AIC Report

1
AIC Report

• Argo TC
• AST 8
• Paris, IOC of UNESCO

2
Argo Status

• 2804 Active Floats
• 2643 on GTS
• 2743 at GDACs
• 115 (258) on grey list

3
Argo Status
2804
2400
1800
1200
When will we reach 3000 Floats ?- survival rate
maintained - Deployment rate 800 year gt 3000 by
the end of August
4
Argo Status

• Distribution not optimal (south hemisphere)

Source SIO/ USA
5
Network Age
6
Argo Status
7
Argo - Implementation
8
Argo - implementation
Argo
9
Argo Planning

• Argo is entering a new phase sustain the array
• Rational planning of deployment is necessary to
• Maintain an optimal coverage
• Make an optimal use of ship time
• Deployment opportunities
• Extend regional support
• Cooperate with other panels (e.g. DBCP)
• Monitor planned cruise (need international tech.
  coord. process)

10
Argo Planning

• Argo needs to organize efficiently its own
  planning
• Regional coordinators have recalled difficulties
  in gathering plans
• TC took step to facilitate their work,
• Establishing a centralized mechanism to update
  all plans
• Extending the regular notification process
• Draft mode added
• Text file loader added
• User Guide issued
• Many exchanges with float operators
• Providing new (R/T) products web pages, ASCII
  files, GIS data layers
• Monitoring network coverage, age, lifetime
• Missing spatial dispersion (ideas ?, volunteers
  ?)

11
Argo - Planning
Goal cross all data layers floats, drifters,
density, age, plans, SOOP lines, past/planned
cruises, etc
12
Cycle metadata
Need to cross check AIC meta-database GDAC
metadata files
13
Argo - Technology
14
Argo - Technology

• Float lifetime improving but not yet optimal

2004
2006
2003
2005
15
Argo - Technology
16
Argo - Technology
17
Argo - Technology
18
AIC - Background

• Established in Feb. 2001, Toulouse (France),
  within JCOMMOPS
• Became part of the Argo Project Office in 2003
• Staffed with 1 Technical Coordinator (IOC
  employee)
• Funded by Australia, Canada, France, UK and US
• Guidance by AST co-chairs and Director
• Close collaboration with IOC and WMO
  secretariats
• IOC Res. XX-6 implementation
• International Technical Coordination

19
TC Activities

• E. Charpentier moved to WMO in Feb. 2006
• replaced by Hester Viola (BOM, Australia) in July
  2006
• gt Impact on TC work load minimal
• Information system finalized
• New website released in Sept. 2006
• Float database management rationalized
• Weekly/Monthly reports to float operators and
  data managers
• Working time 1 day/week 1 day/month
• floats activity (4500 deployed, 2800 active) is
  rigorously monitored

20
TC Activities

• gt See report for daily, weekly, monthly,
  yearly, biennial and ad hoc tasks.
• Need technical (I.S development and maintenance)
  secretariat support
• 500 Argo emails sent in 2001
• 500 in 2002
• 1000 in 2003
• 1350 in 2004
• 1250 in 2005
• 1800 in 2006

21
2006 TC Missions

• AST7 Hyderabad
• Argo France meeting, Brest
• IOC/ABE-LOS 6 meeting, Malaga
• IOC Executive Council, Paris
• Visit of WMO, Geneva
• Visit Webb Research, Woods Hole
• DBCP meeting, San Diego
• Visit Scripps, Dan Diego
• ADMT 7, Tianjin
• Argo Workshop, Ghana
• Visit Ifremer / IRD / Meteo France, Brest
• EURO Argo, NAARC 2 meetings, Brest

22
Weekly/Monthly Report

• Report sent to argo-st argo-dm mailing lists
• Most of information is available on-line
• New tables added (e.g. metadata files check by
  Coriolis, GTS reports by MEDS)
• Latest versions with index, links working
• Reports stored on-line
• Will be gradually improved

23
AIC Data Management

• Assistance for data distribution, Argos RT data
  distribution monitoring
• New human resource at CLS
• Daily monitoring (GTS GDACs)
• reports to DACs to optimize distribution
• gt data missing on GTS/GDACs lt 1.5
• Visibility for all GDACs, DACs, ARCs products
• Send your URLs to AIC
• Argo Users Survey (see report)

