Скачать или смотреть SOCCOM brings a fleet of robotic floats to the Southern Ocean to monitor ocean health

Research ships have long served as the backbone of oceanography. But they are costly and it’s very difficult to collect data year round. The Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling Project, or SOCCOM, was established with an eye to a future where a fleet of robotic floats could be deployed to monitor ocean health at all times of the year, and in all kinds of conditions—something not possible by scientists on boats—at a fraction of the cost and carbon footprint.

Floats equipped with biogeochemical sensors make it possible to measure not only salinity and temperature, but also factors linked to biology… like pH, oxygen, nutrients and chlorophyll. Floats collect these ocean chemistry and biology observations between the surface and 2,000 meters deep. The data are transmitted back to shore via satellite and made freely available, in near real-time, so they can be used by researchers, educators, and policymakers around the world.

Ultimately, the combination of research ships, autonomous floats and satellite observations will transform our ability to observe and understand the ocean. That information will allow us to predict how the ocean will moderate climate change as well as how climate change will impact the ocean.

Learn more about the three themes of SOCCOM and the scientists involved: http://soccom.princeton.edu/

Animation: David Fierstein
Narrator: Heidi Cullen