Deep-ocean Sentinels Map Ocean Currents

Hydro International - 

Three deep-ocean moorings have become the foundation for a new drive to measure change in currents linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans through the Indonesia Archipelago, considered a key factor influencing Australia's climate.

The moorings were deployed earlier this month as part of an international collaboration to monitor the Timor Passage and Ombai Strait, two strategic deep-ocean channels which act as ‘chokepoints' in the global system of ocean currents.

Valued at over AUD1 million, the moorings, up to 3,000 metres tall and carrying an array of special marine sensors, were deployed as part of Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

They are one of several deepwater mooring arrays being deployed in a project led by CSIRO Wealth from Ocean Flagship scientists Dr Bernadette Sloyan and Dr Susan Wijffels. 

The moored instruments will enable oceanographers to see how warm, fresher tropical waters may influence Indian Ocean ecosystems and tropical weather systems which bring rains to Australia.

"Known as the Indonesian Throughflow, this powerful system of ocean currents influences the seasonal climate in Australia," Dr Sloyan said.

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