1. Discussion issues from the Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel for the 4th Session of the JCOMM OCG April 18-20, 2011 Hobart, Australia

2. Global Tropical Moored Buoy Arrays
A coordinated, sustained, multi-national effort to develop and implement moored buoy observing systems for climate research and forecasting throughout the global tropics.
Still contributed by research agencies based on research fund
A contribution to GOOS, GCOS, and GEOSS

3. Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array
Moorings :
Tropical moorings with surface meteorological and sub-surface oceanographic sensors measuring:
Surface; wind, air temperature, relative humidity, SST and SSS on all surface moorings. Air pressure, precipitation, short wave radiation, long wave radiation on some surface moorings.
Sub-surface; temperature profiles down to 500m on all surface moorings. Salinity profiles down to 120m on some surface moorings. Current velocity on some moorings.
Plan
Tropical Pacific Ocean: 72 moorings (all are in place)
Tropical Atlantic Ocean: 18 moorings (all are in place)
Tropical Indian Ocean: 46 moorings (number of site will increase to 30-32)

4. Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array
Participants:
TAO/TRITON: NOAA/NDBC,PMEL,JAMSTEC
Now, BPPT, KORDI and IOCAS are showing interest to participate
PIRATA: PMEL, NOAA/AOML, IRD, Meteo-France, INPE, DHN
RAMA: PMEL, JAMSTEC, INCOIS, NIO, IRD, BPPT, DKP, FIO, ASCLME, UTAS
Meetings:
1) CLIVAR/GOOS Indian Ocean Panel 7th Session (12-16 July 2010, Perth)
2) TIP Workshop, 26 September 2010, Oban UK
3) PIRATA-16, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, March 2011
Cruises in 2011
TAO/TRITON: NDBC 8 cruises, JAMSTEC 1 cruise
PIRATA: AOML/PMEL 1 cruise, IRD 1 cruise, INPE 1 cruise
RAMA: PMEL/INCOIS 3 cruises, JAMSTEC 1 cruise, NIO 1 cruise, PMEL/BPPT 2 cruises, FIO/BPPT 1 cruise, PMEL/ASCLME 1 cruise

5. Tenth Session of the Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel (TIP-10)
Purpose of meeting:
To review measurement standards for tropical moored buoy programs;
To update the status of moored buoy array developments in the tropical Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans;
To recommend actions to strengthen international cooperation
21 participants from 8 nations
TIP Workshop
Oban, UK
26 September 2010

6. ATLAS

7. Tropical Moored Buoy Systems
PMEL “T-Flex”
TIP-10 Purpose #1: To review standards for tropical moored buoy systems and measurements
“Conehead”
Mini-TRITON
“ATLAS-B”
NDBC “ATLAS Refresh”
TRITON
The Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel is sponsored by CLIVAR to promote an integrated approach to moored buoy observations of the climate system in the tropics, through development of common calibration standards, sampling, and reporting procedures, and through co-ordination with other CLIVAR, GOOS, and GCOS panels involved with observing system maintenance and development.
The primary motivation for this workshop is the recent and planned introduction of several new types of mooring systems into the tropical moored buoy arrays and the need to ensure consistent measurement standards across platforms.
PMEL plans to deploy a new 2 T-Flex moorings (updated ATLAS systems) on the Baruna Jaya in early They will be at 8S, 100E and 12S, 95E. The 8S, 100E will be side by side with the Chinese ATLAS for comparison. Theproposed cruise track is shown on the previous slide.
ATLAS
Chinese “ATLAS”

8. Tenth Session of the Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel (TIP-10)
Outcome #1: Establish tropical moored buoy technical coordination group with Paul Freitag (PMEL) as lead coordinator
Outcome #2: Array Expansion Protocols (Following PIRATA)
Interested group submits proposal to “SSG” (scientific rationale, technical feasibility, system compatibility, data policy)
Proposal sent out to three reviewers
Proposal revised & resubmitted to “SSG”
Successful projects commissioned for three year pilot phase
Successful pilot leads to permanent inclusion into array
IOGOOS/CLIVAR/IOP will be “SSG” for RAMA
CLIVAR/POP will be “SSG” for TAO/TRITON

9. Dr. Dongchull Jeon, KORDI/Korea
5400 m M3 M1 M2
(10oN, 152oE)
Dr. Dongchull Jeon, KORDI/Korea

10. Enhancement of measurements on buoy
Meteo-France provided barometers in 2009 to initiate and maintain surface pressure measurements at 4 existing ATLAS sites in RAMA and 1 PIRATA site.
Biogeochemical measurements are made from several TAO moorings by PMEL and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and from one TRITON site by JAMSTEC, and on several PIRATA buoys by LOCEAN and the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR). Some of these are OceanSITES.
The first biogeochemical instrumentation in RAMA by the University of Tasmania was placed on a mooring in May 2010.
Plans for additional measurements on other RAMA moorings are being proposed within the context of the Sustained Indian Ocean Biogeochemical and Ecosystem Research Program (SIBER).
Deployment of a similar system on an ATLAS mooring in the Pacific from a NOAA ship

