The Global Ocean Observing System Center at AOML is dedicated to managing and coordinating the Operational Data collection activities within the Physical Oceanography Division as well as many other United States groups.
The Ship of Opportunity Program (SOOP) is a component of the GOOS center whose mission is to provide a global platform to deploy and operate oceanographic instrumentation on cargo ships or research vessels. [brochure]
Low Density and Frequently Repeated XBT Lines
The AOML GOOS Center operates a global XBT Program that utilizes approximately 30 ships of the Ship of Opportunity Program (SOOP) to monitor 6 transects in the Pacific and 5 transects in the Atlantic in frequently repeated mode. Go
High Density XBT Lines
The objectives of the 5 high density lines in the Atlantic are to measure the upper ocean thermal structure in the center of the subtropical gyre, to investigate the meridional structure of the subtropical gyre and Gulf Stream, and to characterize both the mean and the time-dependent upper ocean properties of the tropical portion of the Meridional Overturning Circulation and of the shallow Subtropical Cell in the Tropical Atlantic. Go
Thermosalinograph
Thermosalinographs (TSGs) are instruments mounted close to the water intake of research and cargo ships and that continuously measure the sea surface salinity and temperature along the track of the ship. AOML currently operates several TSG transects from three ships of the SOOP.. Go
ARGO Center
Argo is an international program that calls for the deployment of 3,000 free drifting profiling floats, distributed over the global oceans, which will measure the temperature and salinity in the upper 1,000 to 2,000 m of the ocean providing 100,000 T/S profiles and reference velocity measurements per year. This will allow continuous monitoring of the climate state of the ocean, with all data made publicly available within hours of collection. Go
Western Boundary Time Series
This project consists of two components to monitor the western boundary currents in the subtropical Atlantic: the Florida Current transport measurements using a submarine telephone cable plus calibration cruises and the Deep Western Boundary Current transport and property measurements using dedicated research ship time and moorings. Go
Global Drifter Program
AOML's contribution to the Global Drifter Program consists of the Drifter Operations Center (DOC) and the Drifter Data Assembly Center (DAC). The DOC manages global drifter deployments, using research and Volunteer Observing ships and aircraft. The DAC verifies that the drifters are operational, distributes the data to meteorological services via the GTS, assembles, quality controls and makes the data available on the web, and offers drifter-derived products. Go
SEAS - AMVER/SEAS
AMVER/SEAS is a real–time ship and environmental data acquisition and transmission system. The SEAS 2K software acquires atmospheric, oceanographic data and transmits the data real-time for addition to scientific and operational databases. SEAS 2K is employed on ships of the Ship Of Opportunity Program (SOOP), and on NOAA, UNOLS, and Coast Guard Vessels. The AMVER software creates a series of reports which describe point of departure, route and arrival and include ships in a real-time search and rescue database. Go