Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
You may have heard that Argo floats, robotic floats that profile the water column collecting salinity and temperature measurements, are the largest source of subsurface data in the world. But what does that really look like?
From informing weather models to providing real-time data that helps predict the rapid intensification of hurricanes, Argo floats are a vital instrument in a network of observational ocean platforms. This animation, courtesy of the Argo Program, showcases the density of Argo profiles over time with 100,000+ profiles per year since 2012.
AOML plays a unique role in the Argo community as the U.S. Data Assembly Center, performing quality control on data collected by U.S. institutions and government agencies before it’s sent to a global data assembly center.
You may have heard that Argo floats, robotic floats that profile the water column collecting salinity and temperature measurements, are the largest source of subsurface data in the world. But what does that really look like?
From informing weather models to providing real-time data that helps predict the rapid intensification of hurricanes, Argo floats are a vital instrument in a network of observational ocean platforms. This animation, courtesy of the Argo Program, showcases the density of Argo profiles over time with 100,000+ profiles per year since 2012.
AOML plays a unique role in the Argo community as the U.S. Data Assembly Center, performing quality control on data collected by U.S. institutions and government agencies before it’s sent to a global data assembly center.
