Ship of Opportunity Program (SOOP)
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Collecting Upper Ocean Measurements through International Partnerships
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What We Do
Ships at sea rely on real-time, accurate, and detailed marine forecasts to operate safely and efficiently. These forecasts depend heavily on continuous and precise ocean observations. Commercial mariners play a crucial role in collecting this data by partnering with scientists to equip their vessels with instruments that measure critical atmospheric and oceanic conditions. One major initiative supporting this effort is the Ship of Opportunity Program (SOOP), a global partnership between the maritime industry and NOAA. The mission is to provide a global platform to deploy and operate oceanographic instrumentation from research vessels and cargo ships. This program is administered by the UN World Meteorological Organization and the International Oceanographic Commission, reinforcing its international scope and importance. The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory manages this program for NOAA.
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Who We Are
pCO2 Team
| Rik Wanninkhof, Ph.D.
Senior Technical Scientist
| Denis Pierrot, Ph.D.
Oceanographer
| Leticia Barbero, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
| Katelyn Schockman, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
| Evan Josza
Technician
| Patrick Mears
Technician
XBT Team
| Shenfu Dong, Ph.D.
Science Lead for XBT
| Marlos Goes, Ph.D.
Ship Rider and Technician
| Zach Barton
Ship Logistics
| Pedro Peña, Ph.D.
Lead Engineer
| Christopher Garcia
Ship Rider
| Christian Saiz
Ship Rider
Underway Ships of Opportunity pCO2 (SOOP-CO2)
The AOML-led Ships of Opportunity – Carbon Dioxide (SOOP-CO2) consortium has collected ocean carbon data from automated instruments on ships since 2005 and is funded by NOAA’s Ocean Observation and Monitoring Division of the Climate Program Office. The SOOP-CO2 program has greatly enhanced the quantity and quality of surface carbon dioxide measurements worldwide and provides fundamental data for the Global Carbon Budget and for numerous studies that use global climate models for satellite and sensor validations.
The global ocean takes up approximately one quarter of the anthropogenic CO2 released each year but the patterns of uptake and release of CO2 by the ocean vary in time and space. To quantify the fluxes on seasonal and regional scales, NOAA operates the largest automated measurement campaign of surface water CO2 from ships of opportunity in the world (SOOP-CO2). The objectives of this sustained effort are:
- Produce CO2 data at sufficient accuracy to constrain sea-air CO2 fluxes to 0.2 Pg C yr-1.
- Facilitate capacity building through instrumentation and data reduction guidance to attain a global network of SOOP-CO2.
- Create CO2 flux maps and related data products.
Key Impacts
Ships of Opportunity (SOOP-CO2) is the largest collector of global carbon dioxide measurements from surface seawater. The data from our group is provided to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information for incorporation in the global dataset. Furthermore, we provide our data to the Surface Ocean Carbon Atlas (www.socat.info), a group endorsed by the International Carbon Coordination project (www.ioccp.org), and work with this effort to provide expert input on instrumentation and data acquisition. We have also helped to design and develop a state-of-the art automated surface water CO2 instrument produced by General Oceanics, Inc. which is used worldwide.
SOOP pCO2 Data
Explore Ships of Opportunity data being provided by the ships we partner with
Completed Collection by Ship:
Atlantis A22 2012
Baldrige 1991-1996
Barcelona Express 2010-2013
Cape Hatteras 2006
Celtic Explorer MAP 2006
Explorer of the Seas 2002-2015
F.G.Walton Smith 2005
Knorr 1996-1997, 2008
Las Cuevas 2009-2012
Melville P6 2010
Polar Star 2001-2002
Revelle I8S 2007
Revelle I9N 2007
Revelle I6S 2008
Revelle 2016
Reykjafoss 2013
Skogafoss (V2EF3) 2014-2016
Skogafoss (V2XM) 2003-2007
Xuelong 2007-2008
National Geographic Islander II Underway Data and Research (Galapagos)
This web site provides access to the fugacity of CO2 (fCO2) data collected on this ship. Note, fCO2 is the partial pressure pCO2 corrected for non-ideality of the CO2 gas; they are numerically similar (fCO2 ≃ 0.995 pCO2).
