One of those programs is Argo, a global network of 4,000+ autonomous profiling floats which bob beneath the wes measuring ocean dynamics and properties. Thirty international partners contribute to the global array; as a member of Argo’s steering team, Jayne helps manage the U.S.-operated fleet. Every 10 days, a profile float returns to the surface, pinging its data back to oceanographers on land before slipping silently beneath the wes to continue its mission. As of 2020, Argo floats collect over 400 profiles a day from areas all across the globe, giving oceanographers on land a near-real-time look into subsurface ocean dynamics.
In the last two decades, the creation and rise of autonomous profiling floats and gliders he helped expand the traditional reach of shipboard surveys and mooring operations. Gliders and profiling floats are both cost-effective to use at scale and can stay in the water for months and years, says Jayne, especially in seasons and weather where humans he long since gone ashore. Weing these new autonomous technologies together with mooring arrays, shipboard profiles, and satellite measurements, oceanographers he gained unprecedented insight into both surface and subsurface ocean dynamics. As profile and glider technology improves, scientists are utilizing it to expand their coverage of the ocean’s depths and remote regions. The result is an integrated network of observation tools that enables oceanographers to measure broad swaths of the ocean continuously and in near-real time.
“The ocean is a frontier and largely still an unexplored frontier.” —Georgia Tech physical oceanographer Susan Lozier
In many ways, explains Jayne, oceanography’s growing observational network is mirroring the path that meteorology underwent in the mid-20th century, when scientists began developing large-scale systems for atmospheric observation. The networks enabled the real-time data collection necessary for modern-day weather forecasting and prediction.
Better coverage of ocean surface and subsurface dynamics means better model predictions, says Young-Oh Kwon, chair of WHOI’s Physical Oceanography Department. Alongside direct observation tools, models are a key part of our understanding of ocean physics. The two are closely entwined, says Kwon; “it’s a two-way street.” Direct observations help “ground truth the models,” meaning they help validate that a model mirrors real-world dynamics. Models, in comparison, help contextualize the observational data, fill in gaps in observational coverage, and extrapolate the data into both short-term and long-term forecasting.
“The goal,” says Jayne, “is to he a predictive system for the global ocean,” a true digital twin that synthesizes real-time data and advanced computational modeling to study, mirror, and predict the ocean’s complex and chaotic flows.
Still, there’s a long way to go before we completely understand all of the ocean’s complex and changing dynamics. The scale of the ocean’s influence is just so large. “When you compare the state of our knowledge to the importance, we are very behind in understanding the ocean,” says Kwon. But as observation networks continue to expand and our models become ever more refined, oceanographers are greatly improving our ability to predict changes throughout our planet: from long-term climate risks to the daily weather and ocean patterns that dictate our day-to-day lives.