Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project
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| Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project |
| Abbreviation | TAO |
| Established | 1990s |
| Headquarters | Pacific Ocean |
| Parent organization | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; International Research Institute for Climate and Society |
Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project is a sustained ocean-observing initiative focused on the tropical Pacific Ocean that supports research on El Niño–Southern Oscillation, climate variability, and ocean–atmosphere interactions. The project operates an array of moored buoys, collaborates with international agencies, and supplies real-time data used by operational centers, research institutions, and policy bodies. Its measurements underpin forecasts produced by institutions such as National Weather Service, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and Japan Meteorological Agency.
Overview
The array provides sustained in situ observations across the equatorial Pacific Ocean, supplying monthly and daily updates to centers including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. TAO data support modeling efforts at National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Washington. The network interfaces with satellite programs like TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Sentinel-6 and complements arrays operated by Argo (oceanography), Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction, and Pioneer Array.
History and Development
Origins trace to multinational responses to large-scale climate anomalies like the 1982–83 El Niño and policy interest from agencies including NOAA, United States Congress, National Science Foundation, and World Meteorological Organization. Early development involved partnerships with Naval Research Laboratory, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Venezuela), and regional institutions such as Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada and Universidad de Chile. The deployment phase engaged research vessels like R/V Melville and R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer and engineering teams from PMEL and private contractors. Over time TAO evolved alongside programs including Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere, Climate Variability and Predictability Program, and initiatives by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Objectives and Scientific Goals
Primary goals include monitoring equatorial sea surface temperature, subsurface thermocline structure, and surface fluxes to improve prediction of El Niño–Southern Oscillation and related impacts on agriculture, hydrology, public health, and disaster risk reduction through agencies like United Nations Development Programme and World Bank. The program aims to constrain coupled models used at NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Met Office Hadley Centre, Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, and ECMWF. Objectives also support process studies led by investigators at University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Columbia University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Miami, and University of California, San Diego.
Instrumentation and Observational Network
The array comprises moored buoys equipped with sensors for sea surface temperature, subsurface temperature, salinity, surface winds, and barometric pressure supplied by manufacturers and labs associated with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, PMEL, and JAMSTEC. Platforms include surface moorings, subsurface acoustic releases, and satellite telemetry components interoperable with networks such as Global Telecommunication System, Global Ocean Observing System, and Data Buoy Cooperation Panel. Instruments onboard have been calibrated against expendable bathythermograph records collected by ships like NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown and cross-validated with altimetry from TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason series.
Major Findings and Contributions
TAO observations were critical to documenting the anomalous warming during the 1997–98 El Niño, refining understanding of equatorial wave dynamics, and validating theories by researchers associated with Cane and Zebiak models, Philander, Bjerknes, and Wyrtki. Data have supported landmark studies published by groups at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Scripps, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Princeton, and ICRIER on teleconnections affecting North American climate, Indian monsoon, Australian drought, and fisheries collapses impacting organizations like National Marine Fisheries Service and Food and Agriculture Organization. TAO-derived datasets contributed to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments and operational seasonal forecasts used by NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Bureau of Meteorology (Australia), and Japan Meteorological Agency.
Data Management and Accessibility
Real-time and delayed-mode TAO data streams are distributed through platforms maintained by NOAA PMEL, Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment, and archives such as National Centers for Environmental Information and World Data Center. Data management aligns with community standards promoted by Group on Earth Observations, Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, and International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange. Researchers from University of Oxford, Imperial College London, French National Centre for Scientific Research, and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology routinely ingest TAO records into reanalyses produced by ECMWF Reanalysis, NOAA's NCEP Climate Forecast System, and academic studies.
Collaborations and Funding Sources
TAO represents collaboration among agencies including NOAA, NSF, NASA, JAMSTEC, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and regional partners in Peru, Ecuador, and Indonesia. Funding and logistical support have involved United States Agency for International Development, World Meteorological Organization, and multilateral science programs like International CLIVAR Project. Operational maintenance draws on vessel time from NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown and cooperative agreements with institutions such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography, PMEL, and AOML.