 data product using crossover analysis. SF6 data from all cruises were evaluated by comparison with CFC-12 data measured on the same cruises. For nutrients and ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) chemistry comparisons to estimates based on empirical algorithms provided additional context for adjustment decisions. The adjustments that we applied are intended to remove potential biases from errors related to measurement, calibration, and data handling practices without removing known or likely time trends or variations in the variables evaluated. The compiled and adjusted data product is believed to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1 % in oxygen, 2 % in nitrate, 2 % in silicate, 2 % in phosphate, 4 µmol kg−1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 µmol kg−1 in total alkalinity, 0.01–0.02 in pH (depending on region), and 5 % in the halogenated transient tracers. The other variables included in the compilation, such as isotopic tracers and discrete CO2 fugacity (f CO2), were not subjected to bias comparison or adjustments. The original data, their documentation, and DOI codes are available at the Ocean Carbon and Acidification Data System of NOAA NCEI (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system/oceans/GLODAPv2_2022/, last access: 15 August 2022). This site also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones – the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans – under https://doi.org/10.25921/1f4w-0t92 (Lauvset et al., 2022). These bias-adjusted product files also include significant ancillary and approximated data, which were obtained by interpolation of, or calculation from, measured data. This living data update documents the GLODAPv2.2022 methods and provides a broad overview of the secondary quality control procedures and results., Earth System Science Data, 14 (12), ISSN:1866-3516, ISSN:1866-3508

The last few decades have seen dramatic changes in the hydrography and biogeochemistry of the Mediterranean Sea. The complex bathymetry and highly variable spatial and temporal scales of atmospheric forcing, convective and ventilation processes contribute to generate complex and unsteady circulation patterns and significant variability in biogeochemical systems. Part of the variability of this system can be influenced by anthropogenic contributions. Consequently, it is necessary to document details and to understand trends in place to better relate the observed processes and to possibly predict the consequences of these changes. In this context we report data from an oceanographic cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on the German research vessel Maria S. Merian (MSM72) in March 2018. The main objective of the cruise was to contribute to the understanding of long-term changes and trends in physical and biogeochemical parameters, such as the anthropogenic carbon uptake and to further assess the hydrographical situation after the major climatological shifts in the eastern and western part of the basin, known as the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Transients. During the cruise, multidisciplinary measurements were conducted on a predominantly zonal section throughout the Mediterranean Sea, contributing to the Med-SHIP and GO-SHIP long-term repeat cruise section that is conducted at regular intervals in the Mediterranean Sea to observe changes and impacts on physical and biogeochemical variables. The data can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.905902 (Hainbucher et al., 2019), https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913512 (Hainbucher, 2020a) https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913608, (Hainbucher, 2020b) https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913505, (Hainbucher, 2020c) https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.905887 (Tanhua et al., 2019) and https://doi.org/10.25921/z7en-hn85 (Tanhua et al, 2020).

4 pages, 1 figure.-- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, The ocean is mitigating global warming by absorbing large amounts of excess carbon dioxide from human activities. To quantify and monitor the ocean carbon sink, we need a state-of-the-art data resource that makes data submission and retrieval machine-compatible and efficient, This effort has been supported by EU Horizon 2020 through the EuroSea action (grant no. 862626), the Helmholtz Association through “Digital Earth” (grant no. ZT-0025), L.C.C. acknowledges the UERJ/Prociencia grant (2018-2021), M.H. acknowledge EU Horizon 2020 action SO-CHIC (grant N°821001). B.C., R.A.F., E.B., K.O’.B., and R.W. were supported by NOAA/OAR and NOAA/GOMO (fund ref. 100007298), B.T. was partly supported by Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), S.K.L. acknowledges internal strategic funding from NORCE Climate, M.T. acknowledges support from the US NSF grant OCE-1840868 to SCOR. The PMEL and CICOES contributions are 5253 and 2020-1141, respectively

EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 April 2021.-- This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, Surface ocean pCO2-based estimates and models indicate that the ocean sink for anthropogenic CO2 (Cant) has continued to increase unabatedly over the past decade. However, the most recent global and observation-based estimate of the accumulation of Cant in the ocean interior by Gruber et al. (2019) does not extend beyond 2007, preventing an independent assessment of this increase in the magnitude of the sink

