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<DIV class="wpn-post-title entry-title article-heading"><A
href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/02/us-to-restore-el-nino-monitoring-array-but-seeks-international-collaboration.html"><FONT
color=#000000 size=5><STRONG>US to restore El Niño monitoring array, but seeks
international collaboration</STRONG></FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV class=wpn-byline>by <SPAN class="author vcard"><A class="url fn n"
title="Jeff Tollefson"
href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/author/Jeff-Tollefson"><FONT
color=#1f699b>Jeff Tollefson</FONT></A></SPAN><SPAN class=divider> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=wpn-byline><SPAN class=divider><SPAN class=published><ABBR
class=value title=2014-02-04>04 Feb 2014 </ABBR></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=wpn-byline><SPAN class=divider><SPAN class=published><ABBR
class=value title=2014-02-04><A
href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/02/us-to-restore-el-nino-monitoring-array-but-seeks-international-collaboration.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Frss%2Fnewsblog+%28News+Blog+-+Blog+Posts%29&WT.ec_id=NEWS-20140211">http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/02/us-to-restore-el-nino-monitoring-array-but-seeks-international-collaboration.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Frss%2Fnewsblog+%28News+Blog+-+Blog+Posts%29&WT.ec_id=NEWS-20140211</A></ABBR></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class="wpn-entry-content content">
<P>The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says it will
restore a network of moored buoys in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that serves as
an early warning system for periodic and disruptive warming events known as El
Niños.</P>
<P>Nearly half of the 57 buoys in the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO)
array <A
href="http://www.nature.com/news/el-ni%C3%B1o-monitoring-system-in-failure-mode-1.14582"><FONT
color=#1f699b>have failed since 2012</FONT></A>, when NOAA, under budgetary
pressure, retired a maintenance ship. Scientists are now receiving just 40%
of the data that would be collected if all of the buoys were functioning
properly, compared to the long-term goal of 80%. This has affected researchers’
ability to monitor for major El Niño events in the eastern Pacific, which have
been known to alter weather patterns and inflict massive damage across the
globe. The loss of data may also be impacting seasonal weather forecasts.</P>
<P>Craig McLean, who oversees NOAA’s research programmes, says that the agency
expects to restore the array to its previous capacity this year, thanks to extra
funds in the <A
href="http://www.nature.com/news/budget-offers-recovery-hope-1.14558"><FONT
color=#1f699b>fiscal 2014 budget approved last month</FONT></A>. ”We think
it’s an achievable goal.”</P>
<P>The ship previously dedicated to maintaining the TAO array cost US$6 million
annually, whereas NOAA spent $2 million to $3 million on charter services in
fiscal 2013. McLean says he expects the agency will be able to boost that figure
to $4 million this year. That should allow for an expansion of charter
operations for now, he says, and then the agency will seek international
collaboration on a long-term solution, which may involve the deployment of a
more robust monitoring system that requires less maintenance.</P>
<P>“If we can find alternative technologies that can complement and if
appropriate replace the devices we have deployed, we will achieve the same
scientific results at a lower price,” McLean says. “That technology may exist
today, or it may need to be developed.”</P>
<P><A title=Comments href="javascript:;" jQuery1393607710636="14"><STRONG><FONT
color=#000000>Comments</FONT></STRONG></A></P></DIV>
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<LI id=comment-16111
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<P class=datetime><TIME datetime="2014-02-07T22:06:13+00:00" pubdate><ABBR
class=published title=2014-02-07T22:06:13+0000>07 Feb 2014 </ABBR></TIME></P>
<P style="POSITION: absolute; LEFT: -9999em" class=moderation><A class=report
href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/02/us-to-restore-el-nino-monitoring-array-but-seeks-international-collaboration.html?action=report&comment=16111#comment-16111"
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<DL>
<DT><SPAN class="comment-author vcard"><STRONG><CITE class=fn>James
Vance</CITE> said: </STRONG></SPAN><!-- .comment-author .vcard --></DT>
<DD>
<P>What about establishing a partnership with the US Navy, which not only
has a rather large fleet of crewed ships that operate throughout the
mid-Pacific latitudes but also has no small degree of interest in good
advance knowledge about potential seafaring conditions in scheduling drills
and joint operational exercises. The knowledge gained from assistance in a
sustainable maintenance operation for the buoys which provides that
continuous research database could supply adequate justification for
allocation of some relatively small DOD annual funding for buoy servicing
when supply and support ships will be traveling through the general areas
where they are
located.</P></DD></DL></LI></OL></DIV></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>