What is the ARGO system?
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 2,000m of the ocean providing 100,000 T/S profiles and reference velocity measurements per year.
How many Argo floats are in the ocean?
The Argo fleet consists of almost 4000 drifting “Argo floats” (as profiling floats used by the Argo program are often called) deployed worldwide.
What does an Argo float do?
Argo Floats are robots that float at different depths in the sea collecting information. They surface every 10 days and send their data about temperature and salinity to a satellite.
What does Argo stand for ocean?
The name Argo was chosen because the array of floats works in partnership with the Jason earth observing satellites that measure the shape of the ocean surface. (In Greek mythology Jason sailed on his ship the Argo in search of the golden fleece).
Who developed Argo?
Argo is launched from the Knorr during the 1985 Titanic expedition. Argo is an unmanned deep-towed undersea video camera sled developed by Dr. Robert Ballard through Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Deep Submergence Laboratory.
Where are ARGOs made?
Where are ARGOs made? The Argo is an amphibious ATV created in Kitchener, Ont., by Ontario Drive & Gear (ODG) in 1967. ODG designs and manufactures power transmissions and gears for the North American market.
How long do ARGO floats last?
3 – 5 years
The floats are designed to do about 150 cycles and so should last 3 – 5 years. The lifetime depends on the depth to which they profile and the surface water density in which the float is operating.
What problems did regular submersibles have?
There are two common voltage issues with submersible pumps: voltage spikes and imbalance.
How are ARGO floats powered?
Batteries – Modern Argo floats use lithium batteries to power the pumps, sensors, controller, and communication system. The battery power available is the main limitation on a float’s operational lifetime.
What is a CTD sensor?
A CTD — an acronym for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth — is the primary tool for determining essential physical properties of sea water.
How do profiling floats work?
The profiling float moves by changing its buoyancy, which mainly is achieved by a change in its overall volume. As for a glider, to descend, a valve opens allowing a certain volume of oil to be pumped from an outside flexible bladder into its interior. In the reverse process, the profiling float rises.
What ROV explored the Titanic?
Argo
Argo is an unmanned deep-towed undersea video camera sled developed by Dr. Robert Ballard through Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Deep Submergence Laboratory. Argo is most famous for its role in the discovery of the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1985.
How does the Argo program work in the ocean?
What is Argo? Argo is an international program that collects information from inside the ocean using a fleet of robotic instruments that drift with the ocean currents and move up and down between the surface and a mid-water level. Each instrument (float) spends almost all its life below the surface.
How long does the Argo float mission last?
The standard Argo float mission is a 10-day cycle, with most of the float’s time spent drifting along with deep ocean currents, followed by taking a series of measurements as it moves back up (profiles) to the ocean surface.
How does a CTD work on an Argo float?
Conductivity, Temperature, Depth sensor (CTD) – On the top of every Argo float is a CTD which measures temperature within an accuracy of 0.001 degree C , pressure (closely related to depth) within 0.1 dbar, and calculate salinity using conductivity, temperature, and pressure within 0.001 psu (practical salinity units).
How many Argo floats are there in the ocean?
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 2,000m of the ocean providing 100,000 T/S profiles and reference velocity measurements per year.