Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array

Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array
Name	Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array
Established	1990s
Location	Pacific Ocean
Type	Oceanographic observing system

Contents

Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array

Overview

The array provides in situ time series of upper-ocean temperature, currents, and surface fluxes to constrain coupled models used by International Research Institute for Climate and Society, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Institute of Oceanography (University of Hawaiʻi), and regional services in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It complements satellite missions such as TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, Jason-3, Sentinel-3, Aqua (satellite), and Landsat. Data from the array are assimilated into reanalysis products produced by European Space Agency collaborations and global datasets like World Ocean Atlas.

The initiative traces conceptual origins to research programs at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and proposals drafted during workshops convened by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Office of Naval Research funding panels in the late 1980s. Formalization occurred through multinational agreements involving United States, Japan, France, Australia, Germany, and Chile agencies, with coordination by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and World Meteorological Organization. Early pilot arrays were tested alongside experiments such as TOGA and WOCE and informed designs used by Argo and Global Drifter Program. Major milestones include deployments coordinated with NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and instrument development at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The array comprises moored buoys, subsurface temperature recorders, current meters, wind sensors, and air–sea flux packages developed by teams at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, JAMSTEC, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and private firms collaborating with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Typical moorings carry instruments from manufacturers and labs such as Sea-Bird Electronics, Met Office Hadley Centre calibrations, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory sensors, and pressure systems used by Institute of Ocean Sciences (Canada). Instrument suites measure sea surface temperature, subsurface thermocline structure, zonal currents linked to Equatorial Undercurrent, and surface fluxes relevant to El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Engineering and quality control standards reference protocols from Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and data formats compatible with Global Telecommunication System and Data Buoy Cooperation Panel.

Deployment operations involve research vessels affiliated with NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown, RV Revelle, RV Melville, RRS James Cook, and regional fleets from JAMSTEC and CSIRO. Logistics coordinate port calls in Honolulu, Papeete, Lima, Guayaquil, and Suva, with support from national agencies including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Instituto del Mar del Perú, and Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú. Maintenance cruises address biofouling, instrument drift, and mooring failures documented in reports by Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Emergency responses have relied on assets like NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette and international salvage partnerships coordinated through Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

Real-time and delayed-mode data streams feed centers including European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Japan Meteorological Agency, and research groups at National Center for Atmospheric Research, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Applications span seasonal forecasting of El Niño, seasonal fisheries advisories used by Peruvian Navy, drought monitoring supporting Food and Agriculture Organization, and coupled model validation for projects like CMIP and IPCC assessments. Datasets are integrated with satellite retrievals from Aqua (satellite), Jason-3, and scatterometer missions such as ASCAT to improve ocean state estimates in operational products produced by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and European Union Copernicus Programme.

The array has yielded seminal insights into thermocline dynamics, equatorial wave propagation, and air–sea interactions that underpin El Niño–Southern Oscillation variability, cited in studies by teams at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and University of Washington. Its long-term records contributed to improved predictions in seasonal forecasting centers such as International Research Institute for Climate and Society and operational improvements at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Japan Meteorological Agency. The observing system influenced design of later networks including Argo and the Global Ocean Observing System, and has been referenced in international assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and policy discussions at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.