TAO Related Projects
Current
PMEL CO2
Many TAO moorings are deployed with carbon dioxide and ocean acidification sensors provided by the PMEL Carbon Program. The mission of PMEL Carbon Program is to advance scientific understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and how it is changing over time in support of NOAA's commitment to improve the Nation's ability to anticipate and respond to climate impacts and to conserve and manage healthy oceans, coastal ecosystems, and marine resources.
PMEL Ocean Climate Stations
The mission of the Ocean Climate Stations Project (OCS) is to make meteorological and oceanic measurements from moored buoys. These reference time series are used to improve satellite products and forecast models, and improve our understanding of air-sea interactions, and their role within the climate system.
PMEL Argo Profiling CTD Floats
Argo floats are designed to drift at a fixed pressure (usually 1000 dbar) for 10 days. After this period, the floats move to a profiling pressure (usually between 1000 and 2000 dbar) then rise, collecting profiles of pressure, temperature, and salinity data on their way to the surface. Once at the surface, the floats remain there for under a day, transmitting the data collected by satellite back to NOAA/PMEL and allowing the satellite to determine their surface drift. They then sink again and repeat their mission.
AOML Global Drifter Program
Using research ships, Volunteer Observation Ships (VOS) and aircraft, Lagrangian drifters are placed in areas of interest. The drifter consists of a surface buoy and a subsurface drogue (sea anchor), attached by a long, thin tether. The buoy measures temperature and other properties, and has a transmitter to send the data to passing satellites. Incoming data from the drifters are placed on the Global Telecommunications System (GTS) for distribution to meteorological services everywhere.
Oregon State University Ocean Mixing
The distributions of heat, salt and chemicals (including pollutants) are critical to the intensity of ocean currents, to long- and short-term climate variations, and the health of our environment. Each is injected into the ocean at various rates and at various global locations. Mixing in the ocean acts to smooth distributions of these properties and to reduce concentrations of pollutants to tolerable levels. Understanding how mixing occurs and at what rates it proceeds is important to understanding how the oceans work, and is especially needed before accurate numerical models of the ocean can be developed.
Previous
PMEL EPIC
As part of the Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes' (EPIC), the 95°W TAO/TRITON line was enhanced with extra sensors and moorings to monitor heat, moisture and momentum fluxes, and upper ocean temperature, salinity and horizontal currents from the stratus deck region at 8°S, 95°W through the cold tongue to 12°N, 95°W, north of the intertropical convergence zone. The enhancements began in fall 1999 and ended in 2003.