AUTHOR=Wong Annie P. S. , Wijffels Susan E. , Riser Stephen C. , