Brussels, 29/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 29 June, the European Commission announced that last week it had awarded a grant of almost €4 million to the European research infrastructure for observing the oceans. The funds will be used to add 150 Argo floats to the project's portfolio in the next two years.
Argo floats measure and transmit data on ocean temperature and salinity. As such, they are the main tools for providing long-term high quality information on the ocean. They are named after the Greek mythical ship Argo. The 150 new Argo floats will deliver critical data from depths of 2,000 metres to shallow waters that will help scientists to understand the ocean's role in the earth's climate, predict the evolution of our weather and climate, and detect changes in ocean current patterns
The EURO-ARGO European Research Infrastructure Consortium, launched last summer, is a cooperation between several EU member states and institutes. It has its headquarters at the Brest campus of IFREMER. The funds were provided by the EU's new Maritime and Fisheries Fund, via the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (2014-20). (Lionel Changeur)