Advances in the Global Ocean Observing System

Observations Programme Area Foundations Office of Climate Observation Services Programme Area Diane Stanitski, Mike Johnson, Sidney Thurston, NOAA’s Office of Global Programs Data Management Programme Area Capacity Building Programme Area

The First 150 Years of Ocean Observation A System of Complementary Networks. OVERVIEW Argo Float Status -- Research -- Initial Design. It will Evolve. Central to describing, understanding, and predicting the Earth's climate system is observation. Phased Implementation Plan, Including International Contributions

Now 40% complete. The NOAA Office of Climate Observation supports oceanic and marine meteorology projects 2000 2001 2002 2003 20042005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1998 - 2003 Operational GPS/DORIS Sea Surface Temperature, designed to contribute to the implementation of a global climate observing system that is needed 55 80 86 86 86 86 86 Tide Gauges 40 40 45 45 Stations Sea Surface Height, to satisfy the long-term requirements of operational forecast centers, international research 807 671 810 810 1250 1250 1250 Surface Vector Wind, and programs, and the major scientific assessments, and to effectively plan for and manage responses Surface Drifting Buoys 1050 1250 1250 1250 Number of buoys Ocean Color from Space 1998 90 90 90 90 90 Number of moorings to climate change. NOAA has worked with national and international partners to begin building Tropical Moored Buoys 77 77 79 79 83 87 High resolution and frequently a sustained global ocean system for climate, focusing first on the Pacific Ocean, expanding to the 36 41 41 41 41 Ships of Opportunity 26 29 32 repeated lines occupied Atlantic, and promoting future research in the Indian Ocean. Sponsored projects are primarily 23 24 26 200 310 1100 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 U.S. contributions to global networks coordinated through international science and Argo Floats 2000 Number of floats 29 29 29 29 implementation panels, and managed in cooperation with the Joint WMO/IOC Technical Reference Stations 1234614 16 Number of flux moorings

Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology. The Office of Climate Observation 40 150 150 150 Moorings with climate sensors Coastal Moorings 015000 80 120 seeks maximum efficiency by promoting the utilization of platform and data infrastructure for Number of flux sites/lines, 0 244 30 38 40 40 40 several objectives, including understanding the Earth's climate system, and the global carbon and Ocean Carbon Network 12 20 One inventory per 10 years Total Number of Observations. Dedicated Ship Time 670 700 760 820 820 820 Days at sea 1999 [values less water cycles. Although the focus of the Office of Climate Observation is to support projects that 250 250 250 250 430 Map courtesy of Harrison than 35 not Percent transition to shown] deploy autonomous in situ platforms, the underlying objective is to foster a "system" approach to 25 100 100 100 Satellite Altimeter 00000 50 75 Sustained operations effective international organization of complementary in situ, satellite, data, and modeling Example: Ocean Temperature Observations @ 200m Depth. Initial Ocean Observing System Milestones Tide Gauge Network 45 % complete components of climate observation. This poster provides a view of advances made in the last Total Number of Measurements for the 150-Year History of Instrumental Records: World Ocean 3˚x3˚ Argo Profiling Float Array 25% complete 30 34 40 44 89 94 99 100 100 Atlas 1998 5˚x5˚ Surface Drifting Buoy Array 35 % complete two decades in the global ocean observing system and the predicted evolution of the system in Total System 56 78 System % Complete Shown for 1°x 1° grid boxes 1998 - The International Year of the Ocean Moored Buoy Existing Planned Ocean Reference Station Existing Planned the near future to develop a more robust understanding of sea level, carbon, heat, salinity, and 2000 2001 2002 2003 20042005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 High Resolution XBT and Flux Line Existing Planned Frequently Repeated XBT Line Existing Planned air-sea exchange parameters. With the initial system design nearly 40% complete, the Office of In 1998 the ENSO Observing System was Operationalized Carbon Inventory & Deep Ocean Line Global Survey @ 10 years Climate Observation’s goal includes enhancing each of the eleven complementary in situ, space Global System 20 % Complete based, data and assimilation subsystems including addition of new tide gauges, Argo profilers, 2000 drifting buoys, moored buoys, expendable bathythermographs, ocean reference stations, and ocean carbon measurements. Global Drifter Array The System: A Composite of Complementary 32 Tide Gauge Stations, None GPS located. StatusStatus of theof the Tropical Tropical Moored Buoy Buoy Network Network Networks 30% of global coverage) Validation Maps Models/Data and Assimilation Indexes

