A presentation to the Joint Technical Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology

2. Launching the Argo ArmadaAn array of profiling floats to observe the global oceans ….in real time A presentation to the Joint Technical Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology June 25, 2001 by Stan Wilson, NOAA, <stan.wilson@noaa.gov>

3. We are entering a new era in ocean observations. • 1870 - 1970 The Century of Undersampling • 1970 - 2000 Transition to Large Programs -- MODE, NORPAX, WOCE, TOGA… -- Satellites as an observational tool -- Modeling as an observational complement -- Recognition of El Niño as a global issue

4. We are entering a new era in ocean observations. • 1870 - 1970 The Century of Undersampling • 1970 - 2000 Transition to Large Programs • 2000 - Global & Operational Programs -- WCRP/CLIVAR, GODAE, Argo…. -- GCOS, GOOS…. -- WMO/IOC JCOMM -- Ocean.US

5. We have a capability to observe the sea surface--globally & ~synoptically.

6. We have a capability to observe the sea surface--globally & ~synoptically.

7. We have a capability to observe the sea surface-- globally & ~synoptically. Courtesy of Rosanna Sumagaysay-Aouda, JPL and NASA, NOAA, PO.DAAC, RSMAS

8. We do not have a corresponding capability to observe beneath the surface of the ocean. Ship tracks for ~20,000 WOCE Stations taken from 1990 to 1998.

9. We do not have a corresponding capability to observe beneath the surface of the ocean. 6,316 BATHY & TESAC reports collected in real time during December, 2000.

10. Argo will cover the global oceans with 3,000 profiling floats.

11. An Argo float can be thought of as an ‘oceanographic radiosonde’. Courtesy of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

12. Argo will supply the following properties globally, in real-time, and without restriction. • Temperature and salinity profiles.

13. Argo will supply temperature & salinity profiles every 10 days.

14. Argo will supply the following properties globally, in real-time, and without restriction. • Temperature and salinity profiles. • Velocity estimates.

15. Argo will supply drift information, hence velocity estimates. Float parking depth ~800m; tails are 50 days in length. Courtesy of Howard Freeland.

16. While some floats may ground on shoaling topography, some skip over it. Float parking depth ~1,000 m; sill depth in Tsugaru Strait ~140m. Courtesy of Howard Freeland and Kuh Kim.

17. Argo will supply the following properties globally, in real-time, and without restriction. • Temperature and salinity profiles. • Velocity estimates. • From these, the time-varying ocean circulation--at the broad scale, not mesoscale--can be determined. • In effect, Argo will be a Real-Time Upper-Ocean WOCE.

18. Argo will have many applications. • Improved seasonal/interannual forecasts.

19. We routinely observe the Tropical Pacific to produce El Niño/La Niña-based forecasts

20. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation

22. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation 1977-1997 1947-1976 Courtesy of the National Geographic Magazine

23. North Atlantic Oscillation (or the North Atlantic expression of the Arctic Oscillation) Courtesy of the National Geographic Magazine

24. Tropical Atlantic Variability Courtesy of the National Geographic Magazine

25. Correlation of dominant modes of variability of SST and Precipitation in & around Australia (Based on the analysis of a 40-year record) Courtesy of Warren White, Scripps

26. Correlation between Rainfall and the Indian Ocean Dipole Index Courtesy of Toshio Yamagata, U of Tokyo

27. Argo will have many applications. • Improved seasonal/interannual forecasts. • Understanding the influence of the oceans on hurricanes

29. Blue = 0 m/s, Orange = 12 m/s; Courtesy of Tim Liu, Hua Hu, and Wenqing Tang, JPL

30. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Courtesy of Frank Wentz and Chelle Gentemann, RSS

32. Argo will have many applications. • Improved seasonal/interannual forecasts. • Understanding the influence of the oceans on hurricanes. • Understanding climate change in the oceans.

