CalCOFI: a half century of physical, chemical, and biological research in the California Current System

The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program has been sampling the physics, chemistry, and biology of the California Current System since 1949, making it the world's longest-running multi-disciplinary oceanographic field program. Founded by leading marine scientists, CalCOFI from its inception took an ecosystem approach to understanding physical-biological coupling in the ocean. Its 54-year time series (and counting) now permits an exploration of a range of oceanographic and fisheries problems across a broad temporal spectrum. As a celebration of more than half a century of CalCOFI, this issue presents 13 manuscripts that sample the breadth of integrated marine research conducted under its auspices. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.