They drift along in the worlds' oceans at a depth of 2,000
metres -- more than a mile deep -- constantly monitoring
the temperature, salinity, pressure and velocity of the
upper oceans.
Then, about once every 10 days, a bladder on the outside
of these buoys inflates and raises them slowly to the surface
gathering data about each strata of seawater they pass through.
After an upward journey of nearly six hours, the Argo monitors
bob on the waves while an onboard transmitter sends their
information to a satellite that in turn retransmits it to
several land-based research computers where it may be accessed
by anyone who wishes to see it.
These 3,000 yellow sentinels --about the size and shape
of a large fence post -- free-float the world's oceans,
season in and season out, surfacing between 30 and 40 times
a year, disgorging their findings, then submerging again
for another fact-finding voyage.
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It's fascinating to watch their progress online. (The URLs
are too complex to reproduce here, but Google "Argo
Buoy Movement" or "Argo Float Animation,"
and you will be directed to the links.)
When they were first deployed in 2003, the Argos were hailed
for their ability to collect information on ocean conditions
more precisely, at more places and greater depths and in
more conditions than ever before. No longer would scientists
have to rely on measurements mostly at the surface from
older scientific buoys or inconsistent shipboard monitors.
So why are some scientists now beginning to question the
buoys' findings? Because in five years, the little blighters
have failed to detect any global warming. They are not reinforcing
the scientific orthodoxy of the day, namely that man is
causing the planet to warm dangerously. They are not proving
the predetermined conclusions of their human masters. Therefore
they, and not their masters' hypotheses, must be wrong.
In fact, "there has been a very slight cooling,"
according to a U.S. National Public Radio (NPR) interview
with Josh Willis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a
scientist who keeps close watch on the Argo findings.
Full
article here.
