The TAO project: TIP 7 - Recommendations

			TIP 7 recommendations

RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 IOC Support of Efforts to Reduce Vandalism of Oceanographic Equipment at Sea
Recognizing that vandalism by fishing vessels continues to be a major threat to the viability of maintaining the TAO and PIRATA arrays, and that at some sites data and equipment return have been reduced to significantly less than 50%, the TAO panel recommended that the IOC adopt a resolution to address the problems of vandalism of oceanographic equipment by fishing vessels. Based on this recommendation, the TAO panel chairman and the GOOS representative to the TAO panel produced a draft resolution for presentation to the IOC. The full resolution endorsed by the IOC executive committee in Paris on 27 November 1998 appears in Appendix I of this report.

6.2 Thermosalinograph Pilot Project

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Recommendations

The importance of salinity measurements for describing and understanding climate variability, and for improving ocean general circulation models, is well established. Salinity measurements are also potentially important for improving initial conditions and forecast skill of coupled ocean-atmosphere ENSO prediction models. Recognizing that ORSTOM/Noumea has operated a network of Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS), Thermosalinograph (TSG) measurements since 1991, and that TAO and TRITON cruises to maintain moorings in the Tropical Pacific also provide TSG measurements on a regular basis, the TAO Implementation Panel recommends that a pilot project be conducted to assemble a quality-controlled, unified TSG data base for the tropical Pacific over the period 1991-98. This period encompasses the unique 1991-95 ENSO warm event(s) and the 1997-98 El Niño/La Niña cycle. The Panel further recommends that the IRD/ORSTOM laboratory in Noumea coordinate this project and maintain a 1991-98 TSG archive for the benefit of ENSO-related climate research.

6.3 Salinity Remote Sensing from Satellite
Satellite missions are presently being proposed to space agencies for remote sensing of soil moisture and ocean surface salinity. If approved, launch would be in approximately the 2002-2003 time frame. These missions are expected to resolve large scale climatological sea surface salinity (SSS) variations in the tropics. Calibration and validation of the satellite measurements will require in situ data, such as provided by SSS measurements from the TAO and PIRATA arrays, drifting buoys, and VOS. The combination of in situ and satellite data in turn will yield large scale surface analyses that will significantly enhance the value of expanded ocean salinity observations called for in the Proceedings of the Sixth Session of the TAO Implementation Panel (TIP-6, Section 7.2).

It is recommended that (1) these satellite missions be strongly endorsed by the sponsors of TIP, namely CLIVAR, GOOS, and GCOS; and (2) the number of surface and subsurface salinity observations on moored buoy, drifting buoy and ship arrays be substantially enhanced by launch time.

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