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The article discusses the history of oceanography as of July 2012, particularly the creation of a network of pioneer researchers who maintain large-scale ocean observing systems. It cites the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) as among the network of pioneers. It cites the two groups which developed moorings in the late 1950s-1970s, namely, the group led by Bill Richardson at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the group led by John Isaacs at SIO.

Describes the development of Spray, an underwater vehicle that is essentially an autonomous profiling float. Design goals and constraints of Spray; Mechanical design of the underwater vehicle; Results of the field trial of the vehicle in the Monterey underwater canyon in California.

Deployment of Deep Argo regional pilot arrays is underway as a step toward a global array of 1250 surface-to-bottom profiling floats embedded in the upper-ocean (2000 m) Argo Program. Of the 80 active Deep Argo floats as of July 2019, 55 are Deep Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangian Observer (SOLO) 6000-m instruments, and the rest are composed of three additional models profiling to either 4000 or 6000 m. Early success of the Deep SOLO is owed partly to its evolution from the Core Argo SOLO-II. Here, Deep SOLO design choices are described, including the spherical glass pressure housing, the hydraulics system, and the passive bottom detection system. Operation of Deep SOLO is flexible, with the mission parameters being adjustable from shore via Iridium communications. Long lifetime is a key element in sustaining a global array, and Deep SOLO combines a long battery life of over 200 cycles to 6000 m with robust operation and a low failure rate. The scientific value of Deep SOLO is illustrated, including examples of its ability (i) to observe large-scale spatial and temporal variability in deep ocean temperature and salinity, (ii) to sample newly formed water masses year-round and within a few meters of the sea floor, and (iii) to explore the poorly known abyssal velocity field and deep circulation of the World Ocean. Deep SOLO's full-depth range and its potential for global coverage are critical attributes for complementing the Core Argo Program and achieving these objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nine years of glider transects measure the transport across the Solomon Sea. • Seasonal and ENSO fluctuations are 25–50% of the mean. • A linear wind-driven model identifies distinct wind forcing driving the anomalies. • Interannual temperature advection through the sea influences the equatorial Pacific. The Solomon Sea carries the equatorward western boundary current of the South Pacific, a principal element of subtropical-equatorial communication. Eighty-seven glider transects across the mouth of the Sea over nine years describe the velocity structure and variability of this system. The time series spans two El Niños and two La Niñas, which produced large transport anomalies, up to 50% of the mean. While transport increased during El Niños and decreased during La Niñas, their signatures were inconsistent among the events. Separated glider tracks show the merging of two inflows, one from the tropics east of the Solomon Island chain, the other entering as a western boundary current generated by winds over the full subtropical gyre. A model of linear wind-driven dynamics, including western boundary currents, had skill in describing the variability of the two inflows, identifying the distinct wind forcing driving each. The model suggests that both the mean and low-frequency variability of flow entering the Solomon Sea are driven remotely by wind over the South Pacific, acting through long Rossby waves. The ultimate significance of in situ observations in this small sea will be to describe its role in subtropical-tropical heat exchange that is crucial to ENSO and longer-timescale climate variations along the equator. We take an initial step here, suggesting that temperature advection through the Solomon Sea is a first-order contribution to interannual temperature changes of the equatorial strip as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The multi-year mean, mid-depth circulation of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean was estimated from direct velocity measurements obtained over a 7.5-year period by 211 neutrally-buoyant, profiling, subsurface floats. We present a statistical analysis of these drift velocity data, and describe the features of the circulation from 400–1500m depth as measured by the floats. The time-lagged auto-covariances of velocity indicate a Lagrangian integral time scale of approximately 10 days at all drift depths and throughout the basin. Space–time averages of velocity and the associated error ellipses were constructed, and this information was used in an objective analysis to produce estimates of the multi-year mean flow. Estimates of eddy kinetic energy were also computed. The mapped flow depicts a basin-scale cyclonic gyre bounded in the south by the North Atlantic Current. The strongest currents are found along the coasts of Greenland and Labrador, where mean speeds exceed . Closed cyclonic recirculations appear just offshore of the boundary currents in the Labrador and Irminger Seas and in the Iceland basin, and also southwest of the Reykjanes Ridge. Topographic steering extends upwards to at least 400m depth above bathymetry that is significantly deeper, and is most apparent in flow along basin boundaries, around the Reykjanes Ridge, and through gaps in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the center of the basin-scale gyre and to the south of the North Atlantic Current flow is characteristically weak with few large-scale circulation features. There is no indication of a strong linkage along the western boundary from the subpolar to subtropical gyre at depths sampled by floats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Autonomous floats profiling in high-nitrate low-silicate waters of the Southern Ocean observed carbon biomass variability and carbon exported to depths of 