The Ship Of Opportunity Program (SOOP) is a component of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), whose mission is to provide a global platform to deploy and operate oceanographic instrumentation from cargo ships and research vessels. This program is responsible for the maintenance of AOML's XBT Network as well as the implementation of Thermosalinograph observations in support of AOML's pCO2 program.
For more information about this program please check the SOOP Project Summary.
Projects
XBT Network
A component of the global ocean observing system that collects, processes, and distributes temperature profiles using eXpendable Bathythermographs deployed from ships of opportunity and research vessels. Go
High Density XBT Transects
The objectives of the 5 high density transects in the Atlantic are to measure the upper ocean thermal structure in the center of the subtropical gyre, to investigate the meridional structure of the subtropical gyre and Gulf Stream, and to characterize both the mean and the time-dependent upper ocean properties of the tropical portion of the Meridional Overturning Circulation and of the shallow Subtropical Cell in the Tropical Atlantic. Go
Thermosalinograph
Thermosalinographs (TSGs) are instruments mounted close to the water intake of research and cargo ships and that continuously measure the sea surface salinity and temperature along the track of the ship. AOML currently operates several TSG transects from three ships of the SOOP. Go
AMVER-SEAS
AMVER-SEAS is a real-time ship and environmental data acquisition and transmission system. The AMVER-SEAS software acquires atmospheric, oceanographic data and transmits the data in real-time for addition to scientific and operational databases. AMVER-SEAS is employed on ships of the SOOP, and on NOAA, UNOLS, and Coast Guard Vessels. Go
Related Projects
The Oleander Project
The Oleander Project web page highlights some of the results of the XBT deployments onboard the MV Oleander. This project is an inter-institutional effort between the University of Rhode Island (URI), Stony Brook State University of New York (SUNY), the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NOAA/NFSC), and NOAA/AOML to collect oceanographic data such as ocean currents, upper ocean temperature, sea surface salinity, and surface carbon dioxide (CO2) in the highly dynamic region between New Jersey and Bermuda (from the continental shelf, the Slope Sea, the Gulf Stream and part of the Sargasso Sea) through the aid of the SOOP. The Bermuda Container Line (BCL), owners of the MV Oleander, provides the vital role of supporting the unique collaboration by agreeing to equip their container vessel with oceanographic instrumentation and to collect the aforementioned data, at no extra charge. Go
