PACIFIC OCEAN SITES

PACIFIC OCEAN SITES

Site: Ocean Station Papa

Position: 50°N 145°W

Categories:

 air-sea gas exchange mooring (S. Vagle), sediment traps (C, N, Si transport, C.S. Wong)

 physical (H. Freeland, IOS), biogeochemical (F. Whitney, L. Miller, IOS) biological (D. Mackas, zooplankton; university researchers, phytoplankton)

Safety distance for ship operations: no surface mooring at present, no ship concerns.

Short description:



Number of stations / moorings:

A survey line of 26 stations extends from the coast to Station Papa.





Moorings for gas exchange and particle fluxes are near St Papa.

Variables measured : T, S, oxygen, nutrients, DIC from surface to bottom (~4200m). Zooplankton tows collected from 150 m to surface.

Start date of the timeseries, service interval:

The first measurements at Station Papa began in 1949, conducted by the US Weather Service but including mechanical BT casts. This was taken over by Canadian weatherships in 1950 and at that time oceanographic observations ceased. Oceanography resumed in July 1952. The mechanical BT was abandoned in July 1956 and it is at that time that the high quality oceanographic time series begins at Station Papa itself. In 1959 sampling began along the cruise track between the Juan de Fuca Strait and Station Papa, and at that time the Line-P observations began. The weathership program was terminated in June 1981 but sampling has continued to the present day, typically at 3 times annually, using Canadian research vessels. air-sea gas exchange mooring since 2002, sediment traps since 1983

Scientific rationale:

Ocean Station Papa, also known as Station P, is in the Gulf of Alaska at 50°N and 145°W. Line-P is a sequence of oceanographic stations that starts near the mouth of the Juan de Fuca Strait and extends into the Gulf of Alaska ending at Station P.

The Line-P and Station-P programs are used to monitor the state of the ocean environment. We complete three surveys per year typically in May/June, Aug./Sept. and Feb. of each fiscal year. The rationale is to observe the state of the ocean including macro-nutrient distributions:



After the major winter storms have completed deep mixing and resupply of nutrients to the upper ocean.



Near the peak of the spring primary production period (May/June trip).



A late summer survey to observe what happened following the summer productive period.

Groups / P.I.s /labs /countries involved / responsible:

The execution of Line-P surveys primarily belongs to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region. However, it has also been the test bed for much detailed biological research carried out under programs such as SUPER, JGOFS and SOLAS.

Station P is a standard monitoring location for other programs. The Japanese research cruises conducted on the

Oshoru Maru sample along 145W to Station Papa each summer. Howard Freeland ( FreelandHj@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

) is the lead scientist for physical property sampling.

Frank Whitney ( WhitneyF@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

) is the lead scientist for chemical property sampling. In addition, Dave

Mackas continues a zooplankton time series, Lisa Miller measures DIC, C.S. Wong carries out particle flux studies and Svein Vagle maintains a gas exchange mooring.

Status:

 operating



 time horizon / long-term plans: continue our monitoring program at 2 or 3 times annually. funding is not guaranteed at present, however this program is considered core to our ocean monitoring efforts.

Technology:



Argo profilers deployed in region (Freeland), gas analyzers and T sensors moored in upper 120 m, continuous T,





S and pCO

2

(Wong) on most surveys.

SST measurement : Seabird thermosalinography and GPS

Profile measurements : Rosette sampling with SBE CTD.

Data policy:

 real-time data: Argo T and S data are available near real time

 delayed mode data: verified data is posted on a web site ( http://www-sci.pac.dfo-

 mpo.gc.ca/osap/data/linep/linepselectdata_e.htm

) , and includes CTD casts and water properties (oxygen and nutrients).

All data are public available.

PACIFIC OCEAN – page 1

Data management:

Data is archived about annually with MEDS (Marine Environmental Data Service ( http://www.meds-sdmm.dfompo.gc.ca/meds/Home_e.htm

) in Ottawa. If Station Papa becomes part of GEO, we expect to have adequate funding to improve data formatting and accessibility.

Societal value / Users / customers:

The sampling strategy has proven invaluable for understanding variations in the open ocean ecosystem that ultimately feed the salmon stocks migrating from the open ocean to land. Thus major customers are fisheries managers in Canada.

Role in the integrated global observing system:

We intend to participate by continuing Line P surveys 2 to 3 times annually and posting data on our web site. These cruises will ensure that the NE Pacific stays populated with Argo profilers, and that moorings (funding dependant) can continue at Station Papa.

Contact Person:

 for enquiry about addition of instrumentation or sensors to the site or for possible ancillary measurements during cruises to the site: Marie Robert ( robertM@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

)

 for information about the site or data : Marie Robert, Line P program coordinator ( mpo.gc.ca

); Joe Linguanti, data manager ( LinguantiJ@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

) robertM@pac.dfo-

Links / Web-sites:

 for Project information : http://www-sci.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/osap/projects/linepdata/default_e.htm

or Marie

Robert (tel 250 363-6612)

 for data access : http://www-sci.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/osap/data/linep/linepselectdata_e.htm

or through MEDS ( http://www.medssdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/meds/Home_e.htm

).

Argo data is available from http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/

Compiled/ updated by: Howard Freeland (2002) , Frank Whitney (January 2005)

Figure 1

Map of the NE Pacific Ocean showing SeaWiFS summer chlorophyll distribution (blue is low, orange/red is high), temperature contours (unlabelled, decreasing to the north), the approximate position of the High Nutrient-Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) boundary in summer (dashed red line) and location of the stations sampled for water properties along Line P.

Ocean Station Papa (OSP) is also designated as station

P26, the terminal station of Line P.

Figure 2

SeaWiFS chlorophyll image from July 2002, showing the formation of mesoscale eddies off the west coast of North America. These eddies create patchiness in the adjacent ocean by transporting coastal water, nutrients and organisms westward.

Their influence has been observed at Station Papa.


Site: High Latitude Time-series Ocean Observatories ( HiLaTS)

Positions: K-1 51°N 165°E, K-2 47°N 160°E, K-3 39°N 169°E

( http://jpac.whoi.edu/hilats/strategy/stations.html

)

Categories: Observatory; biogeochemical, physical and climatological

The biological pump operating in the Northwestern Pacific and it link with the world ocean. Biogeochemistry, primary production, circulation dynamics, hydrography and paleoceanography.

Safety distance for ship operations: 5 n. miles around any HiLaTS moorings

Two highly sophisticated mooring systems (PO and BGC mooring), are moored at each station. The mooring apex depth is often only 30 to 50 m from the surface. Particularly moored profilers are operated along a PO mooring. No over the board deployment is allowed within the diameter of 5 n. miles around any HiLaTS moorings.




Three array points (K1: 50N 161E, K2: 47N 160E, K3: 39N 169E)



Variables measured: Entire water column. Continuously for one year, March to March.



Start date of the time series, service interval: mooring systems were deployed in September 2001, annual service in March


The North Pacific Time-Series Observational Study initiated in 2001 as a one of research programs at Mutsu

Institute for Oceanography (MIO < http://jpac.whoi.edu/hilats/mio/index.html >), Japan Marine Science and

Technology Center (JAMSTEC) on board R/V Mirai (GW 8,675 tons, < http://www.jamstec.go.jp/jamstece/ships/mirai1.html > ). This program is also a joint program with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). A physical oceanography (PO) mooring system for primary physical oceanography support moored profiler (Fig.1 a).

