1. Improved decadal to centennial scale projections of the global coastal ocean under future climate change, at local, regional and global scales. Elucidation of the primary drivers of change (atmosphere vs land vs ocean vs cryosphere vs human impacts) and an understanding of how climate change signals propagate between ocean basins and local coastal scales (and vice versa).
2. Identification and understanding of the drivers of local to global scale impacts* of future change on coastal hazards, and the health, vulnerability, resilience and adaptability of coastal ecosystems, habitats and coastal populations.
3. Provision of downscaling approaches, predictive, hazard and vulnerability assessment tools to coastal ocean regions and communities, and strengthened delivery of actionable climate-related products that can provide pathways to better informed decision-making and management strategies of the coastal ocean in a changing climate, and support tailored and innovative adaptation and mitigation solutions on local-regional scales.
4. Strengthened and better connected international community of future coastal ocean model practitioners who will be working towards a Global Coastal Ocean Model Intercomparison Programme in the regional downscaling sense.
*The impacts of climate change in the coastal ocean will be considered in the context of hydro-dynamical regime shifts, nutrient status and cycling, oxygen health (hypoxia and oxygen minimum zones), sediment budgets and geomorphology, primary productivity and the coastal ocean food chain, coastal ocean acidification, the health and status of coastal habitats and blue carbon stores (e.g. coral reefs, seagrass bed, mangroves), the coastal oceans role in the global carbon and nitrogen cycles and the future frequency and severity of hazards such as sea level rise and coastal flooding (e.g. storm surges, waves).