UK Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)

GOOS is part of OceanNET and is operated by the Inter Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology (IACMST)

Pilot Project

The UK’s main contribution to such projects is to Argo. The Met Office is responsible for managing and co-ordinating the UK contribution, for which funding is being provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and which involves a number of UK agencies/organisations, namely: the Met Office, Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC), British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), and United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO). The aim of the UK Argo Project is to establish by March 2003 the capacity to deploy about 50 floats each year as the UK contribution to the international Argo float array. The UK is also providing part funding (10%) for the IOC Argo Information Centre Co-ordinator.

ARGO float operation - Copyright NOC

In January 2002 the first 5 "Argo" floats were deployed in the Irminger Sea. During the last year another 37 floats (35 UK Argo plus 2 additional NERC research floats) have been deployed. The total includes 9 floats in the Irminger Sea (North-west Atlantic), 3 in the North-east Atlantic, 2 in the Norwegian Sea, 5 in the South-west Indian Ocean, 10 in the Arabian Sea, 3 in the Southern Ocean (western Atlantic sector) and the first 10 (of 25) floats along the 32° section in the South Indian Ocean. Further floats will be deployed in spring 2002 in the Irminger Sea, Norwegian Sea and Arabian Sea.

Data from all UK floats are available in real-time on the WMO GTS and are routinely assimilated into the operational FOAM (Forecasting Ocean-Assimilation Model) run by the Met Office. The locatiuons of the current UK floats and the data are also available in real-time and "delayed-mode" from the UK Argo Data Centre run by BODC in co-operation with the UKHO.

UK ARGO Interactive Map. Copyright - BODC

The UK is participating in discussions leading towards a GOOS North Sea Ecosystems Pilot Project (NORSEPP). This is being co-ordinated by the ICES/IOC/EuroGOOS Planning Group for a North Sea Pilot Project (PGNSPP), and the ICES/IOC Steering Group on GOOS (SGGOOS).

 
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