A biogeochemical (BGC) mooring system has time-series sediment traps (every week or bi-week increments), autonomous 14C incubator to access primary production (SID)(50-times a year), automated optical various autosampler and autonomous incubation system for the measurement of productivity (SID) (Fig.1 b) and time series phyto-, zooplankton collectors. MIO is pursuing to deploy MEX sediment trap array in order to understand the mesopelagic organic C fluxes and remineralization. <http://jpac.whoi.edu/hilats/strategy/mex.html >.

These new mooring engineering has been established systems stand up from 5.5 km deep-sea floor to the surface euphotic zone.

Three mooring sites were selected taking into account for the flat topography and stability in oceanography in the

Western Pacific Sub-arctic Gyre. Precision acoustic and in situ altimeter bottom survey on these 3 stations has completed since 2002. HiLaTS stations are visited at least a few times a year by other JAMSTEC research vessels including R/V Natsushima for hydrographic, nutrients, ocean optics, primary productivity and thorium isotope chemistry by using CTD-rosette sampler and depth series large volume pump array and contentious surface water sampling systems in order to build up the understanding of time-series variability as well as test new hypothesis and instrumentation.


Makio Honda (Mutsu Institute for Oceanography; e-mail: hondam@jamstec.go.jp

),

Susumu Honjo (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; e-mail: shonjo@whoi.edu

)

Status:



Stations are operating since September 2001: 18-months hiatus to improve the mooring security from October 03



 to March 05. Reopened station (K-2) on March 05.

Time horizon : Decadal operation

Funding status, source of funding: JAMSTEC and other competitive public funding

Technology:

Seven major sensor-sampler platforms. Autonomous, time-series, full-water column and multi-sensor approach.

Refer http://jpac.whoi.edu/hilats for detail.

Data policy:

 real-time data: open to qualified public after cruise report as same as JGOFS protocols.




Satellite data collection via NASDAC



Real-time data processing and distribution system: Working on GTS encoding & distribution



Metadata scheme: will comply when the temperate is shown



Possibilities of evolution to comply with a more general JCOMM GTS scheme: Same as above

Societal value / Users / customers: Refer http://jpac.whoi.edu/hilats


HiLaTS will be the key program to understand the biological pump, biogeochemical cycles and the fate of atmospheric CO

2

that is removed to the oceanic interior that is operated in Westerlies Domain of the world ocean.



 for Project information: http://jpac.whoi.edu/hilats

 for data access : http://usjgofs.whoi.edu/mzweb/data/Honjo/sed_traps.html

compiled/ updated by: Susumu Honjo (March 2005)

Figure 1: mooring system for physical oceanography

Figure 2: mooring system for biogeochemistry

Site: California Current Biogeochemical Moorings


Position: M1: 36°45’N 122°01’W;

M2: 36°42’N 122°23’W

(in California Current System)

Categories: Physical, meteorological (including air-sea flux) and biochemical measurements.

Safety distance for ship operations: 2 nautical miles




2 moorings

 variables measured:

 surface winds, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, ocean temperature and salinity from the surface to 300 0r 500 m (11 depths), ocean current profiles to 400 m, sea surface nitrate, delta pCO2 between atmosphere and sea surface, surface fluorescence and backscatter, and radiance and irradiance at surface and 10 m





 all data transmitted in real-time

M1 also has shortwave and long wave radiation sensors making this mooring fully flux capable. maintained by MBARI since 1989


Ecosystem productivity and the biogeochemical cycling of elements in the California upwelling regions is regulated by physical processes that vary on daily to multidecadal time scales. Concurrent measurements of physics, chemistry and biology allow an estimate of changes in biological and chemical fluxes associated with the physical variability and for the development of predictive models. Satellite validation and algorithm development are also a goal.


MBARI maintains the California Current System moorings.

Status:

MBARI, with funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, maintains moorings M1 and M2. Support from NASA has been used for bio-optical measurements.

Technology:

Instrument controllers developed at MBARI are used to collect and transmit instrument data.

Data policy:

Core data (real-time and delayed mode) are freely available without restriction. Core data are proven physical (T,S, u, v) and meteorological (windspeed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure) measurements. Experimental biological and chemical measurements are available after quality control.


Mooring data are internally recorded and transmitted from buoy to shore via free-wave radio in real-time. Data and metadata are available from the MBARI Shore Side Data System

( http://ssdspub.mbari.org:8080/access/siamRawDataStep1.jsp

).

Contact Persons: Francisco Chavez ( chfr@mbari.org

)

Links / Web-sites: http://www.mbari.org/oasis/index.html

Compiled by: Francisco Chavez (April 2005)


Figure 1: Time series of surface temperature (top), surface chlorophyll (middle) and thermal structure off Monterey

Bay, California.

1997 - 2001 Daily Averages at M1

300 18

200

 pCO2

Temperature 16

100

0

14

12

-100

-200

10

8

Figure 2: Time series of surface temperature and delta pCO2 from a mooring off Monterey Bay, California.

Site: Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO)

Position: 32.3°N 144.5°E

On southern side of the Kuroshio Extension, in the recirculation gyre.

Categories: Air-Sea Flux, Observatory; meteorological, physical, biogeochemical

Safety distance for ship operations: 6 km

Short description:



1 surface buoy with slackline mooring



Variables measured :



Surface: wind speed and direction (from a sonic anemometer), air temperature, relative humidity, rain, shortwave and longwave radiation, 1m sea surface temperature and salinity, barometric pressure*, air and sea surface water pCO2*, and O2*.



Subsurface temperature at nominal depths of 5m, 10m, 15m*, 25m, 35m*, 50m, 75m, 100m, 125m*, 150m,

175m*, 200m, 225*, 250m*, 275m*, 300m, 325m*, 350m*, 375m*, 400m, 425m*, 450m*, 475m*, 500m



Subsurface salinity at nominal depths 5m, 10m, 15m*, 25m, 35m*, 50m, 75m, 125m*, 150m, 200m, 275m*,

325m*, 400m, 475m*



Subsurface ocean pressure (for remapping to nominal depths) at nominal depths 100m, 175m*, 250m*, 300m,

375m*, 425m*, 500m












Ocean currents at: 5m*, 15m*, 35m*

Ocean current profiles: 30m-230m**

All physical measurements are recorded at least every 10 minutes. Biogeochemical measurements are recorded every 3 hours.

Start date of the timeseries: service interval:

16th June 2004 (*Start June 2005, **planned)

once per year

Scientific rationale:

As with other western boundary currents, the North Pacific's western boundary current has some of the largest airsea fluxes found in the entire basin. It is one of the largest sinks of carbon in the North Pacific, has the characteristic maxima lobes of latent, sensible, and net surface heat loss, and is co-located with the Pacific storm track. The

Kuroshio Extension (KE) current carries warm water at nearly 140 million cubic meters per second (140 Sv) eastward into the North Pacific. Wind driven Sverdrup transport accounts for about a third of this transport; the other

90 Sv is due to a tight recirculation gyre whose size varies on seasonal-decadal time scales. As cold dry air comes in contact with the warm KE and recirculation water, heat and moisture are extracted from the surface, resulting in deep convection (both in the atmosphere and ocean) and rainfall. Surface cooling and biological production lower the surface water CO2 concentrations driving a net uptake. In late winter, surface water in the KE recirculation region is subducted into the permanent thermocline, forming Subtropical Mode Water, and sequestering carbon. Large dust clouds blowing eastward off Asia are visible in satellite images and can be traced all the way across the Pacific.

Macro- and micro-nutrients, including iron, from the dust clouds can affect biological production and therefore may play an important role in the North Pacific carbon cycle.

