Enhancements to the 95°W TAO observing system are listed in
Table 1.
Sensor specifications and accuracies are documented in the TAO
webpages. EPIC enhanced TAO "Next Generation ATLAS" mooring time series
have at least hourly sample
rates, sufficient temporal resolution to analyze diurnal and
mesoscale ocean and atmosphere boundary layer variability. The EPIC
enhanced array will be in place for 3-4 years, providing sufficient
duration to observe seasonal to interannual variability.
Daily averages of nearly all measurements are telemetered to shore
via Service Argos and made available in near-realtime via a
PMEL maintained data archive website and ftp data base. Also,
hourly
values of barometric pressure and standard TAO surface measurements and
daily-averaged values of subsurface temperature are telemetered
to shore typically 2-4 times per day and made available in
real-time to operational
meteorological and oceanographic centers via the Global
Telecommunications System (GTS). All data are quality checked and
processed at PMEL. Processed data and high resolution (2-minute, 10-minute or
hourly) data are available in delayed mode via PMEL and national
data archives.
Table 1. Enhancements to the TAO
95°W observing system. OP signifies operational sites and, in the
left column, operational measurements. Operational surface
meteorological measurements (M) include wind speed and direction, air
temperature and relative humidity. Operational ocean temperature (T)
are at 1 m, and 10 subsurface depths. The enhancements include a suite
of meteorological sensors, including shortwave (S) and longwave (L)
radiometers, rain gauge (R), and barometric pressure (P); additional
subsurface temperature sensors (T), surface and subsurface
conductivity sensors (C) and current meters (U). Salinity is computed
from coincident measurements of temperature and conductivity. The new
moorings at 3.5°N, 10°N and 1°2N also include the full set of
operational TAO measurements.
|
OP |
OP |
OP |
OP |
OP |
NEW |
OP |
OP |
NEW |
NEW |
TAO OP |
8°S |
5°S |
2°S |
0° |
2°N |
3.5°N |
5°N |
8°N |
10°N |
12°N |
sfc M |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
SLRP |
1m T |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
5m |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
TC |
10m |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
TCU |
20m T |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
40m T |
C |
CU |
CU |
CU |
CU |
CU |
CU |
C |
C |
C |
60m T |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
80m T |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
100m T |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
120m T |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
140m T |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
180m T |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300m T |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
500m T |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|