33. Warming of the World Ocean Courtesy of: Sydney Levitus, National Oceanographic Data Center, NOAA

35. When can we achieve the 3,000-float array? • Funding for Argo floats by year: • FY99 -- 55 • FY00 -- 255 • FY01 -- 535 • FY02 -- 703 (proposed) • Assuming 90% of the floats live four years (the other 10% fail early), it is necessary to provide floats at a sustained rate of 825 per year. • We could achieve global coverage by the end of 2005.

36. International Commitments for Argo Floats.

37. What does Argo cost? • Each float costs approximately $25 K over a 4-yr life (including hardware, deployment & data management) • Cost per profile ~ $25K / (36 profiles/yr x 4 yrs) ~ $170 (similar XBT cost per profile ~ $100) • Cost of the 3,000-float array ~ $20 M / year

38. WMO & IOC have endorsed/accepted Argo... • As an important component of the operational observing system of GOOS and GCOS. • As a major contribution to CLIVAR and other research programs. • Assuming that the data and derived products from Argo floats are... • “freely available in real-time and delayed mode”

39. How will we co-ordinate deployments? • Argo Information Centre established under JCOMM • Mathieu Belbéoch hired as full-time Technical Coordinator to provide services for Argo, just as they are for DBCP & SOOP • AIC to provide notification for, and assist with, float deployments • http://argo-forum.jcommops.org

40. What are the Argo Implementation Planning Meetings? • Pacific Ocean -- Tokyo, April 13-14, 2000 • Atlantic Ocean -- Paris, July 10-11, 2000 • Indian Ocean -- Hyderabad, July 26-27, 2001

41. Deployment plans for 2001 compared with EEZ coverage in the western Pacific.

42. Consensus Approach for Deployment in the Central & Western Pacific • The Float-Providing Countries will: • Provide advance notice of plans for ships & aircraft coming into the collective EEZ of the Pacific Island Region for float deployment • Provide assistance identifying and linking with operational forecast centers which will generate forecasts using Argo data. • The Pacific Island Nations will: • Concur with plans for ships & aircraft coming into the collective EEZ of the Pacific Island Region for float deployment.

43. 135 Argo floats are already in the water.

44. Funded Argo floats to be deployed in 2001. DK-5 UK-5 GE-7 UK-13 US-10 CA-46 EU-15 JP-19 US-16 CA-6 GE-10 JP-13 FR-10 RoK-10 US-16 EU-15 JP-4 PRC-10 UK-15 GE-10 US/CORC-55 US-78 US-15 US-50 IN-6 JP-10 RoK-10 AU-20 US-5 US-12 NZ-2

45. Planned deployments in2002. DK-5 UK-5 GE-7 UK-13 US-10 CA-46,12 EU-15,20 JP-19,15 US-16 CA-6,8 GE-10,5 JP-13,50 US-15 FR-10 FR-10,20 RoK-10,10 US-16,20 PRC-5 EU-15,25 JP-4,35 FR-35 PRC-10,25 UK-15 GE-10 US/CORC-55 US-78,65 US-15,15 US-50,30 IN-6,25 JP-10,15 RoK-10,10 GE-20 AU-20,10 US-5,5 UK-10 UK-25 US-12 NZ-2,3 US-20 GE-10 US-40

46. How will we deploy in remote areas? Floats can be packaged for lowering over the side of a vessel while underway. Courtesy of Steve Riser, U. of Washington.

47. How will we deploy in remote areas? Floats can also be launched over the side using a protective cover. Courtesy of Sylvie Pouliquen, IFREMER

48. How will we deploy in remote areas? Or they can simply be lowered into the water …weather permitting. Courtesy of Howard Freeland, DFO

49. How will we deploy in remote areas? The “burial at sea” approach to float deployment while a ship is underway. Courtesy of Jon Turton, UK Met Office.

50. How will we deploy in remote areas? Floats have been certified for deployment from C-130 aircraft. Movie courtesy of Webb Research, Falmouth, Mass.