24
Communication with users

• 1) Direct support to users
• Support Centre on AIC website (doc., simple form)
• Coriolis codac_at_ifremer.fr evaluated
• Generic ( operational) email set up
  support_at_argo.net
• Need relay when TC unavailable
• Monitored by AST/ADMT (request open/closed)
• FAQs gradually added
• 2) Feedback from data users
• No clear mechanism today
• See SOLO/FSI pb
• Website / email
• support_at_argo.net gt appropriate relay to float
  operator, data source, dm operator, etc.
• 3) Communication to all data users (pb., updates,
  )

25
AIC Information System
26
AIC I. S.

• Notification in advance is essential
• Law of the Sea requirements (IOC Res. XX-6)
• Monitoring by AIC (maps, stats, tables, etc)
• Deployment Planning
• Tracking of Iridium floats
• Interim systems developed
• AIC needs a single and independent access point

27
AIC I. S.

• JCOMMOPS web services monitored by CLS operators
• Procedures being tested
• Target 24/7 operational web services current 2007

28
New AIC website

• New hardware/software
• JCOMMOPS integrated design
• New products, statistics,
• Sections improved
• Ask TC for a demo

29
AIC www

• Audience gtgt target
• 11000 visits/monthsince 2004
• Users survey

Survey made before the release of the new site
30
AIC www Suggestions

• improve website speed and stability (ongoing)
• provide hard copies of content to developing
  countries (ongoing on Argo CDROM)
• add a real-time density coverage layer to the
  interactive map (being finalized)
• Add a web form to ask for WMO Ids (being
  discussed with WMO)
• Access to download publications (legal issues)
• More FAQs on trivial questions
• Better bibliography
• More visibility to oxygen pilot project
• Forum to answer and discuss questions/doubts
  about Argo data use ( gt argo_at_jcommops.org)
• AIC APO/AST websites gt integration ?
• Better design of www.argo.net

31
New AIC website

• Homepage
• Visibility for all participating countries
• Direct access to national statistics
• Argo Operations
• Implementation
• What is Argo
• Participating countries (deployment tables,
  stats, chronology, )
• New notification interface (more metadata
  gathered, planning table, netCDF loader being
  tested)
• Beached floats retrieval (list, safety guide)
• Monitoring
• Project Status statistics (see presentation on
  Argo Status)
• Statistics , tables for all contributions, direct
  access to interactive map
• Map Room
• New design for monthly maps
• Google Earth daily files
• Daily Ice edge for interactive map

32
New AIC website

• Instrumentation
• Survival charts for all float models
• More accurate survival charts can be done on
  demand
• Data
• Tables on data distribution status (GTS/GDACs)
  tuned
• DAC-less table added
• Support page to be added
• Links to DACs, RDACs reviewed/added
• Common JCOMMOPS sections
• Platform
• New search engine (many more criteria for query)
• Many more metadata added to result list
• Statistics available for any float group
• Complete float detail page netCDF metadata
  explorer developed
• Documents
• doc. press releases checked/added
• Contact
• Links updated

33
New AIC website

• AIC toolbar
• Shortcuts
• Search engine (Google AIC)
• Direct link to platform detail page
• Brief news
• Links GDACs, national websites,
• Ideas ?

34
Samples
35
Samples

36
AIC www monitoring


37
Argo International issues

• Law of the sea (IOC/ABE-LOS)
• Better and better thanks to international
  cooperation
• !!! Notifications please !!!
• Careful with new sensors or gliders
• Donor programmes
• Achieved Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina,
  Mauritius, Brazil, Chile
• Ongoing Ecuador, Dominican Rep. , Kenya,
  Morocco, Ivory Coast
• Caribbean Region, Philippines, Columbia
• Cape Verde, Sri Lanka

38
Argo International issues

• Beached floats
• 1-2
• Retrieval is a long process
• Solution send an expert if needed
• Good opportunity to strengthen regional support
• Promote Argo (and other ocean . Obs) to coastal
  people (GOOS ?)

39
AIC Communications

• Articles in French press (Thalassa magazine)
• Article for Mercator newsletter
• Float shown at national TV French TV ready for
  the 3000th
• NASA request movie of float deployment
• JCOMMOPS initiative with CNES, Argonautica

40
AIC Planning

• Address any issue with new website
• Highlight Argo project progresses (Products)
• Improve reporting
• finalize tools to assist deployment planning
• Set up the Support Centre
• Monitor progress in DM data processing
• Improve Argo portal, www.argo.net
• Finalize donor programmes with IOC/WMO
• Finalize retrieval procedure
• Establish new contacts (e.g. research cruises)
• Improve modestly Argo media coverage

41
Argo Information Centre

• Thank You
• Mathieu Belbeoch, Argo TC
• belbeoch_at_jcommops.org