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NR-PR-05-065e |
October 18, 2005 |
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ROBOTIC OCEAN OBSERVATIONS REACH IMPORTANT MILESTONE Victoria, B.C. – An international initiative, Argo, which aims to supply data from a global climate observatory operating by the end of 2007 has now deployed two-thirds of its planned robotic armada in oceans around the world, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced today. “Argo is an international, collaborative effort that makes available the best possible data for forecasting a wide array of weather and ocean conditions and phenomena,” said Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. “I commend the role DFO scientists have played in this important endeavour.” DFO research scientist Howard Freeland, Canadian chair of the Argo program and co-chair of the international Argo program, noted there are now 2,000 Argo floats operating in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans. “Data from the floats produces 73,000 profiles per year, which are a mainstay of both climate and ocean researchers and of operational weather and climate centres around the world,” said Dr. Freeland. In 1998 oceanographers dreamed of a global network of robotic instruments that would deliver information that would serve as a role model for global observations. Argo is a collaborative effort by scientists in more than 23 countries who deploys floats and process their data. In 2000 the first float was launched and the target of 3,000 floats is expected to be reached by 2007.
Argo data are freely available to anyone wanting to use them, and are typically used by meteorologists and oceanographers. The data are made available as soon as initial quality checks have been completed – usually within 24 hours. The data are free of seasonal bias as most ship-based observations are sparse in the winter at high latitudes where important climate processes occur. The data are distributed evenly throughout all ice-free deep ocean areas. Argo floats measure salinity to accuracy close to that achieved by research ships; salinity is important as a means of monitoring changes in precipitation over the oceans. Temperature measurements are accurate enough to detect subtle climate-related changes over years and decades. Argo floats are also uniquely able to measure subsurface currents that can be used to calculate global-scale heat transport by the oceans. - 30 - For more information:
U.S. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment:
The Argo Project Office:
Canadian Argo: |