Terms of reference

Over the past few years, there has been a huge development of new sensors and platforms in all oceanographic disciplines. Among these, autonomous systems present an advantage over manned systems, as measurements are now routinely taken in places, times and at frequencies which were not feasible before. The installation of automated systems on board ships of opportunity allows for the retrieval of data along ship trajectories on a regular basis. Drifters and Argo floats are increasingly being deployed, resulting in a higher density of direct observations in otherwise poorly measured parts of the ocean. Less conventional moving platforms include the use of marine mammals, which provide an opportunity to reach under-measured parts of the ocean, such as the Polar regions. Systems such as gliders and other autonomous underwater vehicles have been designed to cover specific regions of interest, with a manageable cost and ship requirements, making them increasingly used by scientists worldwide. Cabled Marine Laboratories are a step forward for a subsurface and deep ocean network of observations. Finally, HF coastal radars and meteo-marine buoys have allowed for an increased frequency of measurements near the coast.

The flexibility of operation of these observational systems makes then very adequate for adaptive sampling strategies, driven by requirements of numerical models (e.g., for the assimilation of those data in zones with large model errors). In general, the variety of new platforms and sensors used allow for more detailed data validation, intercalibration and intercomparison, which in turn lead to a better understanding of the ocean environment.

Contributions addressing the use of these new sensors and platforms are welcome. Of particular interest are multiparametric and interdisciplinary studies of the ocean, and the scientific questions being answered by means of the data collected through these autonomous systems. Also advanced statistical methods to analyse multivariate data possibly in aggregated form from different sources are welcome. In this respect, the problems and solutions for constructing aggregated data-bases are also among the relevant topics covered by the colloquium.

You can get here the anouncement poster.

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Scientific organizing committee

• J. Allen (NOC, UK)
• A. Alvera-Azcarate (MARE-ULg, Belgium)
• J.-M. Beckers (MARE-ULg, Belgium)
• L. Centurioni (SIO, USA)
• F. Chavez (MBARI, USA)
• P. Favali (INGV, Italy)
• T. Fichefet (UCL, Belgium)
• H. Freeland (IOS, Canada)
• S. Glenn (Rutgers,USA)
• K. W. Gurgel (UH, Germany)
• K. Larkin (NOC, UK)
• P. Lermusiaux (MIT, USA)
• P. Y. Le Traon (IFREMER, France)
• R. Lumpkin (NOAA, USA)
• G. Manzella (ENEA, Italy)
• K. Nittis (HCMR, Greece)
• B. Owens (WHOI, USA)
• J. Paduan (NPS, USA)
• P.-M. Poulain (OGS, Italy)
• M. Rixen (NURC, Italy)
• T. H. Rossby (URI, USA)
• P. Testor (LOCEAN, France)
• J. Tintore (IMEDEA, Spain)

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