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GO-SHIP Launches First GO-BGC Argo Float named Europa

GO-SHIP Launches First GO-BGC Argo Float named Europa

The first biogeochemical Argo float of the new NSF-funded GO-BGC Array program was launched on March 24, 2021 by researchers onboard the GO-SHIP A20 Expedition in the Western North Atlantic. The float, named Europa, was adopted and named by the Fauquier County Public Schools in Warrenton, Virginia. A total of 12 floats will be deployed on the 2-leg cruise (A20 and A22), part of NOAA and NSF-funded U.S. Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (U.S. GO-SHIP).

The R/V Thomas G. Thompson departed from Woods Hole, Massachussettes on March 16, 2021, following the A20 track of the previous CLIVAR 2012 occupation (~52.5°W). The cruise arrived in the Virgin Islands for a brief stop before proceeding with the A22 line (~66°W). From the Caribbean Sea, the cruise will then head north, and end back in Woods Hole in mid-May 2021.

U.S. GO-SHIP is part of the international GO-SHIP program to carry out a systematic and global re-occupation of selected hydrographic sections to quantify changes in storage and transport of heat, fresh water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and related parameters, integrating the scientific needs of the carbon and hydrography/tracer communities.