News
When science goes to sea
The Vendée Globe, the largest sailing race around the world – solo, non-stop and without assistance – took off on 8 November 2020 from Les Sables d'Olonne, France. From the start of the race, ten skippers carried scientific observation instruments onboard. A total of seven meteorological buoys and three profiling floats from the Argo France programme were deployed in under-sampled areas of the ocean, not often visited by research vessels.Ìý
This collaboration is the result of a partnership signed in January 2020 between UNESCO and the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) to support ocean sciences and protect the ocean. Co-ordinated by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), it is supported by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).Ìý
About 2,000 profiling floats and drifting buoys need to be deployed every year to sustain GOOS. These ocean-observing instruments are usually deployed through research ships, butÌý racing yachts provide a cheaper alternative and can reach more remote areas.Ìý
Collected through an in situ network and satellite ocean observations, the key oceanographic and meteorological data is used in climate studies, weather forecasting and the monitoring of marine ecosystems. Implemented by 86 countries, the global observing system is a joint effort of the IOC, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Observations Programme Support (OceanOPS) Centre.Ìý
Currently, 10,000 in situ observing instruments – including networks of autonomous profiling floats, drifting and fixed buoys, piloted underwater robots, ships, sea level tide gauges, and even marine mammals – monitor the global ocean and measure its main physical and biogeochemical parameters.
The making of an ocean commission, The UNESCO Courier, January-March 2021
Read more:Ìý
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Vendée Globe 2020: Skippers and scientists work together to support ocean observations
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Subscribe to The UNESCO Courier for thought-provoking articles on contemporary issues. The digital version is completely free.
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Ìý
This collaboration is the result of a partnership signed in January 2020 between UNESCO and the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) to support ocean sciences and protect the ocean. Co-ordinated by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), it is supported by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).Ìý
About 2,000 profiling floats and drifting buoys need to be deployed every year to sustain GOOS. These ocean-observing instruments are usually deployed through research ships, butÌý racing yachts provide a cheaper alternative and can reach more remote areas.Ìý
Collected through an in situ network and satellite ocean observations, the key oceanographic and meteorological data is used in climate studies, weather forecasting and the monitoring of marine ecosystems. Implemented by 86 countries, the global observing system is a joint effort of the IOC, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Observations Programme Support (OceanOPS) Centre.Ìý
Currently, 10,000 in situ observing instruments – including networks of autonomous profiling floats, drifting and fixed buoys, piloted underwater robots, ships, sea level tide gauges, and even marine mammals – monitor the global ocean and measure its main physical and biogeochemical parameters.
The making of an ocean commission, The UNESCO Courier, January-March 2021
Read more:Ìý
Ìý
Vendée Globe 2020: Skippers and scientists work together to support ocean observations
Ìý
Subscribe to The UNESCO Courier for thought-provoking articles on contemporary issues. The digital version is completely free.
Follow The UNESCO Courier on: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
Ìý
12 January 2021
Last update:20 April 2023
