TRITON Buoy Project : Objectives, Buoy System, Data Processing and Quality
Yoshifumi Kuroda*1, Kentaro Ando*1 and JAMSTEC TRITON project team, Koichi Takao*2, Kazuhiko Sono*2, Atsuo Ito*2, Masayuki Fujisaki*2 and MWJ TRITON buoy operation group
*1 Japan Marine Science and Technology Center
*2 Marine Works Japan
JAMSTEC is developing a surface moored-buoy network named TRITON (TRIangle Trans-Ocean buoy Network) for observing oceanic and atmospheric variabilities in the Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas in cooperation with interested Japanese and foreign agencies and institutions.
The principal scientific objective is to understand variation of ocean circulation and heat / salt transports with emphasis on ENSO, Asian monsoon and decadal scale variabilities that influence climate change in the Pacific and its adjacent seas. In the first phase, the buoy network will be established mainly in the western tropical Pacific between 8S and 8N in conjunction with TAO-ATLAS buoys which are presently maintained by Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of USA. Subsurface ADCP current meter buoys will be continually deployed along the equator in a program of the Tropical Ocean Climate Study in conjunction with the surface buoy array. After establishing the network in the western tropical Pacific, two of buoys will be deployed in the Indian Ocean.
JAMSTEC has deployed four TRITON buoys at 8N, 5N, 2N and 0, 156E by R/V Mirai in March 1998 intended for a year long mooring. The TRITON system worked well for the first three months. However, we had to recover the four TRITON buoys due to technological problems. We firstly recovered the TRITON #1 buoy at 8N which has stopped data transmission since June 6. When we checked the recovered mooring parts, severe corrosion on the shackles and chain just below the surface buoy connecting a wire cable was found. We recovered the other three TRITON buoys by the same corrosion expected, although those buoys have been sending fine data. We will check them and take measures to solve these problems.
JAMSTEC will construct 14 TRITON buoys in FY1998 improving the technological problems. The TRITON buoys at 8N, 5N, 2N, 0, 2S, 5S along 156E, and 5N, 2N, 0 along 147E will be deployed during the Feb-Mar 1999 R/V Mirai cruise. Although it is possible that the deployments of the buoys at the 2S, 5S along 156E, and 5N, 2N, 0 along 147E will be delayed until the Oct-Nov 1999 Mirai cruise.
JAMSTEC has a plan going into the Indian Ocean in October 2000 if the deployments in the western tropical Pacific go well.
Data quality of TRITON buoys has been examined and be reported including comparison with ATLAS data. The TRITON data will be distributed as same as TAO. The data display and distribution software for TAO / TRITON data has been developed based upon the TAO software. Those data will be distributed from both JAMSTEC homepage and PMEL / TAO homepage.