Groups / P.I.s /labs /countries involved / responsible:

Dr. Meghan Cronin NOAA / PMEL (lead)

Mr. Christian Meinig NOAA / PMEL (Lead Engineer)

Dr. Christopher Sabine NOAA / PMEL (Lead Carbon Scientist)

Status:

 operating

 time horizon / long-term plans: Long-term

 funded

Technology:



Moored / autonomous sensors

 real-time telemetry: Daily-averages and spot measurements of all surface physical data and most subsurface data







 are available in near-realtime. Carbon has daily transmissions of 3-hour measurements.

SST measurement: self-contained sensor attached to bridle at 1m below surface

Profile measurements: Sensors are attached to slackline mooring (pressure sensors can be used to remap observations onto nominal depths).

Data policy:

 real-time data: All data are public

 delayed mode data: High-resolution data will be made public within 6 months of recovery

Data management:





Satellite data collection system : Service Argos (physical data), Iridium (carbon data)

Real-time data processing and distribution system : PMEL realtime processing, QA and web distribution.

Starting June 2005, distribution via GTS (Service Argos) as well.

Metadata scheme : see website

Possibilities of evolution to comply with a more general JCOMM GTS scheme : Planned for the future.

Societal value / Users / customers:

Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) users include the research community, weather and climate forecasting communities, and satellite and numerical weather prediction products assessments communities.

Role in the integrated global observing system:

The KEO mooring serves as an air-sea flux and carbon flux reference site and as an observatory for the Kuroshio

Extension region of the northwest Pacific. KEO is supported by the NOAA Office of Climate Observations as an element of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). With the planned carbon observations, KEO would be a key element of the U.S. Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Program (OCCC), and internattional Integrated Marine

Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER) and Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere (SOLAS) programs.


 for enquiry about addition of instrumentation or sensors to the site or for possible ancillary measurements during cruises to the site:

Meghan Cronin ( Meghan.F.Cronin@noaa.gov

)


 for information about the site or data:

Meghan.F.Cronin@noaa.gov

Chris.Sabine@noaa.gov

for carbon component

Links / Web-sites:





 for Project information : for data access : http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/keo/ http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/keo/data.html

for information on carbon system : http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/moorings/ compiled by: Meghan Cronin (March 2005 )

Figure 1: KEO site (square) shown in relation to the

NCEP-2 climatological JFM latent heat flux (shaded) and mean sea surface height from

Teague et al. (1990)

(contours). Latent heat flux contour intervals are 20 Watts per meter squared. Sea surface height contour intervals are 10 centimeters. The sea surface height contours can be interpreted as surface geostrophic streamlines of flow.


Figure 2: KEO telemetered daily-averaged time series (relative humidity and salinity data not shown). Top panel shows downwelling solar (black) and longwave (red) radiation. Second panel shows rain rate. Third panel shows wind speed (thick black), and zonal (thin black) and meridional (thin red) components. Fourth panel shows sea minus air temperature difference in degrees Celsius. Bottom two panels show surface and subsurface temperature, with nominal depths listed. Units are listed on figure.

Site: HOT (Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA)

Position: 23.75 º N 158 º W

Categories: Observatory, Air-Sea Flux reference site; physical, meteorological, biogeochemical

Safety distance for ship operations: Several moorings are installed. Coordination with Principal Investigators is requested prior to sampling in the area.


 Station ALOHA: 22°45’N, 158°W, depth = 4790 m. Several moorings installed



➢


Full suite of physical and biogeochemical measurements including temperature, salinity, inventories and fluxes of gases, dissolved nutrients, plankton stocks and rate processes. Samples are collected throughout the

➢ water column, with intensive sampling efforts in the upper 1000 m.

Shipboard Measurements conducted during near-monthly cruises


➢



I. Continuous Measurements: Depth (Pressure), Temperature, Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Fluorescence

(Chloropigment) 0-4750 m transducers on Sea-Bird CTD package

II. Water Column Discrete Chemical Samples:

Oxygen, Dissolved Inorganic Carbon, Total Alkalinity, Nitrate Plus Nitrite, Soluble Reactive Phosphorus

(SRP), Silicate, Dissolved Organic Carbon 0-4750 m

Low Level Nitrate Plus Nitrite, Low Level SRP 0-200 m

Dissolved Organic Nitrogen, Dissolved Organic Phosphorus 0-1000 m

Particulate Carbon, Particulate Nitrogen, Particulate Phosphorus 0-350 m

Particulate Silica 0-175 m

➢

III. Biomass Measurements:

Chlorophyll a, b and c and Pheopigments 0-175 m

HPLC-derived pigments 0-175 m

➢

Phycoerythrin 0-175 m

Adenosine 5′-triphosphate 0-350 m

Bacteria/Archaea and Cyanobacteria 0-175 m

Mesozooplankton 0-175 m Net tows

Particulate carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus 0-1000 m

IV. Carbon Production and Particle Fluxes:

Primary Production 0-125 m 14C incubations, in vitro O2 fluxes, photosynthesis versus irradiance incubations

Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus 150 m Free-floating particle traps

Particulate Silica 150 m Base Hydrolysis

Bacterial production 0-175 m 3 H-leucine incorporation

Community respiration and production 0-175 m in vitro O

➢

VI. Bow Intake System:

2

fluxes

➢

V. Currents: Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler 10-300 m Hull mounted, RDI #VM-150

Remote temperature sensor at hull intake 3 m

Temperature and conductivity sensors inside the thermosalinograph package

Fluorometry (Chloropigment) 3 m

➢

VII. Optical Measurements:

Incident Irradiance Surface LI-COR LI-1000 and Biospherical collector

Surface Downwelling Irradiance.

Upwelling radiance and downwelling irradiance 0-175 m Biospherical Profiling Reflectance Radiometer

PRR-600

Downwelling irradiance 0-3 m Tethered Spectral Radiometer Buoy

Absorption and Beam Attenuation AC-9, Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometry 0-250 m

➢

VIII. Moored Instruments (documented elsewhere)



Sequencing Sediment Traps 2800, 4000 m

Two surface moorings MOSEAN and WHOTS

Start date of the timeseries, service interval: Near-monthly shipboard observations since October 1988


The objectives and scientific rationale for HOT are truly interdisciplinary. We seek to understand the interacting physics, chemistry and biology of the North Pacific subtropical gyre through detailed, long-term, co-located multivariate observations at Station ALOHA, within the context of the variability of the North Pacific climate system.

The physical oceanographic objectives of HOT have been to: 1) document seasonal and interannual variability of water masses; 2) relate water mass variations to subtropical gyre fluctuations; 3) determine the need and methods for monitoring currents at the HOT site; 4) develop a climatology of short term variability.

Chemistry and biology are inextricably linked in the objectives of HOT, framed within the Joint Global Ocean

Fluxes Study. Central objectives of the HOT program have been to estimate the annual air-to-sea flux of carbon dioxide, and develop an understanding of the climatology of biogeochemical rates and processes, including microbial community structure, primary and export production, and nutrient inventories. Understand how the seasonal and interannual variability of water masses relates to biogeochemical fluxes. Understand the time-varying processes that control carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the ocean. Relate biogeochemical fluxes to subtropical gyre fluctuations and ocean-atmosphere forcings. Develop a climatology of short-term variability in chemical, and biological processes in subtropical ocean ecosystems.

After 16 years, we have made significant progress on all of these, however we now know that decadal variability is as important as interannual variability. The major impediments have been limited spatial and high frequency temporal coverage to help define the frequency and spatial variability of the physical and biogeochemical signals that we’ve observed.


