Argo Float Data: Global Ocean Temperature and Salinity Profiles

Argo is a global partnership deploying over 3,000 autonomous profiling floats across the world's ice-free oceans. These floats measure temperature and salinity from the upper 2000 meters of the water column approximately every 10 days, transmitting data via satellite. Argo Australia contributes to this effort by maintaining an array of floats providing real-time observations of the oceans surrounding Australia.

Use Cases

• Monitoring ocean heat content and sea-level rise based on temperature profiles.
• Studying global ocean salinity patterns and freshwater fluxes.
• Validating and improving oceanographic and climate models using in-situ float data.
• Analyzing mid-depth ocean currents derived from float drift trajectories.
• Tracking real-time oceanographic conditions around Australia for regional studies.

Strengths

• Data is collected by a global network of over 3,000 autonomous floats, ensuring wide spatial coverage.
• Floats provide high-quality, standardized measurements from the upper 2000 meters of the ocean.
• Data is collected and transmitted in near real-time, supporting operational oceanography.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and license information are not provided.
• Coverage is limited to ice-free oceans, excluding polar regions with sea ice.
• The dataset's update frequency is described but the exact temporal coverage is not specified.

Provenance

Source

International Argo Program and Argo Australia.

Collection Method

Measurements collected by autonomous profiling floats that drift at depth and ascend to the surface every ~10 days, transmitting data via satellite.

Freshness

Last updated on data.gov.au: 2026-06-04.

Geography

Global, ice-free oceans, with specific contributions from the oceans surrounding Australia.