New weather and climate observations from the Southern Ocean

A rugged buoy has been deployed in the wild Southern Ocean to help provide better weather and climate observations.

Called a Flux Station, the buoy is a first for the Southern Ocean and has been purpose built to withstand the harsh conditions and fatiguing effects of big seas in the 'roaring forties'.

Bureau of Meteorology scientist Dr Eric Schulz said the station will relay measurements of wind, temperature, humidity, air pressure, sunlight and rainfall to the Bureau every few hours.

"In collaboration with our partners we will also measure ocean surface properties such as temperature, salinity, carbon dioxide, oxygen, fluorescence, currents and waves," he added. The information will be relayed to the Bureau via satellite transmissions and then made available to forecasters, researchers and the general public via the web.

Dr Schulz said, "This buoy, deployed from the Marine National Facility Research Vessel Southern Surveyor, has been able to give up to the minute information on the conditions in the Southern Ocean that influence our weather."

The exact nature of how the Southern Ocean interacts with the atmosphere is not fully understood due to its remote and inhospitable nature, but Dr Schulz expects the information the Bureau will receive from the Flux Station will greatly improve the scientific understanding of this important interaction.

According to Dr Schulz, the vast ocean region south of Australia plays a critical role in the global climate system. He said it acts as a buffer to smooth out extremes in the atmosphere by soaking up and releasing heat and carbon dioxide, while transporting changes in the ocean around the southern hemisphere.

"We will be able to better understand the role of the ocean in climate variability and the impact on biological processes," said Dr Schulz

The Southern Ocean Flux Station is part of the Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) which is funded through the Federal Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and the Super Science Initiative to deliver data-streams from the oceans around Australia. Information and observations from the Southern Ocean Flux Station are available at imos.org.au/sofs.html.

Collaborators in the Southern Ocean Flux Station include: CSIRO, University of Tasmania, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and the Marine National Facility.

Southern Ocean Flux Station Technical Backgrounder

SOFS in the Southern Ocean – photo showing the mooring floating in the water with breaking waves and sea bird flying in the foreground.

SOFS in big seas – photo showing the mooring with only the instrument tower visible above the waves.

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Valentina Lazarevska: 0439 452 424