New Ocean Trip

2001/02/01 Mendiburu, Joana - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Ozeanografia

All regions of the world are increasingly researched and known, but much remains to be learned, for example, ocean movements and life are not well known. However, with the aim of covering this gap due to their interest, in 1995 30 oceanographers, as with weather information, launched a new project of information on the sea. The idea of 30 French oceanographers, which will be developed through the project called Mercator, is to create a system that offers current information about the sea. The intention, like the Meteosat satellite offers weather information, is to report on the sea. Salinity grade, temperature up to 200 m deep and altimetry data will be measured.

As has been said, the idea of the project arose in 1995, but until 1997 it did not know any phase of development. That year, six French organisations showed their interest and this year has been launched. In fact, in January they began to give the first weekly information delivery. The six entities participating in the project, Cnes, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Météo France and Shome, are related to sea management.

In principle only observations of the North Atlantic will be made with a resolution of 30 km. In January 2002, a better system will be opened to work with greater resolution in the European seas and subsequently, by increasing global cooperation, information from all seas will be available. To do this, the project Godae (Global ocean data assimilation experimental) will be launched in 2003.

The project will be used for fishing and the correct management of marine goods, as well as for internal issues such as improving underwater communication. In order to provide more complex weather information, Météo France has expressed its intention to include this information on the sea in its pages.