Work Package 10: Oxygen and carbon profiling floats

Leader: Arne Koertzinger

Objectives
To develop and critically evaluate fundamentally new observational approaches for constraining
future ocean interior carbon and oxygen inventory changes.

Description of work
The current generation of autonomous profiling floats, which are increasingly used for climate
studies, are not yet capable of measuring carbon-related parameters in the ocean interior.
We will construct 2 European-design prototype profiling floats (0-2000 m) that incorporate newlyavailable,
European, high-accuracy oxygen sensors. The technical modifications will also allow for
rapid incorporation of carbon sensors that are currently under consideration. The two oxygen float
prototypes will be tested thoroughly in the field.
Model simulations will explore the magnitude and location of predicted oxygen and carbon
concentration changes over the next 100-200 years resulting from global change and associated
circulation/biogeochemistry changes. On the basis of these model simulations, as well as
discussions with collaborators in the MERSEA IP, a suitable site for field study will be chosen
Subsequently, at the end of the first 18 month period, a dedicated field experiment using six of the
newly developed floats will commence as part of a Ph.D. project.