Most of the funding for HOT is provided by the US National Science Foundation, with significant contributions


from the State of Hawaii. The PIs of the “core” Hawaii Ocean Time-series are David Karl and Roger Lukas of the

University of Hawaii. Other PIs include Michael Landry (SIO), Robert Bidigare (UH), R. Letelier (OSU), and J.

Dore (UH). There are also numerous ancillary projects and investigators that take advantage of the core logistics, many of which contribute to the overall objectives of HOT. Ship support is provided by the US UNOLS.

Status:

 operating;An observatory framework has been established at Station ALOHA, including two surface moorings



 that were deployed at the edges of the 6 nm radius circle that defines the station. These moorings, MOSEAN and

WHOTS, are documented separately. time horizon / long-term plans: Indefinite funding status, source of funding: A renewal proposal for funding through 2008 was granted.

Technology:

 moored / autonomous and ship-based sensors





SST: Remote temperature sensor at hull intake 3 m

Profile measurements: Ship-based Sea-Bird CTD continuous profiler 0-4750 m.

A vertical profiler will be implemented to resolve high frequency temporal dynamics in upper ocean plankton rate processes and biomass inventories. This vertical profiler is intended to complement the existing autonomous sampling devices (moorings) and the monthly shipboard sampling strategy. Eventually, we hope to provide an acoustic coupling of the existing moorings with subsurface instrumentation, bringing data back in near real-time, and enabling conditional sampling strategies. An autonomous glider has been maintained near ALOHA by UW scientists starting in late 2004 to measure spatial variations of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and currents. We will try to maintain that effort after the project is completed during July 2005.

Data policy: delayed mode data (Hydrographic data and other cruise data) public available, see links below




Satellite data collection system: Ocean color and spectral imaging operated by OSU including use of SEAWIFS,

MODIS, AVHRR

 data processing and distribution system: As a general rule, we post our CTD data to our web site within one month of each cruise with preliminary quality control, and biogeochemical analyses are quality controlled and publicly available within a year of the time of collection.


The primary societal value of HOT has been to significantly advance our understanding of North Pacific subtropical gyre climate, and the impacts of climate variability on the ecosystem and its role in the carbon cycle. The HOT program has set an outstanding example for online sharing of observations and derived information. Thousands of users have downloaded our data resulting in hundreds of publications in peer-reviewed literature sources.


Station ALOHA observations provide a high-quality calibration point for basin-scale maps of salinity (i.e. derived from Argo floats), as well as a suite of other variables, such as carbon inventories and nutrients. ALOHA is now an air-sea flux reference point. ALOHA provides a strong logistical and scientific framework for ocean technology research and development. ALOHA provides an important calibration/validation point for models of biogeochemical-physical interactions.


 for enquiry about addition of instrumentation or sensors to the site or for possible ancillary measurements during cruises to the site: David M. Karl and Roger Lukas (UH), hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/hot/crequest/main.html

 for information about the site or data : dataman@soest.hawaii.edu


 for Project information: kela.soest.hawaii.edu/ALOHA www.soest.hawaii.edu/HOT_WOCE hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/hot/hot.html

hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/hot/hale-aloha picasso.oce.orst.edu/ORSOO/hawaii

 for data access: www.soest.hawaii.edu/HOT_WOCE/ftp.html

(Cruise data) uop.whoi.edu/projects/WHOTS/whotsdata.htm

(WHOTS Buoy data) http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/moorings/hot/data_158w_all.htm

(HALE-ALOHA/MOSEAN CO2 data) http://www.opl.ucsb.edu/mosean/realtime_hi.html

(HALE-ALOHA/MOSEAN Buoy data)

Compiled by: Fernando Santiago-Mandujano and Matthew Church (March 2005)


Figure 1: a) Time series of monthly rainfall minus evaporation over the central North Pacific. b) Time series of the first two

EOFs of winter net freshwater flux over the North Pacific. The percentage of total variance accounted for by each EOF is indicated. c) Time series of salinity anomaly versus potential density.

The scale along the right axis indicates the mean depth (m) of the corresponding isopycnal surface. The mean salinity profile is given along the left. d) Time series of layer-averaged salinity for the salinity maximum layer and the main thermocline.

Light lines connect individual cruise values. Heavy lines are smoothing cubic splines. Closed circles are annual averages. Tick marks along the time axes indicate the timing of individual

HOT cruises. Interannual variations of rainfall near Hawaii are reflected in EOF1, and in the surface layer salinity at ALOHA.

The decadal time scale North

Pacific rainfall variations of

EOF2 correspond to the variations of upper pycnocline salinity with a lag of 1-2 years, depending on depth.

(Figure reproduced from Lukas, R. 2001. Freshening of the upper thermocline in the North Pacific subtropical gyre associated with decadal changes of rainfall. Geophysical Research Letters, V. 28, No. 18, 3485-3488.)


Figure 2:

Interannual variability and trends in pCO2 and the sea-air flux of CO2 at Station ALOHA. a (top) , Cruise mean values and linear trends in pCO2. The blue circles indicate atmospheric data while the red circles represent oceanic surface water concentrations calculated from DIC and TA. b (bottom) , Monthly flux of CO2 from ocean to atmosphere. The red diamonds represent the flux interpolated to the fifteenth day of each month and the solid black line indicates the linear trend in flux. Extrapolating the converging trend lines suggest the region will cease acting as a sink for atmospheric CO2 by

2008.

(Figure reproduced from Dore, J. E., R.

Lukas, D. W. Sadler and D. M. Karl. 2003.

Climate-driven changes to the atmospheric

CO2 sink in the subtropical North Pacific

Ocean. Nature, 424: 754-757).

Site: HALE-ALOHA (H-A) mooring program

Position: 22 ° 45’N 158 ° 6’W (Nominal Position)

Categories: observatory: physical, meteorological, biogeochemical, ecological

Safety distance for ship operations: 5 nautical miles

Short description:



1 interdisciplinary autonomously sampling mooring




 generally summarized in Figure 1 and on the OPL website meteorological variables (solar insolation, spectral radiation, wind speed and direction, air and sea surface temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity), horizontal currents (uplooking ADCP, 3m vertical bins),

 temperature, salinity, photosynthetic available radiation, spectral and hyperspectral inherent and apparent optical properties (IOPs and AOPs), and chlorophyll fluorescence most meteorological, physical, and optical measurements are made at intervals of about 5-15 min and discrete





 water sampling is done on roughly weekly intervals pCO2 measurements; surface ocean and atmospheric carbon measurements are made every 3 hours.

Investigators using the H-A have also done measurements of macro- and micronutrients (water samplers), dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, and zooplankton using acoustic backscatter data

Start date of the timeseries, service interval:

The new H-A mooring began in November 2004 and plans are in place for continued. H-A recoveries and redeployments are planned for 6 month intervals.

Scientific rationale:

The recent HALE-ALOHA (H-A) program was initiated in the fall 2004. The H-A mooring captures a broad dynamic range of oceanic variability (minutes to years), enabling new insights into high frequency and episodic phenomena while also providing long-term (climate-scale) and contextual, complementary information for other observations at the H-A/HOT/NOAA sites, for evaluation of undersampling/aliasing effects, and for developing and testing models. Some of the highlight results to date include studies of passages of Rossby waves, cold-core eddies and other mesoscale features have been used to estimate their roles in affecting new production, biogeochemical cycling, and carbon flux to the deep ocean.

