Physical and meteorological data from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array in the tropical Pacific Ocean during March 2011 (NODC Accession 0092276)

The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array of 55 moored buoys spans the tropical Pacific from longitudes 165°E to 95°W between latitudes of approximately 8°S and 9°N. Moorings within the array measure surface meteorological and upper-ocean parameters and transmit most data in real time to shore via Service Argos. The array was part of the in-situ measurement portion of the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Program, a 10-year (1985 - 1994) study of climate variability on seasonal to interannual time scales, the most pronounced mode of which is the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon (McPhaden, 1993).

热带大气海洋（Tropical Atmosphere Ocean, TAO）阵列由55个锚定浮标组成，覆盖热带太平洋区域，经度范围为165°E至95°W，纬度范围大致介于南纬8°与北纬9°之间。该阵列中的锚系观测设备可测量表层气象与上层海洋参数，并通过阿戈斯服务（Service Argos）将绝大多数数据实时传输至岸基站点。本阵列是热带海洋-全球大气（Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere, TOGA）计划原位观测部分的组成单元；TOGA计划是一项为期10年（1985年—1994年）的研究项目，旨在探究季节至年际时间尺度上的气候变异性，其中最显著的模态为厄尔尼诺/南方涛动（El Niño/Southern Oscillation, ENSO）现象（McPhaden, 1993）。