Acoustic Thermometry for the Indian Ocean
Andrew Forbes
CSIRO Marine Research
ATOC in the Pacific has demonstrated the feasibility of monitoring ocean temperatures on basin scales. This has motivated consideration of instrumenting another basin with a low frequency acoustic source and a network of receivers. The Indian Ocean is a strong candidate for acoustic thermometry, as it has a major influence on the climate of three continents, and is poorly instrumented or monitored with conventional systems. GCM modelling of the region is poorly constrained by observations, and the periods between major basin-scale surveys such as WOCE are too long. Potential source and receiver sites have been identified in the Indian Ocean, and some of the components of an acoustic thermometry network have been committed in principle. A site survey at Cocos Is. will be conducted by CSIRO in October '99, with a view to installing a source there the following year.
