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Proper preparations needed for ocean-climate surveys: Agency
Fighting the waves
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Fighting the waves: A joint US and Indonesia team is working on the installment of four Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System (ATLAS) mooring buoys deployed in the Indian Ocean from the Indonesian R/V Baruna Jaya III during the 2013 InaGOOS-RAMA research from April 29 to May 18. (Courtesy of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology/BPPT) (ATLAS) mooring buoys deployed in the Indian Ocean from the Indonesian R)
Fighting the waves. A joint US and Indonesia team is working on the installment of four Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System (ATLAS) mooring buoys deployed in the Indian Ocean from the Indonesian R/V Baruna Jaya III during the 2013 InaGOOS-RAMA research from April 29 to May 18. (Courtesy of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology/BPPT)
An Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) scientist says the agency will take improvement measures to better prepare ocean-climate observations following buoy deployment failures, which occurred during a 2013 InaGOOS-RAMA survey that took place from April 29 to May 18.
Survey team leader, Handoko Manoto, said a joint team of scientists from the BPPT and its US counterpart, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), could install only one of a total four Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System (ATLAS) mooring buoys intended to be deployed in the Indian Ocean during the survey.
A deployment of 12 drifter buoys and an expendable conductivity/temperature/depth (XCTD) measurement activity also did not run well.
'We faced problems in the 2013 InaGOOS-RAMA survey due to bad weather,' said Handoko told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
He said the survey team experienced bad weather for more than a week, which forced them to drop anchor in Siberut Island, in Mentawai Islands.
'With over 4 meter-high waves, it was not possible for the deployment and recovery of the buoys to take place,' said Handoko, adding that slower vessel speed aggravated the problem.
The ATLAS mooring buoys are instruments to collect various ocean-climate data. The first ATLAS moorings were deployed in 2007 by a joint RI-US ocean-climate survey team, which worked under the Technical Cooperation in Ocean-Climate Observations, Analysis, and Application partnership.
Handoko said any ocean-climate observation required proper preparations, which included not only the use of a well-designed vessel but also location-specific weather forecasts.
'The survey ship should be equipped with a stable internet connection that keeps us up to date with the latest information on weather conditions in and around the survey location,' he said. (asw/ebf)
