[ABSTRACT] In this paper, we will describe plans to coordinate the initial development of long-term ocean biology time series derived from global ocean color observations acquired by the United States, Japan and Europe, Specifically, we have been commissioned by the International Ocean Color Coordinating Group (IOCCG) to coordinate the development of merged products derived from the OCTS, SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS and GLI imagers. Each of these missions will have been launched by the year 2002 and will have produced global ocean color data products. Our goal is to develop and document the procedures to be used by each space agency (NASA, NASDA, and ESA) to merge chlorophyll, primary productivity, and other products from these missions. This coordination is required to initiate the production of long-term ocean biology time series which will be continued operationally beyond 2002. The purpose of the time series is to monitor interannual to decadal-scale variability in oceanic primary productivity and to study the effects of environmental change on upper ocean biogeochemical processes
