RV Dr. Bernardo Houssay Augment Ocean Observing Efforts in the South Atlantic Ocean

With the start of thermosalinograph (TSG) operations aboard the Argentine research vessel Dr. Bernardo Houssay in March, the TSG network led by scientists at AOML received an important stimulus in its effort to increase the amount of oceanographic data collected globally.

Currently commissioned as an oceanographic research vessel by the Argentine Coast Guard, the RV Dr. Bernardo Houssay is considered the oldest serving oceanographic research vessel in the world. The sailboat was previously known as the RV Atlantis and used by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as its main platform for oceanographic research from 1931 to 1964.

The TSG operations recently begun on the ship represent a collaborative effort between AOML and the Argentine Coast Guard, with AOML providing the needed equipment for real-time data collection and transmission, as well as data management and distribution services. Thermosalinographs are installed on research and commercial vessels to continuously measure sea surface salinity and sea surface temperature along a ship's track. TSG observations provide critical information to determine frontal regions and mixed layer depths.

The data received from the RV Dr. Bernardo Houssay will augment the number of observations in the South Atlantic Ocean, a severely undersampled region. Although the first data transmitted from the ship were from coastal areas offshore from Argentina, the vessel is expected to gather observations in open ocean waters. TSG data from the RV Dr. Bernardo Houssay will also be crucial for the calibration of the NASA Aquarius satellite mission.

AOML currently supports a TSG network comprised of seven commercial vessels and 10 ships in the NOAA fleet. All of the TSG data received at AOML from the network are quality controlled by real-time control tests and then distributed through NOAAʼs National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) and Coriolis, the French project for in situ operational oceanography.