OCEATLAN

Program Overview

The Regional Alliance in Oceanography for the Upper Southwest and Tropical Atlantic (OCEATLAN) represents the regional efforts of 13 institutions from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay to the development of operational oceanography within the scope of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) program.

OCEATLAN Data Access

***Updated February 11, 2009***

Program Management

The OCEATLAN counts on the participation of institutions from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay to jointly develop and implement an operational oceanographic system to monitor and investigate the oceanic processes in the Upper Southwest and Tropical Atlantic. The regional alliance's creation was firmed through the signature of a Letter of Intention (February 2005) by representatives of institutions from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay engaged in activities related to operational oceanography.

OCEATLAN Contribution to GOOS

• Scientific and pre-operational projects
• Resources
• Operations
• Financial committment
• Human resources
• Training
• Scientific knowledge for the tropical and south atlantic
• PIRATA
• Network of observations from buoys and other instruments
• Network of permanent sea level observations
• Monitoring of heat flux in the South Atlantic
• Climate Change projects (SACC)
• Coastal Erosion process studies
• CO2 monitoring

• High priority to oceans, weather and climate prediction
• Greater importance for the definition of public plicies greater for the coastal zone (Coastal Erosion) and education (Argo floats)
• Project cooperation:
  • PIRATA – Pilot Research Moored Array n the Tropical Atlantic- Improve knowledge of ocean-atmosphere interactions over the Tropical and South Atlantic towards generating skillful SST and climate predictions
  • The International South Atlantic Buoy Program (ISABP) is operated as a regional action group of the Data Buoy Co-Operation Panel (DBCP), and endeavors to establish and maintain an oceanographic and meteorological data network over the South Atlantic Ocean. Drifting buoys have been deployed in the South Atlantic Ocean for more than 20 years. Plans for 2009 are to Commission 6 met-ocean buoys and upgrading of one existing buoy (MINUANO) and to commission and deploy approximately 100 SVP and 20 SVP-B provided by NOAA (AOML)

• The Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS) is an international program conducted under the auspices of the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). The determination of the sea level has a key role in environmental sciences research directed to improve the social and economic planning. The South America Regional GLOSS is a contributor to the OCEATLAN. GLOSS-BRAZIL
• MOVAR– Monitoramento do Transporte de Calor no Atlântico Sul - Monitoring the Upper Ocean Thermal
  Variability between Rio de Janeiro and Trindade Island. The primary objectives are to take advantage of the Brazilian Navy regular supply ships to Trindade Island to obtain a high-resolution time-series (spatial resolution ~15nm ; ~3 months time resolution) of the upper ocean thermal structure in a sparsely sampled area of the SW Atlantic. That is accomplished using a high-resolution XBT line and will help to elucidate several aspects of the gyre scale circulation and its variability, help to calibrate models and allow comparisons with other ocean basins.
• Antares– CHLOROGIN NETWORK - Integrated network of Integrated in situ and and remote sensing stations focused on detecting detecting long-term changes in marine ecosystems around South America, providing ocean colour, tempreature and in sity data.
• SACC – South Atlantic Climate Consortium is an initiative sponsored by the IAI through the Cooperative Research Networks (CRN) Program. The GENERAL PURPOSE of the SACC Consortium is: To coordinate and enhance human and institutional resources in South American countries, in order to advance the understanding of the coupled effects of global change and climate variability on the oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems of the Western South Atlantic region.

(information from the OCEATLAN presentation to the GRF-VI - Guayaquil, Ecuador, November 2008)