Projects - Euro-Argo
Euro-Argo
Euro-Argo is the European contribution to the international Argo programme, which encompasses the deployment of currently over 3000 floats worldwide. Floats are autonomously operating bouys. Similar to registering balloons, they measure temperature and salinity of the sea water. For nine days, they drift with the current, sinking from the sea surface to depths of 2000 metres, permanenly collecting data. On day ten, they resurface to transmit their data to a satellite. 
Euro-Argo aims at expanding the European fleet to 800 floats in 2010, and to maintain that number permanenty. As every float has a life expectancy of approx. four years, the European partners will need to deploy around 250 new floats each year. This would constitute an important contribution to international climate and environmental research.
The German partners contribute mainly in the scope of their key research areas: The IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel focusses on the tropical Atlantic, the Centre for Marine and Climate Research in Hamburg is working in subarctic seas and the Alfred-Wegener-Institute in Bremerhaven is responsible for the Polar Seas and the Weddel Sea. Furthermore, the KDM partners are working on improving the float technology: They develop new sensors or provide the floats with the ability to locate ice shields.
Animation of the float cycle (Copyright: Argo)
Website of the Euro-Argo Project
News
02.02.2012
Verleihung des Briese-Preises für Meeresforschung 2011 am Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde weiter
23.01.2012
Unsere Blaue Zukunft Das Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung informiert Europa-Politiker mit einer Veranstaltung in Brüssel am 24.1.2012 weiter
28.11.2011
Die Leibniz-Gemeinschaft hat Frau Prof. Dr. Hildegard Westphal, Direktorin des Leibniz-Zentrums für Marine Tropenökologie, als dritte Vizepräsidentin gewählt Wir gratulieren! weiter
18.10.2011
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bathmann took over as Director of the Leibniz Institute for
Baltic Sea Research in Warnemünde (IOW). Polar scientist takes charge at the IOW weiter
11.05.2011
KDM publishes brochure on Ocean Observatories in the Atlantic-Arctic Ocean weiter
06.02.2011
KDM lunch briefing in the European Parliament on 2.2.2011 on „Sustainable use and development of marine resources".
- KDM launches initiative for an ocean-oriented Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) at the European Instititute for Innovation and Technoloy (EIT) -
weiter
05.01.2010
Opening of the new KDM Office in Brussels on 13 January weiter
