Biologging in the Global Ocean Observing System

Abstract

Miniature electronic data recorders and transmitters have revolutionized the way we study animals over the past decades, particularly marine animals at sea. But, very recently, animal-borne instruments have also been designed and implemented that provide in situ hydrographic data from parts of the oceans where little or no other data are currently available (even from beneath the ice in polar regions). Ocean data is delivered from animal-borne instruments via satellites in near real-time, which would enrich the Global Ocean Observing System if animal-borne instruments were deployed systematically. In the last 10 years, studies involving more than 10 countries

Guidelines Towards an Integrated Ocean Observation System for Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles

“…In parallel, certain marine mammals have now been equipped with biogeochemical sensors allowing sustained data acquisition to be initiated in areas where data scarcity is generally the rule (e.g. Boehme et al, 2010). Biological oceanography is thus emerging from its data-limited foundations.…”

“…Based on these technologies, pilot projects have been launched or are planed (Boehme et al, 2010;Claustre et al, 2010;Gruber, et al, 2010;Johnson et al, 2009, Testor et al, 2010. If, from these individual initiatives and biogeochemical pilot projects, we begin to think and implement in terms of networks, arrays and coordinated international efforts, we can expect a revolution in biogeochemical oceanography.…”

New Insights into Southern Ocean Physical and Biological Processes Revealed by Instrumented Elephant Seals

“…We will also present briefly the first data collected using a new sensor that integrates fluorescence measurements into the basic CTD-SRDL tag. All details on the CTD-SRDL manufactured by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) in Scotland are provided in the companion CWP by [1], along with a general discussion of the concept of using seals as oceanographic samplers. Physical data quality, calibration and validation procedures of the data collected by CTD-SRDL are presented in a companion "additional contribution" to OceanObs'09 [2].…”

“…4). Reference [17] studied a winter temperature and salinity time series collected by an elephant seal that foraged for several months close to Signy Island (60°43' S , 45°36' W), located at the northern limit of the seasonal sea-ice extension (see [1], this volume). Using local, one-dimensional ice production modelling and mixedlayer modelling, they showed that the evolution of upper layer salinity in this locality (as measured by the seal tag) is more likely to reflect sea-ice production rates occurring at higher latitude in the Weddell Sea, rather than the local freezing rates.…”

“…(1) LOCEAN/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France, jbc@mnhn.fr (1) LOCEAN/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France, roquet@mnhn.fr (1) LOCEAN/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France, yhpark@mnhn.fr (2) Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, BP 14, F-79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France, bailleul@cebc.cnrs.fr (2) Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, BP 14, F-79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France, guinet@cebc.cnrs.fr (3) British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0ET, United Kingdom, mmm@bas.ac.uk (3) British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0ET, United Kingdom, kwni@bas.ac.uk (3) British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0ET, United Kingdom, seth@bas.ac.uk (4) Center for Ocean Health, Institute of Marine Sciences, Long Marine Lab, University of California, 100 Shaffer Rd.…”