26 pages, 11 figures, 7 tables.-- This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a synthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface-to-bottom ocean biogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistry and related variables determined through chemical analysis of seawater samples. GLODAPv2.2020 is an update of the previous version, GLODAPv2.2019. The major changes are data from 106 new cruises added, extension of time coverage to 2019, and the inclusion of available (also for historical cruises) discrete fugacity of CO2 (fCO2) values in the merged product files. GLODAPv2.2020 now includes measurements from more than 1.2 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 946 cruises. The data for the 12 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, and CCl4) have undergone extensive quality control with a focus on systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCE exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias. These adjustments were derived by comparing the data from the 106 new cruises with the data from the 840 quality-controlled cruises of the GLODAPv2.2019 data product using crossover analysis. Comparisons to empirical algorithm estimates provided additional context for adjustment decisions; this is new to this version. The adjustments are intended to remove potential biases from errors related to measurement, calibration, and data-handling practices without removing known or likely time trends or variations in the variables evaluated. The compiled and adjusted data product is believed to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1% in oxygen, 2% in nitrate, 2% in silicate, 2% in phosphate, 4 μmolkg-1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 μmolkg-1 in total alkalinity, 0.01–0.02 in pH (depending on region), and 5% in the halogenated transient tracers. The other variables included in the compilation, such as isotopic tracers and discrete fCO2, were not subjected to bias comparison or adjustments. The original data and their documentation and DOI codes are available at the Ocean Carbon Data System of NOAA NCEI (https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/GLODAPv2_2020/, last access: 20 June 2020). This site also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones – the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans – under https://doi.org/10.25921/2c8h-sa89 (Olsen et al., 2020). These bias-adjusted product files also include significant ancillary and approximated data. These were obtained by interpolation of, or calculation from, measured data. This living data update documents the GLODAPv2.2020 methods and provides a broad overview of the secondary quality control procedures and results, Nico Lange was funded by EU Horizon 2020 through the EuroSea action (grant no. 862626). Leticia Cotrim da Cunha was supported by Prociencia/UERJ (grant no. 2019-2021). Marta Álvarez was supported by the IEO RADIALES and RADPROF projects. Peter J. Brown was partially funded by the UK Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science (CLASS) NERC National Capability Long-term Single Centre Science Programme (grant no. NE/R015953/1). Anton Velo and Fiz F. Pérez were supported by the BOCATS2 Project (grant no. PID2019-104279GBC21) co-funded by the Spanish Government and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). RikWanninkhof and Brendan R. Carter were supported by the NOAA Global Observations and Monitoring Division (fund reference 100007298) and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of NOAA. Henry C. Bittig has been supported by the BONUS INTEGRAL project (grant no. 03F0773A). This research was also funded by the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association through the project “Digital Earth” (grant no. ZT-0025)

The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a synthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface to bottom ocean biogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistry and related variables determined through chemical analysis of water samples. GLODAPv2.2020 is an update of the previous version, GLODAPv2.2019. The major changes are: data from 106 more cruises added, extension of time coverage until 2019, and the inclusion of available discrete fugacity of CO2 (fCO2) values in the merged product files. GLODAPv2.2020 includes measurements from more than 1.2 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 946 cruises. The data for the 12 GLODAP core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, and CCl4) have undergone extensive quality control, especially systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCE exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias. These adjustments were derived by comparing the data from the 106 new cruises with the data from the 840 quality-controlled cruises of the GLODAPv2.2019 data product. They correct for errors related to measurement, calibration, and data handling practices, while taking into account any known or likely time trends or variations in the variables evaluated. The compiled and adjusted data product is believed to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1 % in oxygen, 2 % in nitrate, 2 % in silicate, 2 % in phosphate, 4 μmol kg−1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 4 μmol kg−1 in total alkalinity, 0.01–0.02, depending on region, in pH, and 5 % in the halogenated transient tracers. The other variables included in the compilation, such as isotopic tracers and discrete fCO2 were not subjected to bias comparison or adjustments. The original data, their documentation and doi codes are available at the Ocean Carbon Data System of NOAA NCEI (https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/GLODAPv2_2020/, last access: 22 June 2020). This site also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones – the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans – under https://doi.org/10.25921/2c8h-sa89 (Olsen et al., 2020). The bias corrected product files also include significant ancillary and approximated data. These were obtained by interpolation of, or calculation from, measured data. This living data update documents the GLODAPv2.2020 methods and provides a broad overview of the secondary quality control procedures and results.