The processed data are organized by year and by cruise. For each cruise, the color coded fCO2 values are plotted along the ship’s cruise track on a chart. Next to each chart are links to the comma-delimited data file and the associated Readme file.
About the National Geographic Islander II
The National Geographic Islander II is one of the latest additions to the Lindblad Expeditions fleet of 17 ships. It is a 48-passenger ship which sails in the Galapagos year-round. The vessel features an impressive observation deck and a high-tech science hub, thus bringing the passengers a unique experience where they get to see science being done in real-time in addition to observing the environment.
(Click the image to swipe)
In August of 2023, in collaboration with Dr. Nicolas Cassar of Duke University, our group installed one of our autonomous instruments on this vessel to measure CO2 in the surface water. An air line was also installed to measure the overlaying atmosphere above it. In addition, the system incorporates an Aaderaa Optode which measures dissolved oxygen. The region is extremely biologically active and we expect our data to reflect that. With additional carbonate parameters measurements, it will also give us an indication of the vulnerability of the region to ocean acidification.
Ship of Opportunity Program Reports
Data Gathering: Ocean Carbon Cycle – Sea-Air CO2 Fluxes
Sea-air flux = k K0 △pCO2
Partners
Funding Sources and Partners
Ship of Opportunity Program – XBT
Expendable Bathythermographs (XBTs) are temperature probes that provide vital observations of upper ocean heat content and surface currents, key drivers of sea surface temperature variability. Sea surface temperature plays a crucial role in the formation and positioning of high and low atmospheric pressure systems, making XBT data essential for accurate weather and climate forecasting. There are two types of XBT systems: (1) standard XBTs, which can be deployed automatically using a launcher. And (2) High-Density XBTs, which provides more frequent observations (one data point every 2 minutes) and requires the temporary installation of an automatic launching system on the ship’s stern railing. This setup does not interfere with normal ship operations, and may involve a scientist technician onboard to manage deployments. Installation typically takes just a few hours and must be done while the vessel is at a U.S. port to facilitate equipment loading.
All XBT observations are transmitted in real time and made available to global data centers for use in weather and climate models and forecasting systems. AOML currently maintains 11 high-density transects in the Atlantic Ocean. Other institutions operate similar transects in the Pacific and Indian Oceans with support from AOML.
XBT Hand launcher
XBT Autolauncher
XBT Data
Transect Data
XBT data along the fixed transects of the global XBT network can be found through the institutions that lead the specific transect operations.
Global Data
Delayed-time, quality controlled data, is also delivered globally by NOAA/NESDIS through its World Ocean Data project.
Ancillary Projects
In addition to the observations listed above, SOOP supports other observational platforms, including the deployment of drifters and profiling floats.
Argo Program
SOOP aids in the worldwide effort to deploy Argo Floats around the globe. Argo profiling floats provide continuous monitoring of ocean climate conditions and are used as indicators of potential extreme weather. These autonomous robotic instruments measure temperature, salinity, and, in some cases, biogeochemical variables from the ocean surface to depths of 2,000 to 6,000 meters. About every 10 days, they ascend to the surface to transmit their data via satellite, before descending into the depths again. The global array collects roughly 170,000 profiles each year, and deployment does not require scientists onboard.
Global Drifter Program
Global drifters measure measure sea surface temperature and near surface currents and are used in forecasts and for climate monitoring and prediction. A drifter has two parts- a buoy that collects and transmits data to satellites, and a 15-meters drogue. After deployment the drogue extends to measure currents. Some drifters also include sea level pressure, wind speed, direction, and salinity sensors. The drifters are packaged for easy deployment. A crew member simply removes the plastic wrap and tosses the drifter over the side of the ship with it’s paper wrappings. The paper dissolves, the drogue automatically opens, and the drifter begins transmitting data to passing satellites.
