17/01/2026
UK Argo is celebrating 25 years since it launched its first float today! (https://fleetmonitoring.euro-argo.eu/float/49066). The Argo Programme, launched in 2000, has transformed global ocean observing by deploying a fleet of autonomous profiling floats that continuously measure temperature and salinity, and more recently biogeochemical measurements following advancements in sensor technologies, throughout the world’s oceans at various depths. The United Kingdom stands out as one of the Argo programme’s earliest and most committed contributors. UK Argo is a partnership between the National Oceanography Centre and the Met Office (with contributions from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the University of Southampton (UoS) and many other UK scientific institutions over the 25 years), and is responsible for the coordination of UK Argo activity: float preparation, deployment, telecommunications costs and crucially, the data management activity. British Oceanographic Data Centre are responsible for data management in real-time and delayed mode for all UK floats and currently some Irish and EU floats. The UK’s involvement includes over 967 float deployments and ~145,000 profiles collected. UK Argo supports both the core Argo array and its extensions into high‑latitude, biogeochemical, and deep‑ocean domains which has shaped climate science, operational oceanography, and global environmental policy as well as providing real-time data available for ocean and weather forecasters. This data is freely and publicly available to users around the world.
The new array design, OneArgo, is global, full depth and multidisciplinary, a next‑generation system that includes additional use of Deep (to 6,000 m) and Biogeochemical (oxygen, nitrate, pH, chlorophyll, carbon) Argo floats as well as Polar Argo (ice‑capable floats for the Arctic and Southern Ocean). This expansion is considered urgent for improving climate prediction and understanding ocean ecosystem change. UK Argo is actively involved in these developments, continuing its long‑standing leadership role.
Over 25 years, UK Argo has evolved from a pioneering ocean‑monitoring effort into a cornerstone of global climate science. Its contributions, float deployments, data stewardship, scientific innovation, and international collaboration, have helped build one of the most successful environmental observing systems ever created. As the world faces accelerating climate change, the UK’s continued investment in Argo and the transition to OneArgo will remain essential for understanding and protecting the global ocean.
(image credit: https://www.ocean-ops.org/board/?t=argo)