The moored pCO2 program is designed to assess the short-term variability that cannot be accomplished with shipboard measurements. Obtaining long-term records of these high-resolution measurements allows a full integration of the short-term variability into the longer-term records obtained from the HOT program as well as other elements of the NOAA CO2 program. In particular, the moored pCO2 data will directly contribute to the production of regional CO2 flux maps and is being examined as a component of a new breed of data assimilation models that include estimates of carbon distributions and fluxes.



Lead PI is Tommy Dickey (UCSB). Dave Karl (UH) has been a co-PI since the inception of the H-A mooring program. The H-A and/or H-A data has/have been used by about many investigators. Christopher Sabine

(NOAA/PMEL) is the lead PI for the pCO2 measurements. Charlie Eriksen of UW is doing glider observations near the site.

Status:

 operational.



Funding support has come from the National

Ocean Partnership Program



Funding cycle is 3-5 years per proposal and a

Figure 1

Photograph showing the HALE-ALOHA surface buoy.

 renewal or new proposal directed is due in

2007-2008.

Long-term support for the moored pCO2 measurements is provided by NOAA’s

Office of Climate Observations

Technology:

The H-A uses autonomous sampling sensors and systems (see Figures 1 and 2). Meteorological and buoy position data are telemetered in near real-time.

New technologies for sensors and data telemetry are commonly tested from the H-A mooring.

The pCO2 measurements are LiCor based infrared detection systems mounted in the surface buoy with an equilibrator for surface water pCO2 measurements.

Data policy:

 real-time data: Meteorological and buoy position data are telemetered in near real-time.

 delayed mode data: Other data that must be retrieved from in situ systems at present are made available following recovery of the mooring and processing of data – typically within a few months at maximum.





Data are freely available to the public.

The 3-hour carbon measurements are transmitted daily via Iridium and posted to the WWW. Final calibrated data are submitted to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center and are freely available within 6 months of recovery.




Complementary satellite data and some imagery are included on the OPL website ( www.opl.ucsb.edu

).



Subsets of H-A data are routinely collected and distributed in near real-time (e.g., meteorological data and



 position of the buoy). It is anticipated that real-time telemetry will be used for additional interdisciplinary variables in the future.

Moored pCO2 data are posted daily to: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/moorings/hot/hot_main.htm

Metadata scheme :

H-A investigators are participating in a pilot OceanSITES data management program (contact is Songnian Jiang, songnian.jiang@opl.ucsb.edu

)


The H-A mooring is used for several purposes at present:



Testing of oceanographic instrumentation



Scientific studies





Calibration and validation of satellite sensors

Development and testing of interdisciplinary ocean models

Other users could include:



Tsunami warning system in North Pacific Ocean



Weather services (i.e., hurricane prediction and warning)


H-A serves or can serve several global ocean observing system goals:





Pilot mooring for testing of new ocean instrumentation

Studies of air-sea interaction, upper ocean dynamics, biogeochemistry, upper ocean ecology, extreme and

 episodic events including hurricanes and eddies, climate change

Calibration and validation of ocean satellites




Data for use in data assimilation models and for formulating and testing of a variety of interdisciplinary ocean models

Contact Persons:



Tommy D. Dickey or Derek Manov



[Ocean Physics Laboratory | University of California, Santa Barbara | 6487 Calle Real, Suite A |

Santa Barbara, CA 93117 | Phone: 805 893-7354 | FAX: 805 967-5704 ]

Lead for carbon measurements: Christopher Sabine , NOAA/PMEL


 www.opl.ucsb.edu

or contact Tommy Dickey

 carbon info: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/moorings/hot/hot_main.htm

compiled/ updated by: Tommy Dickey (January 2005) and Christopher Sabine (March 2005)


Figure 2 Mooring diagram for the HALE-ALOHA Mooring

Site: WHOTS (WHOI Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Station)

Position: 22 º 45’ N, 158 º 00’ W

Categories: Ocean Observatory, Air-Sea Flux reference site; meteorological, physical

Safety distance for ship operations: 5 n-mi




1 surface mooring



Variables measured: Surface meteorology at 1 min; subsurface T, S at 10 min from 1-155 m depth with resolution of 5-15 m; U,V at 10 min from 10-120 m with resolution of 5-10 m.



Start date of the timeseries, service interval: Established August 2004. Serviced annually.


The Hawaii Ocean Timeseries (HOT) site has been occupied since 1988 as a part of the World Ocean Circulation

Experiment (WOCE) and the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). The HOT program includes comprehensive, interdisciplinary upper ocean observations, but does not include continuous surface forcing observations. Thus, the primary intent of the WHOTS mooring is to provide long-term, high-quality air-sea fluxes as a coordinated part of the HOTS program and contribute to the goals of observing heat, fresh water and chemical fluxes at a site representative of the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean.


Drs. Robert A. Weller and Albert J. Plueddemann

Upper Ocean Processes Group , Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), USA

Dr. Roger Lukas

School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), University of Hawaii, USA

Status:



Operating

 time horizon / long-term plans: Funded through 2006, 4 year continuation anticipated.

 funding status, source of funding: Funded through the NOAA Office of Climate Observation and the National

Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences.

Technology:

 moored sensors





 real-time telemetry:

SST:

hourly meteorology via Argos

SBE-37 MicroCAT at ~1 m depth on mooring

Profile measurements: Discrete sensors along mooring line for T, S. Discrete sensors plus ADCP for currents.

Data policy:

 real-time data: Public, surface meteorology (hourly)

 delayed mode data: Public, surface fluxes and subsurface data.




Satellite data collection system: Present, Argos; future, Iridium.



Real-time data processing and distribution system: Meteorological data processed and distributed in NetCDF and ASCII by WHOI/UOP. See http://uop.whoi.edu/projects/WHOTS .



Delayed mode data processing and distribution system: Delayed mode subsurface data will be made available in standard formats through the HOT physical oceanography web site: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HOT_WOCE



Metadata scheme : Met data archived in NetCDF, presently working towards compliance with OceanSITES,



Cooperative Ocean/Atmosphere Research Data Service (COARDS) and Climate and Forecast (CF) conventions for the standardization of NetCDF files, and with the emerging Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) framework data standard. Also participating in Marine Metadata Interoperability project

( http://marinemetadata.org

).

Possibilities of evolution to comply with a more general JCOMM GTS scheme: Working with OceanSITES and

MBARI MMI project ( http://marinemetadata.org

) to evolve metadata scheme.


The long-term reference stations such as WHOTS provide essential data needed to improve our understanding of atmosphere-ocean coupling and to properly calibrate global flux fields used in climate modeling. The WHOTS program contributes to the overall goals of the NOAA Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) program by improving understanding of surface fluxes and SST variability in seasonal to interannual time scales. CLIVAR goals include extending the range and accuracy of seasonal to interannual climate prediction and understanding and predicting the response of the ocean-atmosphere system to natural and anthropogenic climate change.


This project directly addresses NOAAs Program Plan for Building a Sustained Ocean Observing System for Climate


– Ocean Reference Stations, in synergy with other elements (Surface Drifting Buoy Network, Ships of Opportunity,

Argo Profiling Floats, and satellites). The WHOTS mooring also serves as an extension of the HOT program to include detailed surface forcing information.


 for enquiry about addition of instrumentation or sensors to the site or for possible ancillary measurements during cruises to the site: Robert Weller, WHOI ( rweller@whoi.edu

, 508-289-2789), Al Plueddemann, WHOI



( aplueddemann@whoi.edu

). for information about the site or data : Nan Galbraith, WHOI ( ngalbraith@whoi.edu

, 508-289-2789), Roger

Lukas, U. Hawaii ( rlukas@hawaii.edu

)


 for Project information : http://uop.whoi.edu/projects/WHOTS and

 for data access : http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HOT_WOCE/intro.html

http://uop.whoi.edu/projects/WHOTS

Compiled by: Al Plueddemann (March 2005)

Position: 18.25 ºN, 115.5 ºE

Categories: observatory: physical and biogeochemical






1 mooring operating (TAIWAN)

Variables measured : Water temperatures at standard depths (as TAO configuration for western Pacific).

