An underwater observatory keeping the pulse of the Southern Ocean for nearly 30 years yields fresh results

Fri, 1 Aug 2025 04:42:33 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/an-underwater-observatory-keeping-the-pulse-of-the-southern-ocean-for-nearly-30-years-yields-fresh-results-257467>

"In a world affected by climate change, the Southern Ocean plays an outsized
role. It absorbs up to 40% of the human-caused emissions taken up by the oceans
while also being home to some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems.

Understanding these ecosystems and how they’re changing is crucial – but
challenging. Patterns and trends in this remote, chaotic ocean are often
obscured by short-term variation.

The only way to see through the noise is to make sustained measurements, year
after year, for decades.

In the heart of the Southern Ocean there is a car-sized yellow and blue
structure floating on the surface. It may not look like much, but this is the
tip of a vast underwater observatory that has monitored the pulse of this
region for nearly three decades.

Known as the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS), this observatory endures
cyclone-strength winds and waves up to 18 metres high. The knowledge it
provides has been collected in several recent studies, including one just
published in Ocean Science."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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