Global Argo Program
Argo is an important international programme, endorsed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) , that will benefit all nations. Since its inception in 1999 16 nations: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russia, Spain, UK and USA, and the European Commission have committed support towards building the Argo array.
The Argo programme
The management structure of Argo reflects its dual nature serving both basic oceanographic research and operational oceanography. The World Climate Research Programme's ( WCRP ) Climate Variability and Predictability Experiment ( CLIVAR ), through the CLIVAR Upper Ocean Panel, considered Argo at its April 1998 meeting and endorsed it as an important element of CLIVAR observations. CLIVAR aims to observe the climate system, including the ocean, well enough during a sustained period to understand and model climate-relevant ocean processes. Argo is the only global subsurface element of the observing system. As such it ties together many regional measurements and it enables interpretation of satellite remotely sensed surface fields such as sea level and wind stress. In January of 1998, the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment ( GODAE ) recognized Argo as fundamental to its requirement for global ocean observations in support of global data assimilating models. The Argo Network will provide data for GODAE's models as well as for assessment of model performance. It is a transition from research to operational oceanography. With this background, in July 1998 GODAE and the CLIVAR UOP agreed to form an Argo Science Team.
Argo is a CLIVAR and GODAE project
Argo is a project of (i) the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE, see scope of GODAE in Annex E) of the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate , and (ii) the Upper Ocean Panel of the Climate Variability and Predictability programme (CLIVAR):
• CLIVAR: Argo is formally endorsed by CLIVAR and falls within the scope of the CLIVAR Upper Ocean Panel (UOP). Within the climate research context set by CLIVAR and the operational estimation objectives of GODAE, the primary practical goal of Argo is to provide an enhanced real-time capability for measurement of temperature and salinity through the upper 2000 m of the ocean and contribute to a global description of the seasonal cycle and inter-annual variability of the upper ocean thermohaline circulation.
• GODAE: Argo is the primary in situ data-gathering component of GODAE to contribute to short-term ocean forecasting, to provide boundary conditions for forecasting in coastal areas, and to contribute to seasonal in inter-annual atmospheric forecasts. GODAE will meet the pressing need for: (a) a vastly improved co-operation and integration of remote and in situ data streams, and (b) improved ocean models and data assimilation techniques to exploit this information, to meet various kinds of user's requirements, such as the stated requirements of the Conference of Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change for observational data to support its needs for monitoring and assessing climate change and its impacts
Argo will therefore provide a quantitative description of the evolving state of the upper ocean and the patterns of ocean climate variability, including heat and freshwater storage and transport. The data will enhance the value of the Jason altimeter through measurement of subsurface vertical structure (T(z), S(z)) and reference velocity, with sufficient coverage and resolution for interpretation of altimetric sea surface height variability. Argo data will be used for initialization of ocean and coupled forecast models, data assimilation and dynamical model testing. A primary focus of Argo is seasonal to decadal climate variability and predictability, but a wide range of applications for high-quality global ocean analyses is anticipated.
Argo project presents an excellent opportunity to improve ocean and climate forecasting, with consequent benefits for the protection of life and property and effective planning for the effects of seasonal to inter-annual climate variability.
Relationship to GOOS and GCOS
CLIVAR is a major project of the World Climate Reserarch Programme (WCRP). WRCP is sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and the International Council for Science (ICSU).
GODAE is a project of OOPC. OOPC is a scientific and technical advisory panel of both the Global Ocean Observing System ( GOOS ), and the Global Climate Observing System ( GCOS ). OOPC reports to the GOOS Steering Committee (GSC) and to the GCOS Steering Committee (GCOS SC).
GSC, among other things is responsible for all the scientific and technical aspects of GOOS design, undertakes appropriate activities to support the design process, and provides oversight of the implementation process, on the basis of the scientific and technical design, and of intergovernmental requirements and resources as expressed through the Intergovernmental Committee for GOOS (I-GOOS).
GCOS is directed by a Steering Committee which provides guidance, coordination and oversight to the programme. Five panels, reporting to the Steering Committee, have been established to prepare specific programme elements (atmosphere, ocean, land, space-based observations, data and information management) and to make recommendations for implementation. OOPC is one of those Panels.
As a OOPC project, and considering its scale, Argo is a major pilot project of GOOS and GCOS. Both GOOS and GCOS are supported by WMO, IOC, ICSU, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).