Fluorometers were added since November 2004.



Start date of the timeseries, service interval: The timeseries in this site started in 1997. Mooring is refurbished every 6 months. Four cruises, at least, are scheduled per year to perform the biogeochemical measurements near the mooring site.


The SEATS mooring station is very close to the previous mooring station SCS1 during the South China Sea

Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) began in 1997 for which Prof. T. Y. Tang at National Taiwan University was responsible. The South East Asia Time-series Study (SEATS) program supported by the National Center for Ocean

Research (NCOR) of Taiwan is now responsible for the mooring at 18°15’N, 115°30’E since October 2000. Since vandalism is always a serious problem in the South China Sea, only measurements below sea surface are conducted.

Water temperatures of the upper 500 m are recorded as continuous as possible while current velocity and salinity are conducted sporadically. The Objectives of the SEATS mooring is:

 to understand the variations of thermal structure in the SCS, especially the oceanic response to the atmospheric forces such as monsoon and typhoons,

 to investigate the oceanic variations which related to long-time events, such as the El Niño, decadal variation, or

 even global warming, and to better understand biogeochemical processes in the SCS.


The National Center for Ocean Research (NCOR) of Taiwan is now responsible for the mooring.

Status:

 operating

 funding status, source of funding: NCOR has a stable fund to maintain the mooring as long as the SEATS program is conducting.

Technology:





 moored sensors

SST measurements: 1-m water temperature. Self-contained temperature loggers.

Profile measurements: ADCP, sporadic

Data policy:

The data archive of SEATS mooring observation is being compiled and could be available through NCOR

( http://www.ncor.ntu.edu.tw) . Due to the problem of vandalism, real-time data transmission is not possible.






Y. YANG ( yy@ncor.ntu.edu.tw

) or C. M. Tseng ( cmtseng@ncor.ntu.edu.tw

, Program Manager of SEATS).

Compiled by: Y. YANG (3rd March, 2005)

Figure 1: SEATS mooring location (red dot)



Figure 2 Part of time-series measurements of water temperature.

Site: TRITON super reference site in the western Pacific warm pool

Position: 0°N 156°E

Categories:



Air-Sea Flux reference site (at present)

 observatory: meteorology and physical (at present), biogeochemical (add the function in future)

Safety distance for ship operations: 2 miles same as for TAO moorings




One of the 16 TRITON sites in the western Pacific.




 surface meteorological sensors: wind vector, shortwave radiation, relative humidity, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, rain rate subsurface sensors: temperature and conductivity (1.5, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 300, 500, 750m)


pressure (300m, 750m) current vector (10m)



Sampling rate: every 10 min (except current meter of 20 min)

Start date of the timeseries, service interval: 17 March 1998, once per year




The scientific objectives are to elucidate the processes of heat and fresh water flux in the center of western Pacific warm water pool. It is consists of ENSO monitoring TAO/TRITON array.

In future, the buoy at this site will be used for high precision measurement of SST to validate the satellite products.

It will be also utilized for measuring partial pressure timeseries of CO2 in the water for a study of carbon flux.


JAMSTEC/Yoshifumi Kuroda/ Japan/ Group Leader

JAMSTEC/ Kentaro Ando/ Japan/ Heat flux

JAMSTEC/Masaki Katsumata/ Japan/ Fresh water flux

JAMSTEC/Syuich Watanabe/ Japan/ CO2 (Plan)

Tohoku University/ Hiroshi Kawamura/ Japan/ Varidation of high resolution satellite SST product (Plan)

Status:



Operating



The site to be maintained at least until 2009 under the IORGC,JAMSTEC 5-year implementation plan.



Funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology.

Technology:

 surface mooring



 real-time telemetry

SST measurements: SBE 37-IM, Sea Bird Electronics, at 1.5 m depth on the cradle of surface float

Data policy:

 real-time data:

 wind vector, relative humidity, air temperature, atmospheric pressure (on GTS and web)

 temperature (1.5, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 300, 500, 750m) (on GTS and web)

 shortwave radiation(to be appeared on web)

 current vector (10m) (to be appeared on web)

 delayed mode data: rain rate (because of large data quality variance)




Satellite data collection system : ARGOS





Real-time data processing and distribution system :

Metadata scheme :

GTS through French ARGOS global processing center

The real-time raw data are received via ARGOS center.

After real-time QC, including visual inspection, hourly data of each sensor are merged as an ascii metadata with in site by site.

When post-calibration of sensors has been done after 1-year mooring, we correct data applying calibration result and make hourly delayed metadata. in the future, 10-minutes metadata will be distributed via our web site.


Monitoring ocean and atmosphere changes/ meteorological institutions/ researchers

Role in the integrated global observing system: Part of ENSO observing system

Contact Person: Yoshifumi Kuroda


 for Project information : http://www.jamstec.go.jp/jamstec/TRITON/index.html

 for data access :

The standard data from Indian TRITON buoys can be seen from TRITON home page. http://www.jamstec.go.jp/jamstec/TRITON/real_time/html/index.html

Choose 0,156E.

Compiled by: Yoshifumi Kuroda (February 2005)


Figure Time-latitude plots of isothermal layer (upper) and mixed layer (lower) depths obtained from the temperature and salinity data of 156E TRITON. This is an example of how the ocean responds to a westerly wind burst. The isothermal layer and mixed layer depths deepened remarkably near the equator in December 2001 associated with one of the major westerly wind bursts prior to the 2002/2003 ENSO.

(provided by K.Ando)

Site: TAO/TRITON moorings

Position:

Four sites are recommended on the equator at 110°W, 140°W, 170°W, 165°E.

Categories:

Observatory and air-sea flux reference site with physical, meteorological, biogeochemical measurements.

Safety distance for ship operations: Two nautical miles. See http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/taobuoy.html




Four sites are recommended on the equator at 110°W, 140°W, 170°W, 165°E. PMEL ATLAS moorings are

 presently deployed at all four sites. The sites were initiated in January 1979 (110°W), April 1983 (140°W), May

1988 (170°W) and January 1986 (165°E). They are serviced at 6 month intervals by the NOAA ship

Ka’imimoana and, at 110°W, by a combination of the Ka’imimoana and NOAA Ship Ron Brown.

ATLAS moorings at the four recommended sites routinely measure surface winds, air temperature, relative



 humidity, sea surface temperature, ocean temperatures to 500 m (10 depths), sea surface salinity, and ocean currents at 4-5 selected depth between 10 m and 200 m. All data are stored internally at 10-minute intervals and transmitted in real-time as daily averages and a few spot hourly values. Each ATLAS mooring is deployed next to a nearby (within about 10 km) subsurface ADCP mooring providing hourly velocity measurements between depths of about 20-250 m with 8 m vertical resolution.

Enhancements to the basic ATLAS measurement suite with proven technologies for rainfall, shortwave radiation, long wave radiation, and barometric pressure, plus the addition of higher vertical resolution temperature and salinity measurements below the surface, would make the moorings fully flux capable.

Surface water and atmospheric pCO

2

measurements are being made or are planned for all four sites. The first pCO

2

system was deployed at 140°W in May 2004. A second system is planned for 170°W in June 2005, with other sites to follow in the near future.


