World Ocean Circulation Experiment

The World Ocean Circulation Experiment ( WOCE ) is an oceanographic project, which was conducted from 1990 to 2002. It was held as part of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy.

Implementation

A total of 30 countries were involved in WOCE. In Germany, the German Research Foundation ( DFG) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and several universities were under the auspices of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research actively involved.

In WOCE drifting buoys were used among others for data collection, a principle which is continued in the Argo program.

Objectives

With WOCE should be explored:

• Interactions between the oceans and the global climate
• Surveillance capabilities to long -term interaction between the behavior of the oceans and the climate
• Longer-term effects of the oceans on global climate

Results

As a result, comprehensive data on the global water transport such as were gained about the ways of the Gulf Stream. The results ( salinity, temperature, nutrients or trace element concentrations of the oceans ) were prepared by the Alfred Wegener Institute and are freely available.