Zu Beginn der neuen Sitzungsperiode nach der Sommerpause steht das ukrainische Parlament noch immer vor den gleichen Problemen wie schon vor Monaten. Während zuvor vor allem der verbissene Machtkonflikt zwischen Präsident Viktor Juschtschenko und Ministerpräsidentin Timoschenko die ukrainische Politik blockierte, verhindert nunmehr die verfrühte Orientierung aller Politiker auf die Präsidentschaftswahlen im Januar 2010 eine konstruktive Arbeit. Zusätzlich zur angespannten Situation in Wirtschaft und Innenpolitik verschärfte der große Nachbar Russland im Vorfeld der Präsidentschaftswahlen die außenpolitischen Auseinandersetzungen

Mit den Kommunalwahlen am 31. Oktober konnte der ukrainische Präsident Wiktor Janukowytsch seine Macht in weiten Teilen des Landes deutlich ausbauen. Internationale Beobachter beurteilten den Wahlprozess jedoch als nicht den demokratischen Standards entsprechend. Vor allem die kurzfristige Anpassung des Wahlgesetzes und die Nutzung administrativer Ressourcen im Vorfeld beeinflussten das Wahlergebnis entscheidend. Die Partei der Regionen wird sehr wahrscheinlich nach dem Vorbild dieser Kommunalwahlen nun die Parlamentswahlen 2012 vorbereiten. Die negativen Entwicklungen in der Ukraine in Bezug auf demokratische Mindeststandards stellen eine große Herausforderung für die Europäische Union dar.

Mit der Stichwahl am 7. Februar 2010 kam der monatelange Prozess der Präsidentschaftswahlen in der Ukraine zu einem Ende. "Endlich", ist man fast geneigt hinzuzufügen. Vieles deutet aber darauf hin, dass in Bezug auf die ersehnte politische Stabilität und die Lösung der vielen politischen und wirtschaftlichen Probleme der Ukraine diese Präsidentschaftswahlen kaum einen entscheidenden Schritt nach vorn bedeuten werden.

Die ukrainische Politik befindet sich seit langer Zeit in einer strukturellen Dauerkrise. Seit der Orangen Revolution im Winter 2004 wählten die Ukrainer drei Mal das Parlament neu. Fünf unterschiedliche Regierungen waren seitdem im Amt. Die sichtbarsten und extremsten Kulminationspunkte der permanenten Krise waren in dieser Zeit unter anderem das unerträgliche Gezerre um Kompetenzen zwischen dem Nationalen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsrat und der Regierung während der ersten Amtszeit Julia Timoschenkos im Jahr 2005 und ein Handgemenge zwischen Sicherheitskräften im Gebäude der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft im Jahr 2007 nach wochenlangen gegnerischen Protesten und Blockaden des Verfassungsgerichts.

Entgegen den skeptischen Erwartungen vieler Beobachter gelang es in der Ukraine, noch vor dem Jahreswechsel eine Mehrheitskoalition aus den Fraktionen Block Unsere Ukraine – Selbstverteidigung des Volkes und Block Timoschenko zu bilden und Julia Timoschenko zur Ministerpräsidentin zu wählen. Damit wurde ein Schlusspunkt unter die Ereignisse des Krisenjahres 2007 gesetzt. Die neue Regierungschefin begann die Arbeit klassisch mit der Besetzung zahlreicher Schlüsselpositionen. Die anstehenden Aufgaben für die Regieungsarbeit lagen unterdessen bereits seit längerem auf dem Kabinettstisch. Das im Januar vorgestellte Regierungsprogramm bietet zu ihrer Bearbeitung allerdings kaum konkrete Politikentwürfe. Die ersten bestimmenden Sachthemen Timoschenkos zweiter Amtszeit sind der Staatshaushalt 2008, die Auszahlung alter Sparguthaben aus der Zeit der UdSSR und überraschenderweise eine erneute ukrainische Initiative in Richtung NATO-Beitritt. Direkt seit der Amtsübernahme Timoschenkos zeigt sich außerdem sehr deutlich, dass das Verhältnis zwischen Präsident und Ministerpräsidentin auch unter dem Vorzeichen einer »orangen« Koalition höchst konfliktträchtig bleibt. Viele Indizien deuten schon jetzt darauf hin, dass auch diese Regierung wiederum nicht für eine volle Legislaturperiode im Amt bleiben wird.