2001 Data Sets Atmosphere

390 Surface Drifting Buoys TRITON TAO PIRATA Satellites Ships of (31% of global coverage) -Wind - Opportunity Total Number of Observations. Drifters [values less Moorings than 35 not shown] DRIFTER HISTORY Link Ships of Satellites Opportunity 1978 - FGGE Drifter - AVHRR - 1982 - Preparation for WCRP Moorings 1988 - Pan-Pacific Surface Current Study Drifters 2002 Tropical Ships of Tide Gauge Surface 1991 - SVP Designed Moored Opportunity Stations Drifting 1994 - SVP-B Designed Memory Buoys Buoys note note 1996 - SVP-Wind Designed Satellites Ships of Today the Research Programs, International Partners, and - Altimeter - Opportunity Ocean Reference Stations: Reference Ocean Argo have added to the Observing System Argo Floats (Photo courtesy of L. Stratton) Moorings, Tide Gauges, Time series Tide Gauges, Moorings, Global System 40 % Complete (Courtesy of Coriolis) Tide Gauges Moorings

Standard ATLAS Buoy Next Generation ATLAS Buoy Dedicated Ships and Ships of Opportunity: 45 Tide Gauge Stations Mooring, 1994- 1996 Mooring, 1996 - present Observations plus deployment of the Autonomous Platforms GPS/DORIS located. (52% of global (Courtesy of Peter Niiler, Scripps) coverage) Newest drifters International Arctic Buoy Programme 2003 Deployment History

760 Surface Drifting Buoys (61% of global coverage) Total Number of 500 Argo Profiling Floats Observations (17% of global coverage) in 1998. [values less than 35 not shown] Expendable Bathythermographs (XBTs) dropped from ships Argo uses profiling floats to gather Tropical Ships of Argo Tide Gauge Ocean Surface temperature and salinity data from the upper Moored Opportunity Profiling Stations Reference Drifting Buoys Floatsnote note Stations Buoysnote 2000 meters of the deep ocean. The number The Future Sustained Ocean Observing System of Argo floats should reach 3,000 by 2006 for Climate -- Target 2008 which will provide 100,000 for Climate -- Target 2008 temperature/salinity profiles per year. (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/ http://iabp.apl.washington.edu/ Sea Surface Temperature, Global System 100 % Complete uot/ uot_xbt.html) Height, and Vector Wind from

Space (http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/) (Photos courtesy of Paul Freitag, PMEL) International Time Series Network

45 Tide Gauge Stations GPS/DORIS located. Carbon Inventory Lines (52% of global coverage) Global Sea Level Stations

(Courtesy of WHOI) (Courtesy of Webb Research)

760 Surface Drifting Buoys The Glider is the next generation profiling float. It is an (61% of global coverage) Total Number 500 Argo Profiling Floats of autonomous vehicle which moves up and down in the ocean by (17% of global coverage) Observations In 1998. (Courtesy of International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project) changing buoyancy. Wings allow steerable gliding and horizontal Sites identified by Int’l Time Series Science Team propulsion. This vehicle will trace a sawtooth profile while observing temperature, conductivity, etc. versus depth, fix position The Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS) is an international programme conducted Background photo credit: J. Picaut at the surface via GPS, and communicate through satellite under the auspices of the JCOMM of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and Tropical Ships of Argo Tide Gauge Ocean Surface Dedicated Coastal communication. NOAA OFFICE OF CLIMATE OBSERVATION Moored Opportunity Profiling Stations Reference Drifting Ships Moored Category 1: “Operational” stations for which the latest data is 1998 or later. Category 2: the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). GLOSS aims to establish high Unless otherwise noted, maps on this poster were accessed via the JOINT Buoys Floatsnote note Stations Buoysnote Buoys “Probably operational” stations for which the latest data is within the period 1988-1997. quality global and regional sea level networks for application to climate, oceanographic and WMO/IOC COMMISSION FOR OCEANOGRAPHY AND MARINE 1100 WAYNE AVENUE Category 3: “Historical” stations for which the latest data is earlier than 1988. METEOROLOGY (JCOMM) web site: SILVER SPRING MD 20910 USA Stations for which no PSMSL data exist. coastal sea level research. The main component of GLOSS is the 'Global Core Network' http://www.wmo.ch/web/aom/marprog/index.htm (Background photo courtesy of Meteo Category 4: [email protected] France) (GCN) of 290 sea level stations to help monitor long term climate change and oceanographic sea level