The Ocean Studies Board (OSB) report, Oceanography in the Next Decade: Building New Partnerships, highlighted the research programs that contribute to an understanding of the ocean's role in Earth systems. It stressed the importance of developing new partnerships between the federal government and the academic oceanographic community. These partnerships must be based on information transfer among participants. The Ocean Studies Board strived to accomplish this communication and education in the form of brief summaries if the major research programs, first in 1990, and now at the beginning of 1994.