In order to improve our understanding and ability to predict El Nino and La Nina, it is necessary to quantify to the extent possible the relative magnitudes of processes affecting the evolution of SST in the tropical Pacific on interannual time scales. The proposed time series locations span key climatic regimes in the equatorial Pacific, namely the equatorial cold tongue (110°W, 140°W), the western Pacific warm pool (165°E), and the transition zone between these two regimes (170°W). The two cold tongue sites are distinctly different in their large-scale background conditions (e.g. depth of thermocline, strength of Undercurrent, mean surface heat fluxes, background vertical mixing).


Upwelling in the equatorial Pacific leads to enhanced productivity and degassing of CO

2

across a region ranging from the coast of South America to past the International Date Line. The vast area affected makes this region a significant contributor to global biogeochemical cycles. The El Niño-La Niña cycle results in significant interannual variability in CO

2

fluxes that are still not fully understood. The pCO

2

measurements in these key locations will allow a better characterization of the seasonal and interannual variability in CO

2

fluxes in this region.

The data from these sites can be used for describing new phenomena, and for diagnostic studies, model validation and development, climate forecast initialization, and satellite validation.


PMEL ATLAS moorings are deployed between 95°W and 165°E, JAMSTEC TRITON moorings at and west of

156°E. P.I. for the 110°W-165°E sites is Michael McPhaden. The lead P.I. for the pCO

2

systems is Christopher

Sabine.

Status:



TAO/TRITON is presently supported primarily by NOAA in the U.S. and by JAMSTEC in Japan. The array will be maintained for the foreseeable future.



The four sites can be immediately upgraded to flux reference sites using existing technologies as described



 above. All additional measurements would be transmitted in real-time as daily averages. Data would also be internally recorded at 10 minute intervals, except for rainfall at 1 minute intervals, short and long wave radiation at 2 minute intervals, and barometric pressure at 1 hour intervals.

PCO

2

measurements are currently being made at the 140°W site and will be starting at 170°W in 2005 with support from NOAA’s Office of Climate Observations. Funding for PCO

2

measurements is pending for the remaining two sites.

Logistic support is provided by ships that routinely service the TAO/TRITON array.

Technology:

The basic technology is used is the ATLAS mooring which measures meteorological and physical oceanographic data to depths of 500 m (see http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/mooring.shtml

). There are also upward looking subsurface ADCP moorings deployed nearby each of the four sites. These moorings are equipped with 150 kHz RDI ADCPs. The pCO

2

measurements are LiCor based infrared detection systems mounted in the surface buoy with an equilibrator for surface water pCO

2

measurements. Surface ocean and atmospheric carbon measurements are made every 3 hours.

Data policy: All data (real-time and delayed mode) are freely available without restriction.


ATLAS data are internally recorded and transmitted from buoy to shore via Service Argos in real-time. Service

Argos places most real-time data on the Global Telecommunications System (GTS). ADCP data are internally recorded only. Data are freely available on the World Wide Web without restriction in near-real time (delay of one day) and in delayed mode after moorings are recovered and data are post-processed (See http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/ ). Extensive metadata are available from TAO web pages, data reports, and from the data files themselves.

The 3-hour carbon measurements are transmitted daily via Iridium and posted to the WWW. Final calibrated data are submitted to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center and are freely available within 6 months of recovery.


The TAO/TRITON array is part of the ENSO Observing System for improved detection, understanding and prediction of ENSO warm and cold events. ENSO is the most pronounced year-to-year fluctuation on the planet, with impacts measured in the billions of dollars and thousands of lives worldwide. It is predictable with significant skill at lead times of 6-9 months. TAO/TRITON data users include the research community, the weather and climate forecasting communities, the climate assessments community, policy makers, and the general public.


TAO/TRITON is a component of the ENSO Observing System, which in turn is an initial contribution to the Global

Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). It is also a contribution to the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). The existing and planned carbon observations are a key element of the U.S. Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Program (OCCC) as well as the international Integrated

Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER) and Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere (SOLAS) programs.


TAO Project Director: Michael J. McPhaden, NOAA/PMEL ( michael.j.mcphaden@noaa.gov

)

TAO Operations and Data: H. Paul Freitag ( Paul.Freitag@noaa.gov

)

Carbon contact: Christopher L. Sabine ( chris.sabine@noaa.gov

)



TAO Project information: www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/

Carbon information: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/moorings/

Compiled / updated by: Michael J. McPhaden (March 2005)

Figure 1: An ATLAS mooring instrumented for surface flux measurements during the four year (1999-2003)

Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes (EPIC) along the 95°W. The NOAA ship Ka’imimoana is in the background.

Figure 2: Temperatures (top) and zonal velocities (bottom) for the 25year period 1980-2005 at 0°, 110°W.

Velocity data from ADCP moorings are internally recorded only, so data from late 2004 onwards are not yet available.

Site: PMEL pCO

2

on TAO/TRITON mooring at 0°, 125°W

Position: 0°, 125°W

Categories: operating; observatory; biogeochemical measurements.

Safety distance for ship operations:

Two nautical miles. See http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/taobuoy.html




In addition to the four proposed observatory sites on the equator at 110°W, 140°W, 170°W, and 165°E, PMEL


has deployed a surface pCO

2

system on the equator at 125°W to better characterize the seasonal and interannual variability in carbon fluxes in the Equatorial Pacific.



Variables measured:

 winds, air temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, shortwave radiation, sea surface temperature, ocean temperatures to 500 m (10 depths), and sea surface salinity

 all data collected and stored internally at 10-minute sample rates except for rainfall (1 minute), shortwave radiation (2 minutes)

 data also transmitted in real-time as daily averages and a few spot hourly values



Surface water and atmospheric pCO



The first pCO

2

2

measurements are being made every 3 hours at this site.

system was deployed at 140°W in May 2004


Upwelling in the equatorial Pacific leads to enhanced productivity and degassing of CO

2

across a region ranging from the coast of South America to past the International Date Line. The vast area affected makes this region a significant contributor to global biogeochemical cycles. The El Niño-La Niña cycle results in significant interannual variability in CO

2

fluxes that are still not fully understood. The pCO

2

measurements in several key locations will allow a better characterization of the seasonal and interannual variability in CO

2

fluxes in this region.


PMEL ATLAS moorings are deployed between 95°W and 165°E, JAMSTEC TRITON moorings at and west of

156°E. P.I. for the 125°W site is Michael McPhaden. The lead P.I. for the pCO

2

systems is Christopher Sabine.

Status:

TAO/TRITON is presently funded primarily by NOAA in the U.S. and by JAMSTEC in Japan. PCO

2

measurements are funded by NOAA’s Office of Climate Observations. The array will be maintained for the foreseeable future.

Technology:

The basic technology is used is the ATLAS mooring which measures meteorological and physical oceanographic data to depths of 500 m (see http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/mooring.shtml

). The pCO

2

measurements are

LiCor based infrared detection systems mounted in the surface buoy with an equilibrator for surface water pCO

2 measurements. Surface ocean and atmospheric carbon measurements are made every 3 hours.

Data policy:

All data (real-time and delayed mode) are freely available without restriction.


ATLAS data are internally recorded and transmitted from buoy to shore via Service Argos in real-time. Service

Argos places most real-time data on the Global Telecommunications System (GTS). Data are freely available on the

World Wide Web without restriction in near-real time (delay of one day) and in delayed mode after moorings are recovered and data are post-processed (See http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/ ). Extensive metadata are available from

TAO web pages, data reports, and from the data files themselves. The 3-hour carbon measurements are transmitted daily via Iridium and posted to the WWW. Final calibrated data are submitted to the Carbon Dioxide Information

Analysis Center and are freely available within 6 months of recovery.


