We would like to inform you that registration is open for the Biogeochemical Profiling Float Workshop organized by US Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) program, to be held July 9-13, 2018 at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA). The workshop will bring together potential users to discuss biogeochemical profiling float technology, sensors, and data management, to begin the process of the intelligent design of future scientific experiments.

The workshop registration is first come, first served so please register here as soon as possible.

April 13 update: Registration is full, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be added to the waitlist.

Workshop rationale

In recent years the development of a global, Biogeochemical Argo observing system based on profiling floats has begun. The Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Modeling (SOCCOM) program is the best example of this to date, and other groups are engaged in the development and deployment of such floats elsewhere in the world ocean as an essential next step for ocean science and marine resource management (see the report of the Biogeochemical Argo Planning Group, 2016). The development of the ideas, technology, and strategy for such an observing system has been developed through a series of working groups (Gruber et al., 2007), international meetings (Claustre et al., 2010; Gruber et al., 2010; Johnson et al., 2009), and AGU Town Hall meetings. Many of these activities were sponsored by OCB.

There are a number of international groups and individuals that plan to purchase and deploy such floats in the coming years, in conjunction with large, global programs or as part of smaller projects that examine more local aspects of the oceanic carbon cycle. Despite this growing interest, at the present time the expertise necessary to procure, test, and deploy this technology is confined to a few centers. This workshop, sponsored by OCB, is being held in order to begin the process of transferring this expertise to the larger ocean carbon community by bringing together potential users of this technology to discuss biogeochemical profiling float technology, sensors, and data management, in order to begin the process of the intelligent design of future scientific experiments.

General outline for the workshop agenda

(Details will be added as speakers and workshop attendees are confirmed):

Day 1

• Discussion of basic float technology (buoyancy engine, CTD)
• The path from float data collection to data availability
• Basic BGC sensors: dissolved oxygen, FLBB, and other optical sensors.
• Evening: Discussion of programs using BGC float technology that are presently underway, and future plans for new work and proposals.

Day 2

• Additional BGC sensors: float measurements of nitrate and pH
• Sensor calibration (factory and laboratory)
• Case studies of sensor performance
• Characteristics of sensors from different manufacturers
• Development of new sensors and future capabilities

Day 3

• The use of BGC float data, real-time and adjusted
• Formatting of BGC float data
• Getting BGC data from Argo and from other online sources
• Use of shipboard data in conjunction with float data
• Other datasets relevant to BGC float data
• Estimating carbon parameters from BGC float data
• Evening: Discussion of scientific issues that can be addressed by BGC float technology and the potential development of future proposals.

Day 4

• Presentations from manufacturers of BGC float and sensor technology (an important part of the 2017 Argo workshop held at UW, and a number of manufacturers have already expressed an interest in participating in this BGC workshop)
• Evening: Discussion of BGC-Argo.

Day 5 (1/2 day, ends at noon)

• Meeting summary and discussion
• Next steps
• Connection between individual researchers and larger projects
• Summary of potential scientific proposals

Steering Committee

Stephen Riser (University of Washington), Ken Johnson (MBARI), and Lynne Talley (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

US Visa Information

If you need a letter of invitation in order to obtain a US Visa, please contact Prof. S. Riser at the University of Washington, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Logistics

For all other logistics information please check the workshop website: 

https://web.whoi.edu/floats-workshop/logistics/