BOX 1. ROBOTS
TO MONITOR mCDR
DEPLOYMENTS
The word “robots” refers here to autonomous vehicles and
platforms, which include:
• Buoyancy- driven robots, encompassing
° Biogeochemical (BGC)- Argo floats (Figures B1 and B2)
° BGC- gliders (Figure B3)
• Uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs; Figure B4)
Floats and USVs could rendezvous for data intercomparison
and transfer (Figure B5). In the future, USVs could intercept
and reposition floats to maintain them in the best monitoring
locations or create “virtual moorings.”
FIGURE B1. A jumbo biogeochemical profiling float (BGC- Argo
float, REFINE type NKE CTS5) can provide profiles every five
days over four years. Sensors are identified that contribute
to the three mCDR monitoring objectives (detection, attribu-
tion, and determination of side effects). Photo credit: David
Luquet, used with his permission. Licensed under CC BY- SA
4.0 by Thomas Boniface
FIGURE B2. BGC- Argo floats record variables from 2,000 m
depth to the surface, where data are rapidly transmitted to a sat-
ellite. The floats then descend to a parking depth (e.g., 1,000 m)
where they stay for 10 days before initiating the next vertical
profile. During the parking phase, floats have the potential to
monitor key properties for mCDR such as wind (passive acous-
tic) and particle flux (transmissometer used as optical sediment
trap). Photo credits: (top) David Luquet and (bottom) Thomas
Boniface, used with their permissions. Licensed under CC BY- SA
4.0 by Thomas Boniface.
BGC- Argo Float