Nach der Krise ist bekanntlich vor der Krise. Politik und Gesellschaft der Ukraine leiden inzwischen seit Jahren periodisch unter von den politischen Eliten herbeigeführten krisenhaften Zuspitzungen der Machtkonflikte. Mit der Auflösung des Parlaments durch Präsident Viktor Juschtschenko und der Ansetzung von Neuwahlen erreichten die Auseinandersetzungen kürzlich einen neuen Höhepunkt. Trotz langwieriger Verhandlungen zur Auflösung der Pattsituation zeigen sich die Konfliktparteien bisher kaum dazu bereit, von ihren Positionen abzurücken. Die Entwicklung der Kompromissfähigkeit der ukrainischen politischen Eliten vollzieht sich langsam und schmerzvoll.

„Am Heimcomputer sitz’ ich hier, und programmier’ die Zukunft mir ...“ — diese 1981 formulierte Vision der deutschen Elektronik-Popgruppe Kraftwerk scheint mit der Moglichkeit, elektronische Wahlen uber das Internet durchzufuhren, auch fur die Politik in greifbare Nahe geruckt zu sein. Zwar konnte der Benutzer so seine Zukunft nicht programmieren, wohl aber durch Abgabe seiner Stimme von zu Hause aus mitgestalten. Doch wie realistisch ist die Einfuhrung politisch und rechtlich verbindlicher Online-Wahlen wirklich? Uber deren tatsachlichen Entwicklungsstand, ihre Praxistauglichkeit und mogliche politische und gesellschaftliche Implikationen liegen derzeit eher diffuse und widerspruchliche Aussagen vor.

Voters are becoming unstable in their voting behaviour, and party identification is in decline. These are only two of the developments that have their roots in a more individualistic society. Parties are confronted with these developments and have to find a way to maintain their attraction for the electorate. This article illustrates the challenges for parties and gives recommendations for action to maintain political stability.

14 pages, 4 tables, 4 figures.-- This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), Effective data management plays a key role in oceanographic research as cruise-based data, collected from different laboratories and expeditions, are commonly compiled to investigate regional to global oceanographic processes. Here we describe new and updated best practice data standards for discrete chemical oceanographic observations, specifically those dealing with column header abbreviations, quality control flags, missing value indicators, and standardized calculation of certain properties. These data standards have been developed with the goals of improving the current practices of the scientific community and promoting their international usage. These guidelines are intended to standardize data files for data sharing and submission into permanent archives. They will facilitate future quality control and synthesis efforts and lead to better data interpretation. In turn, this will promote research in ocean biogeochemistry, such as studies of carbon cycling and ocean acidification, on regional to global scales. These best practice standards are not mandatory. Agencies, institutes, universities, or research vessels can continue using different data standards if it is important for them to maintain historical consistency. However, it is hoped that they will be adopted as widely as possible to facilitate consistency and to achieve the goals stated above., Funding for L-QJ and AK was from NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP, Project ID: 21047) and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) through NOAA grant NA19NES4320002 [Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS)] at the University of Maryland/ESSIC. BT was in part supported by the Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), enabled through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). AD was supported in part by the United States National Science Foundation. AV and FP were supported by BOCATS2 Project (PID2019-104279GB-C21/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) funded by the Spanish Research Agency and contributing to WATER:iOS CSIC interdisciplinary thematic platform. MH was partly funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement N°821001 (SO-CHIC)