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62 | SOLUTIONS FOR THE OCEAN / INNOVATIONS

Over the last 50 years, the ocean absorbed over 95% of the total heat KEYFACT
added to the climate system (source: Levitus et al, 2005)

OCEAN RESEARCH
One Argo

takes the ocean’s pulse

Fast growing, Argo’s fleet of underwater robots is revolutionising ocean and

climate research. This global network’s latest innovations are increasingly
documenting the alarming evolution of a fast-changing ocean.

During the week dedicated to the ocean in the Princi- 1 PROGRAMME, 3 MISSIONS
pality, thirty or so international experts involved in the
steering committee of the One Argo programme met Complementary, One Argo’s three missions are de-
in the offices of the International Hydrographic Orga- ployed on a large scale and give an increasingly accu-
nisation (IHO) for an intense 3-day workshop. This rate assessment of the way in which the ocean beyond
year, high-level scientists and engineers involved in depths of 2 kilometres are warming up, but also the
the project chose Monaco for their annual meeting to disturbances to ocean currents, changes to the water
review and coordinate their work to establish a speci- cycle, rising sea levels and the evolution of ocean cha-
fic ocean monitoring system. racteristics, such as acidification and deoxygenation,
as well as its ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO ).
The session led to a number of positive developments 2
in the deployment of the global ocean observatory
which presents a picture of the ocean consumed by
increased heat at its deepest levels. After a downturn
due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, this initiative
is now continuing to gain momentum, supported by
the technological advances presented by the pro- PROFILE
ject’s industrial partners.

The workshop also included a talk for the general Initiated in 2000, the international programme One Argo
public, as well as a half day of collaborative science collects information on the High Seas using a fleet of robotic
where promoters of One Argo interacted with their instruments that drift with the ocean currents at a depth of
colleagues in charge of scientific programmes that re- 1,000 metres and move up and down in the water column,
cently obtained the “United Nations Decade of Ocean between the surface and depths of 6 kilometres.
Science for Sustainable Development” label.