Long-Term Ocean Climate Observations

In the recent past large-scale ocean dynamics was studied at NIOZ as a contribution to international research programs like WOCE, OMEX, INSTANT, and CLIVAR. For that purpose repeat hydrographic surveys have been carried out and moored current meters have been in place in Indonesia, the Mozambique Channel, the East Madagascar Current, the Agulhas Current, and the Irminger Sea. These mooring sites have been initialized through the LOCO (Long-Term Ocean Climate Observations) project, funded by NWO as a Dutch contribution to CLIVAR and other internationally coordinated monitoring programs. New funding to maintain the mooring sites in the Irminger Sea and the Mozambique Channel has been obtained through the projects

• THOR (THermohaline Ocean circulation at Risk?) financed by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme for Research
• INATEX (INdian-ATlantic EXchange in present and past climate) funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO (ALW)

At present, the mooring program in the Irminger Sea will be continued and extended with current meter moorings on the Reykjanes Ridge within the EU program NACLIM. In addition, some shallow moorings are placed on the East Greenland Shelf and contribute to an international array north of Denmark Strait.

• NACLIM (North Atlantic CLIMate), financed by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme for Research. 

These Eulerian observatories with continuous time series since 2003 contribute to the OceanSITES worldwide system of long-term, deepwater reference stations. 

• Irminger Sea mooring program 
• Mozambique Channel mooring program 

The data from the two mooring programs above are publically available up to 2009 and free for use.