Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project
The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) project is a major international effort that instrumented the entire tropical
The completed TAO array provides
TAO/TRITON Array
The TAO/TRITON array has been the dominant source of upper ocean temperature data near the equator over the past 25 years.
The array is a major component of global ocean and global climate observing systems including the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Observing System, the
The TAO/TRITON array readings and outputs are updated daily and are publicly available as data and graphic displays from the TAO project page where complementary data sets are also available.
TAO/TRITON Moorings
The TAO array consists of the Next Generation ATLAS (Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System) moorings. Prior to the Next Generation ATLAS moorings, the standard ATLAS moorings were used for the array. A notable improvement to the Next Generation ATLAS moorings were the inductively coupled sensors for subsurface data which simplified fabrication, and therefore, eliminated the themistor cable and its labor-intensive assembly and deployment procedures.[5] In a few locations, subsurface Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings are deployed in tandem with nearby ATLAS moorings. ADCPs measure velocity profiles in the upper 200–300 m of the water column and data are available only after the subsurface moorings are recovered. Mooring recoveries are scheduled on an annual basis. The TAO surface mooring consists of a fiberglass-over-foam toroid, an aluminum tower, and a stainless steel bridle with an overall height of 4.9 m when completely rigged.[6]
Between 2006 and 2008, the PMEL installed sea surface salinity (SSS) sensors on 55 ATLAS moorings to support NASA Aquaris and European Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) surface salinity satellite missions and climate research.[3]
The TRITON moorings consist of twelve conductivity and temperature sensors that are installed at depths of 1.5 m, 25 m, 50 m, 75 m, 100 m, 125 m, 150 m, 200 m, 250 m, 300 m, 500 m and 750 m.[7] A single current meter is at 10 m, and surface meteorological sensors are mounted on the tower of the mooring. Other sensors on TRITON moorings measure temperature, salinity, wind speed and direction, air temperature and relative humidity, short-wave radiation, and rainfall.[2]
Sampling
Near-real-time daily-averaged surface and subsurface data from ATLAS moorings are provided by the TAO project office. The Next Generation ATLAS moorings measures various data including wind velocity components, air temperature, relative humidity, rain rate, shortwave and longwave radiation, barometric pressure, sea surface and subsurface temperature and conductivity, and current velocity. Prior to the Next Generation ATLAS moorings, the Standard ATLAS moorings measured wind velocity components, air temperature, relative humidity, sea surface temperature and subsurface temperature.[8]
See also
- Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction
- Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Atlantic
References
- ^ McPhaden, MJ. 1995. The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array is Completed. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 76(5):739-741.
- ^ a b Ando, K and Y Kuroda. 2002. Two Modes of Salinity and Temperature Variation in the Surface Layer of the Pacific Warm Pool. Journal of Oceanography, 58:599-609.
- ^ a b c McPhaden MJ, Ando K, Bourlès B, Freitag HP, Lumpkin R, Masumoto Y, Murty VSN, Nobre P, Ravichandran M, Vialard J, Vousden D, and Yu W. 2009. The Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array, p. 21-25. In: Hall J, Harrison DE, and Stammer D (Eds), Proceedings of the OceanObs’ 09:Sustained Ocean Observations and Information for Society Conference (Vol. 2), Venice, Italy. ESA Publication WPP-306.
- ^ a b Committee on Assessment of Intraseasonal to Interannual Climate Prediction and Predictability, National Research Council. 2010. Assessment of Intraseasonal to Interannual Climate Prediction and Predictability. The National Academies Press: Washington, DC.
- ^ Milburn HB, McLain PD, and Meinig C. 1996. ATLAS Buoy--Reengineered for the Next Decade. Proceedings of IEEE / MTS Oceans '96, 698-702.
- ^ Teng, C. 2004. "Ocean Climate Observations from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array: Present and Future." NOAA National Data Buoy Center. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, U.S.A.
- ^ Ando A, Matsumoto T, Nagahama T, Ueki I, Takatsuki Y, and Kuroda Y. 2005. Drift Characteristics of a Moored Conductivity–Temperature–Depth Sensor and Correction of Salinity Data. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 22, 282–291.
- ^ PMEL, TAO Sampling