Tropical moored buoy implementation panel - 11 | |||||
Jakarta, Indonesia
25 September 2012
The Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel (TIP) held its eleventh session (TIP-11) on 25 October 2012 at Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT) in Jakarta, Indonesia. The meeting was held immediately after the INA TRITON Science and Technology Symposium at the same location. About twenty participants from six nations attended the meeting. The purpose of TIP-11 was to
discuss: 1) ship time needs and
coordination; 2) mitigating fishing
vandalism; 3) shipboard security
issues related to piracy; 4) maintaining measurement standards across different
mooring platforms and 5) funding. Progress in these areas through international cooperation will strengthen tropical moored
buoy programs and enhance their value for research and forecasti Updates were provided at the meeting on the current status of efforts in each country (China, India, Indonesia, Japan and U.S.) that contributes to the Pacific and Indian Ocean arrays. For the U.S. and Japan, which have led the TAO/TRITON array for the past 25 years, there are concerns about sustainability. In June 2012, NOAA laid up the NOAA Ship Kaimimoana and no cruises have been scheduled until January 2013. The timing was most unfortunate given that an El Niño is underway. Of 55 TAO moorings, 20 were not functioning at the time of this meeting, and almost all of buoys along 95W and 110W were off the air. Daily data return was down to 55%. The RV Ka`imikai-O-Kanaloa will temporarily replace the Ka’imimoana in 2013 but with only a 183 day field season (about 75% of that required for standard twice per year servicing).
It was felt that more effort should be devoted to raising awareness in the scientific
community about the value of the TAO/TRITON Pacific array for research and
forecasting. The benefits of the
program are shared by all nations affected by ENSO. Thus, there are many
TAO/TRITON stakeholders beyond the U.S. and Japan, which at present are the
only two nations contributing substantially to its support. To address this
issue, it was suggested to hold the next TIP in conjunction with a WESTPAC
workshop in Vietnam in 2014 and to invite participation from stakeholders such
as ECMWF, NCEP, JMA, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and others. In more
general terms, it was felt that the TIP should meet regularly every two years
in coordination with a meeting of similar scope and purpose.
Now that BPPT has
deployed an INA TRITON mooring at 0, 138°E, the TIP recommended the BPPT establish a TRITON
mirror site in the new Marine and Climate Center of Excellence (MCCOE). The TIP
also encouraged BPPT to establish a web site in the Indonesian language in
order to increase public awareness in Indonesia about Tropical Moored Buoy
Arrays.
As new partners become involved in the long-term maintenance
of TAO/TRITON, a name change or redefinition of the acronym may be appropriate
as a form of recognition for additional sustained contributions.
Finally the TIP would
like to thank the BPPT for support in convening
TIP-11 in conjunction with the INA TRITON Science
and Technology Symposium. We especially would like to thank Fadli Syamsudin and Wahyu
Pandoe, local organizers of the
meetings at BPPT, for their careful preparations and cheerful hospitality. Their efforts ensured both a successful TIP meeting
and a very pleasant visit to the dynamic city
of Jakarta.
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