The European contribution to the International Argo Programme for in situ ocean observations is coordinated by Euro-Argo ERIC, a distributed Research Infrastructure that organizes and federates national Argo contributions at the European level. The Euro Argo Programme provides enhanced coverage in the European regional seas by deploying and operating an array of around 800 floats corresponding to ¼ of the global Argo fleet of profiling floats. It delivers data both in real-time and delayed mode for ocean health and climate change research and monitoring as well as for operational services such as those of the Copernicus Marine Service.
Euro Argo was established as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in 2014. Since then, Euro Argo ERIC has allowed increased sampling in areas of specific European interest e.g. marginal seas (Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea), and high latitudes (regions seasonally covered by sea ice e.g. Nordic Seas, the Arctic and Southern Oceans). It has contributed to the development of sensor and float technology e.g. deep Argo floats that profile down to abyssal depths and floats that measure biogeochemical parameters (e.g. oxygen, pH, nitrate, chlorophyll-a, suspended particles, and downwelling irradiance). The ERIC Office has also developed and implemented a web-based at-sea monitoring system capable of monitoring the entire European fleet and individual floats. These activities are performed in collaboration with both the Argo Information Centre (AIC) and the Coriolis Data Centre.
In 2018 Bulgaria has become a regular member of Euro-ARGO ERIC and as such has the obligation to ensure deployment of at minimum of 3 ARGO floats per year. With regard to the specifics of the Black Sea, the wider use of floats with dissolved oxygen sensors and biogeochemical sensors is preferred.
The Euro-Argo ERIC is composed of 12 countries and 1 Candidate Member and is coordinated by the Euro-Argo ERIC Office, hosted by Ifremer (France). Euro-Argo is continuously engaging with EU and Pan-EU countries, to strengthen European Argo network.
MORE INFO: Euro-Argo ERIC website