100 m during the 2002 Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) to detect the effects of iron fertilization of surface water there. Control and "in-patch" measurements documented a greater than fourfold enhancement of carbon biomass in the iron-amended waters. Carbon export through 100 m increased two- to sixfold as the patch subducted below a front. The molar ratio of iron added to carbon exported ranged between 10[sup4] and 10[sup5]. The biomass buildup and export were much higher than expected for iron-amended low-silicate waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous underwater gliders offer the possibility of sustained observation of the coastal ocean. Since 2006 Spray underwater gliders in the California Underwater Glider Network (CUGN) have surveyed along California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) lines 66.7, 80.0, and 90.0, constituting the world’s longest sustained glider network, to our knowledge. In this network, gliders dive between the surface and 500 m, completing a cycle in 3 h and covering 3 km in that time. Sections extend 350–500 km offshore and take 2–3 weeks to occupy. Measured variables include pressure, temperature, salinity, and depth-average velocity. The CUGN has amassed over 10,000 glider-days, covering over 210,000 km with over 95,000 dives. These data are used to produce a climatology whose products are for each variable a mean field, an annual cycle, and the anomaly from the annual cycle. The analysis includes a weighted least-squares fit to derive the mean and annual cycle, and an objective map to produce the anomaly. The final results are variables on rectangular grids in depth, distance offshore, and time. The mean fields are finely resolved sections across the main flows in the California Current System, including the poleward California Undercurrent and the equatorward California Current. The annual cycle shows a phase change from the surface to the thermocline, reflecting the effects of air/sea fluxes at the surface and upwelling in the thermocline. The interannual anomalies are examined with an emphasis on climate events of the last ten years including the 2009–2010 El Niño, the 2010–2011 La Niña, the warm anomaly of 2014–2015, and the 2015–2016 El Niño. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event-scale phenomena, of limited temporal duration or restricted spatial extent, often play a disproportionately large role in ecological processes occurring in the ocean water column. Nutrient and gas fluxes, upwelling and downwelling, transport of biogeochemically important elements, predator-prey interactions, and other processes may be markedly influenced by such events, which are inadequately resolved from infrequent ship surveys. The advent of autonomous instrumentation, including underwater gliders, profiling floats, surface drifters, enhanced moorings, coastal high-frequency radars, and satellite remote sensing, now provides the capability to resolve such phenomena and assess their role in structuring pelagic ecosystems. These methods are especially valuable when integrated together, and with shipboard calibration measurements and experimental programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The recent proliferation of icebergs in the Southern Ocean and the chemical and biological enrichment recently identified in the surrounding water raise the question of whether these icebergs are major contributors to drawdown of CO2 and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean. The Lagrangian sediment trap (LST) was developed to measure the carbon export associated with these free-drifting icebergs. The core of the LST is a neutrally buoyant Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangian Observer (SOLO) float () that contains a variable-buoyancy engine, enabling it to sink to a set depth (600m for the iceberg study), drift at that depth, then resurface on preset time intervals. Four sediment-trap funnels and opening/closing sample cups mounted around each SOLO float collect sinking particulate matter. Additionally, an upward-looking acoustic system mounted on the float detects the presence of ice cover above. In March/April 2009, three LSTs were deployed in the NW Weddell Sea for a total of five successful missions. Four of these LST deployments were made near or under a large iceberg. The fifth deployment was made at a control site 74km from the nearest large iceberg. Sinking particulate matter was collected on each deployment. Despite the high-risk nature of the deployments, the LSTs successfully sampled particulate matter beneath drifting icebergs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Autonomous floats profiling in high-nitrate low-silicate waters of the Southern Ocean observed carbon biomass variability and carbon exported to depths of 100 m during the 2002 Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) to detect the effects of iron fertilization of surface water there. Control and "in-patch" measurements documented a greater than fourfold enhancement of carbon biomass in the iron-amended waters. Carbon export through 100 m increased two- to sixfold as the patch subducted below a front. The molar ratio of iron added to carbon exported ranged between 10(4) and 10(5). The biomass buildup and export were much higher than expected for iron-amended low-silicate waters.

Two autonomous robotic profiling floats deployed in the subarctic North Pacific on 10 April 2001 provided direct records of carbon biomass variability from surface to 1000 meters below surface at daily and diurnal time scales. Eight months of real-time data documented the marine biological response to natural events, including hydrographic changes, multiple storms, and the April 2001 dust event. High-frequency observations of upper ocean particulate organic carbon variability show a near doubling of biomass in the mixed layer over a 2-week period after the passage of a cloud of Gobi desert dust. The temporal evolution of particulate organic carbon enhancement and an increase in chlorophyll use efficiency after the dust storm suggest a biotic response to a natural iron fertilization by the dust.