JAMSTEC hosted NOAA-JAMSTEC Joint Executive Meeting

From July 23 to 24, 2026, a Joint Executive Meeting between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) took place at JAMSTEC Headquarters in Yokosuka. The NOAA delegation was headed by Dr. Steven Thur, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and Acting NOAA Chief Scientist. NOAA/OAR experts who are engaged in collaboration with JAMSTEC attended the meeting along with an officer from the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

The two-day meeting featured discussions about ongoing collaborative research spanning a wide range of marine and atmospheric sciences, including ocean observation networks in the Pacific Ocean, digital twins, computer modeling, and Arctic research. Both delegations acknowledged the cooperative activities such as observation research using the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) over two decades. Another highlight of the meeting was exchanges about potential new areas of collaboration. The participants presented their research priorities and latest projects, shared the challenges that they faced, and discussed possible future collaboration.

This meeting is to further strengthen the longstanding partnership between the two organizations, based on a memorandum of cooperation concluded in 1993. These joint executive meetings have been held alternately, with JAMSTEC hosting this time.

Group photo