11. Vandalism Issue
Damage to buoys and theft of instrumentation continues to be a problem, especially at sites near areas of intense fishing activity such as the eastern equatorial Pacific, the Gulf of Guinea and equatorial Indian Ocean. Some ATLAS and TRITON moorings in RAMA have been modified to inhibit vandals from boarding the buoy, but an adequate method of inhibiting vandalism upon surface met sensors has not yet been found.
Iron-Mask
Conehead

12. Piracy and Security Issues in Indian Ocean RAMA array
Acts of piracy in the Indian basin, while primarily occurring off the Somali coast, have become more common farther offshore.
To address these concerns, ASCLME arranged for a Seychelles Coast Guard escort on an October 2010 cruise while in the Seychelles EEZ. Security zones defined by Lloyds of London and by the US Coast Guard extend to other sites in the western portion of RAMA. Security measures, such as that provided by ASCLME, will have to be provided before implementation can proceed in these areas
Exclusion Zone
NOAA requires cruise specific security plans that address the threat of piracy to allow its personnel on board ships operating in the Exclusion Zone.
Example: Seychelles Coast Guard escort of South African R/V Algoa to service 8°N, 55°E ATLAS mooring in October 2010.

13. RAMA Enhancement
As of March 2011 the number of RAMA sites implemented stands at 29 (63% complete).
With sufficient ship time and security arrangements the number of RAMA moorings may reach 32 (70% completion of the IOP planned array) by the end of 2011. 
The University of Tasmania has proposed an investigation of transports in the subtropical Southeast Indian Ocean in 2012, during which a RAMA mooring would be deployed near 25°S 97°E.
10 cruises
7 ships
5 nations
More than 180 Days

14. IndOOS Resource Forum
Established in 2009 by IOGOOS; advised by CLIVAR/GOOS Indian Ocean Panel
Terms of Reference:
To review the requirements for the implementation of IndOOS;
To facilitate and coordinate resources that may be applied to the system, especially ship time for RAMA;
To encourage scientific and technological initiatives in the participating countries to meet the objectives of IndOOS;
To report on its activities to the Heads of the institutions providing resources.

15. Many research activities in & around GTMBA
PIRATA:
IFM-GEOMAR: a process study in the Gulf of Guinea in May through July, 2011 to observe the onset and peak of equatorial upwelling. NOAA will enhance 2 PIRATA moorings with ADCPs during this experiment.
RAMA:
CINDY: a multi-national field and modeling for the initiation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). In the US DYNAMO & CINDY, Oregon State University will enhance several RAMA ATLAS moorings with ocean turbulence and other sensors.
In US: a 3-year ( ) process study within RAMA with the enhanced 9 subsurface ADCP moorings in the region spanning 2.5°N to 4°S and 78°E to 83°E.
TAO/TRITON:
CLIVAR/NPOCE: The targeted area is north-western Pacific, and to understand western boundary ocean circulation system. Two subsurface moorings in Mindanao and one mooring in Luzon strait are in place. Use of TRITON data is in the target.
POSEIDON/GAIA: Korea’s domestic programs by KORDI. POSEIDON has provided one surface buoy in the north of TRITON, and GAIA will provide two more surface buoys north of TAO array. KORDI is developing its implementation plan with NOAA.
CLIVAR/SPICE: The targeted area is south western Pacific, and provide several subsurface mooring systems in several straits. One TRITON buoy at 5S156E is expected to use with one of SPICE moorings for geostrophic transport.
CLIVAR/ ITF Task Team: This team is trying to initiate “ITF Gateway Array” project which will aim longer term observation of ITF. The most western TRITON sites will be expected to be a part of the the ITF Gateway array.

16. Common issues #1 Interactions with Regional Activities & Issues
1) How global observing systems can contribute to regional issues?
2) What is the regional requirement to global observing system?
Regional intergovernmental body, such as IOC/WESTPAC, will be a candidate.
For example in the workshop report from the WESTPAC symposium in Busan last March, it is written that “in view of the great social and economic benefits the tropic moored buoy array brings about due to its importance in the monitoring and prediction of El Nina or La Nino phenomena, and possible contribution of members states in WESTPAC region to the development and maintenance of this array, the workshop further explored the possibility of establishing an WESTPAC Working Group to further deliberate on the interaction between global ocean/climate observation systems and regional requirements/impacts as well as regional collaboration and cooperation on buoy technology development in view of the role of WESTPAC as a regional intergovernmental body of IOC tasked to promote cooperation on marine scientific research and observations.”

17. Common Issue #2 Commitment to research agencies for sustainable observation
Almost all in-situ ocean observing systems have been developed and maintained by research agencies for which sustained funding is not guaranteed. Mechanisms to provide sustained funding need to be developed, recognizing that different countries will adopt at different approaches specific to their circumstances.