Chronology of TAO
- 1976 PMEL deploys first successful moored equatorial current meter buoy (D.Halpern)
- 1979 Start of NOAA's EPOCS Program, includes moored current measurements at 0,110 W and CTD measurements
- 1980 First realtime transmission of air temperature and SST from current meter mooring at 0,110W.
- Fall 82 Start of 82/83 ENSO which clearly demonstrated the need for real-time observations in the equatorial Pacific
- Jan 83-Mar 84 Development and testing by PMEL of prototype low cost moored thermistor chain buoy known as the ATLAS mooring (Hayes, Milburn), supported by ERL and PMEL.
- Oct 83 Wind speed and directions added to real-time transmissions from current meter buoys in eastern Pacific
- Apr 84 Prototype ATLAS deployed in eastern Pacific at 2N, 108W with the first real-time subsurface data from the Pacific
- Oct 84 First ATLAS moorings deployed at 2N and 2S along 110W
- Jan 85 Start of 10-year TOGA program
- Jan 85 EPOCS funding for 5 Atlas moorings along 110W to study the South Equatorial Current
- Jul 85 Expansion of ATLAS moorings in the western Pacific (2N and 2S along 165E) with TOGA and French support
- Jun 86 Winds added to real-time ATLAS data stream
- Mar 87 The concept of the TAO array was first presented by S.Hayes (PMEL) - at this time only 10 ATLAS moorings deployed.
- Jul 88 ATLAS surface and subsurface data made available over GTS network through Service Argos
- Oct 89 TAO Project Office set up at PMEL, S. Hayes director.
- Nov 89 First relative humidity measurements introduced into the array (2S, 140W)
- Jan 90 Japan joins TAO with deployment of 2N,147E ATLAS mooring onboard the R/V Natsushima
- May 90 First PROTEUS mooring with realtime transmission of ADCP current data
- Aug 91 Rain and radiation measurments added to current meter moorings
- Sep 91 NOAA's National Ocean Service joins TAO with NOAA Corps billet for TAO Operations Officer
- Feb 92 Korea joins TAO with 137E ATLAS moorings
- Jun 92 TAO data and displays first distributed on the internet
- Aug 92 Taiwan joins TAO with 158E ATLAS mooring (during COARE)
- Aug 92 M.McPhaden becomes director of TAO project after the death of S. Hayes
- Nov 92 Inauguration of the international TAO Implementation Panel
- Jun 93 PMEL and JAMSTEC sign an MOU for cooperative oceanic and atmospheric research, with emphasis on the tropical Pacific
- Mar 94 TAO Home Page on the World Wide Web
- Nov 94 Field tests begin for the Nextgeneration ATLAS at 8S, 180
- Dec 94 TAO array completed in Pacific Ocean with a total of 64 ATLAS moorings and 5 current meter moorings
- Dec 94 TOGA Program ends. Support for TAO Array in US continues from NOAA's Office of Global Programs. International sponsorship of TAO provided by CLIVAR, GOOS, and GCOS programs
- May 96 First operational deployments of NextGeneration ATLAS moorings at 8S, 95W and 8S, 110W
- Aug 96 NOAA ship KA'IMIMOANA commissioned. This ship is dedicated to servicing the TAO array east of 165E
- Nov 97 US Congress provides operational support for the TAO array as part of the ENSO Observing System
- Dec 97 PMEL and JAMSTEC renew their MOU for cooperative oceanic and atmospheric research
- Apr 98 TAO becomes part of the GOOS Initial Observing System
- Jan 00 TAO array becomes TAO/TRITON array. JAMSTEC occupies sites west of 165E with TRITON moorings
- Nov 01 NextGeneration ATLAS moorings used exclusively in TAO for the first time, as the last standard ATLAS mooring is recovered and retired
- Dec 03 TAO wins 2003 Grace Hopper Government Technology Award
- Oct 05 Management of TAO array transfer from PMEL to NDBC
- Aug 13 Last PMEL mooring deployed in TAO array