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The field of oceanography is transitioning from data-poor to data-rich, thanks in part to increased deployment ofin-situplatforms and sensors, such as those that instrument the US-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). However, generating science-ready data products from these sensors, particularly those making biogeochemical measurements, often requires extensive end-user calibration and validation procedures, which can present a significant barrier. Openly available community-developed and -vetted Best Practices contribute to overcoming such barriers, but collaboratively developing user-friendly Best Practices can be challenging. Here we describe the process undertaken by the NSF-funded OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Working Group to develop Best Practices for creating science-ready biogeochemical data products from OOI data, culminating in the publication of the GOOS-endorsed OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide. For Best Practices related to ocean observatories, engaging observatory staff is crucial, but having a “user-defined” process ensures the final product addresses user needs. Our process prioritized bringing together a diverse team and creating an inclusive environment where all participants could effectively contribute. Incorporating the perspectives of a wide range of experts and prospective end users through an iterative review process that included “Beta Testers’’ enabled us to produce a final product that combines technical information with a user-friendly structure that illustrates data analysis pipelines via flowcharts and worked examples accompanied by pseudo-code. Our process and its impact on improving the accessibility and utility of the end product provides a roadmap for other groups undertaking similar community-driven activities to develop and disseminate new Ocean Best Practices. 

The western Arctic Ocean is rapidly acidifying due to sea ice loss. 

Rapid climate warming and sea-ice loss have induced major changes in the sea surface partial pressure of CO2 ( pCO2I). However, the long-term trends in the western Arctic Ocean are unknown. Here we show that in 1994–2017, summer pCO2I in the Canada Basin increased at twice the rate of atmospheric increase. Warming and ice loss in the basin have strengthened the pCO2I seasonal amplitude, resulting in the rapid decadal increase. Consequently, the summer air–sea CO2 gradient has reduced rapidly, and may become near zero within two decades. In contrast, there was no significant pCO2I increase on the Chukchi Shelf, where strong and increasing biological uptake has held pCO2I low, and thus the CO2 sink has increased and may increase further due to the atmospheric CO2 increase. Our findings elucidate the contrasting physical and biological drivers controlling sea surface pCO2I variations and trends in response to climate change in the Arctic Ocean.