The TAO/TRITON array is part of the ENSO Observing System for improved detection, understanding and prediction of ENSO warm and cold events. TAO/TRITON and carbon data users include the research community, the weather and climate forecasting communities, the climate assessments community, policy makers, and the general public.


TAO/TRITON is a component of the ENSO Observing System, which in turn is an initial contribution to the Global

Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). It is also a contribution to the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). The existing and planned carbon observations are a key element of the U.S. Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Program (OCCC) as well as the international Integrated

Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER) and Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere (SOLAS) programs.


TAO contacts: Michael J. McPhaden, NOAA/PMEL ( michael.j.mcphaden@noaa.gov

),

H. Paul Freitag ( Paul.Freitag@noaa.gov

)

Carbon contact: Christopher L. Sabine ( chris.sabine@noaa.gov

)


TAO information : www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/


Carbon information: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/moorings/

Compiled by: Christopher L. Sabine (March 2005)

Figure 2:

A close up of CO

2

system mounted in ATLAS buoy.

Figure 1: Deployment of TAO-CO2 mooring at 125°W.

Site: Equatorial Pacific Biogeochemical Moorings

Position: EP1 at 0° 155°W; EP2 at 2°S 170°W (two TAO sites in the equatorial Pacific)

Categories: Physical, meteorological and biochemical measurements.

Safety distance for ship operations: Two nautical miles.


The TAO equatorial moorings are augmented with pCO2 sensors, fluorometer and backscatter sensors and radiance and irradiance sensors at the surface and 20 m.


Ecosystem productivity and the biogeochemical cycling of elements in the Equatorial Pacific upwelling regions is regulated by physical processes that vary on daily to multidecadal time scales. Concurrent measurements of physics, chemistry and biology allow an estimate of changes in biological and chemical fluxes associated with the physical variability and for the development of predictive models. Satellite validation and algorithm development are also a goal.


MBARI collaborates with NOAA/PMEL on the TAO moorings. TAO contacts are Mike McPhaden and Chris

Sabine.

Status:

The TAO/TRITON moorings in this study are supported primarily by NOAA. Support from NASA has been used for bio-optical measurements.

Technology:

Instrument controllers developed at MBARI are used to collect and transmit instrument data.

Data policy:

Core data (real-time and delayed mode) are freely available without restriction. Core data are proven physical (T,S, u, v) and meteorological (windspeed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure) measurements. Experimental biological and chemical measurements are available after quality control.


Mooring data are internally recorded and transmitted from buoy to shore via Orbcomm in real-time. Data and metadata are available from the MBARI Shore Side Data System

(http://ssdspub.mbari.org:8080/access/siamRawDataStep1.jsp).

Contact Persons: Francisco Chavez ( chfr@mbari.org

)

Links / Web-sites: http://www.mbari.org/bog/Projects/EQPAC/Default.htm

Compiled by: Francisco Chavez (April 2005)


100

80

60

40

20

0

-20

-40

1998

1998 - 2001 Daily Averages at 170°W, 2°S

1999

2000

 pCO2

Temperature

2001

Figure 1:

Time series of delta pCO2 and temperature from a mooring in the equatorial Pacific at 2 S, 170 W.

Mooring, SeaWiFS & shipboard chlorophyll: 0° 155°W

30

28

26

24

1.500

1.250

Mooring

SeaWiFS

Ship CTD

1.000

0.750

0.500

0.250

0.000

Dec-96 May-97 Oct-97 Mar-98 Aug-98 Jan-99 Jun-99 Nov-99 Apr-00 Sep-00

Figure 2:

Comparison of moored, satellite and in situ estimates of chlorophyll from 0, 155 W in the equatorial Pacific

Site: Stratus Ocean Reference Station

Position: 20ºS 85ºW

Categories:



Air-Sea Flux reference site

 observatory: meteorological and physical

Safety distance for ship operations: 10 nautical miles




One surface mooring



Variables measured:



Surface meteorology (wind speed and direction, air temperature, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, relative humidity, incoming shortwave and longwave radiation, barometric pressure, and precipitation)


measured every minute



Temperature, salinity, velocity at fixed depths to 450 m, internally recorded at 5 to 15 minute intervals



First deployed October 2000; serviced roughly every 12 months


Obtain high quality surface meteorological and air-sea flux time series under the stratus cloud deck. Use these data, which are withheld from use in initializing global atmospheric models, to examine the performance of these models and to work with modeling centers, remote sensors, and those developing improved air-sea flux fields to develop improved surface meteorological and air-sea flux fields. The high quality surface mooring data identify bias and other errors in the model and satellite fields.

Use the surface forcing data together with the records of upper ocean variability to examine atmosphere-ocean coupling under the stratus deck, possible feedbacks between cool SSTs and the presence of stratus, and the processes that govern evolution of SST. These processes are both local and remote, as Rossby waves excited by coastal trapped waves which can be generated by equatorial waves associated with ENSO appear to play a role in offshore transport of cool water..


The Stratus Ocean Reference Station is maintained by Dr. Robert Weller and the Upper Ocean Processes Group of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA with support from the NOAA Climate

Observation Program. Collaborative work on the annual cruises is done by the Chilean Navy Hydrographic and

Oceanographic Service (SHOA).

Status:



The site is operational.



Support is planned for the foreseeable future as one of the global array of Ocean Reference Stations.

Technology:



Surface mooring.



Telemetry of hourly averaged surface meteorology via Service Argos.



Internally recording SST by floating SBE 39, a few cm deep; telemetered SST data comes from 1 m depth.



Oceanographic instruments are internally recording point instruments and one Doppler profiling current meter.

Data policy:



Real-time data: hourly surface meteorology available in near real time via website

( http://uop.whoi.edu/projects/Stratus/stratusdata.htm

)



Delayed mode data: Internally recorded surface meteorology, computed air-sea fluxes, and internally recorded oceanographic variables available via website after post-deployment calibration and quality control procedures




Satellite data collection system: Service ARGOS, plan transition to Iridium



Real-time data processing and distribution system: Meteorology withheld from GTS to ensure value as independent data set; available in ascii format via website



Metadata scheme : netCDF




Serves as a benchmark or reference station for motivating/validating improvements to numerical weather prediction and climate models and remote sensing products and for anchoring new, more accurate regional and global fields of air-sea fluxes.



Improves understanding of air-sea coupling and the processes that govern the evolution of SST in the stratus cloud deck region, which is of critical importance to climate.


Occupies one of the classic problem areas for atmospheric models – the stratus deck region- and provides benchmark time series for improving/validating atmsopheric models, for ground-truthing remotes sensing products, and for anchoring air-sea flux fields.


 for Project information : http://uop.whoi.edu/projects/Stratus/

 for data access : http://uop.whoi.edu/projects/Stratus/stratusdata.htm

Compiled/updated by: Robert A. Weller (February 2005)


Figure 1 (left):

Surface buoy deployed at the Stratus Ocean Reference

Station. Two redundant meteorological systems are used

Figure 2 (bottom): Comparison of monthly values of the four components of heat flux (from top: sensible, latent, new longwave, and net shortwave) from the buoy (IMET), models (ECMWF, NCEP1, NCEP2), and climatologies

(NCAR, SOC).

Site: South Pacific DEOS

Position: 35S 150W & 40S 115W

Remarks: planned; air-sea flux reference site, observatory; geophysical, physical, meteorological, biogeochemical


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