[A-OS26] Global ocean observing systems, their recent status, research results and future directions

[AOS26-P05] Initiation of biogeochemical float observations in the western North Pacific

*Fujiki Tetsuichi¹, Shigeki Hosoda¹ (1.Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)

Keywords:BGC Argo floats, phytoplankton, western North Pacific

One of the goals in present-day ocean biogeochemistry is to gain a better understanding of the variability in phytoplankton productivity with changing physical and chemical structure of the upper ocean. However, ship-based studies of the open ocean have been limited in their ability to conduct high-frequency observations for understanding variations in phytoplankton productivity and environmental parameters. Also, satellite image analysis is a powerful tool for measuring phytoplankton productivity and environmental parameters, but the information on satellite data is limited to the near-surface layers. To overcome these problems, we started using profiling floats incorporating biogeochemical sensors which enable in situ measurements of phytoplankton productivity and environmental parameters over high vertical and temporal resolutions, and have carried out time-series observations in the western North Pacific. Here, we show the results of observations in the western North Pacific by the biogeochemical floats.