To develop a new observing system for carbon, nutrients, and oxygen that will complement and expand on the existing observing system for heat and freshwater, the observations team is deploying a large array (~200) of profiling floats with biogeochemical sensors throughout the Southern Ocean. This robotic float observing system is complemented by shipboard measurements, instrument and sensor development, and data analysis, including state estimation in conjunction with the modeling program. All SOCCOM observational data are made freely available online.

Principal responsibility for development and deployment of the observing system is in the hands of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Theme 1 Lead Lynne Talley), in partnership with the University of Washington (Co-Lead Steve Riser) and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (Associate Director Ken Johnson), who together design and build the floats and participate in analysis of the data.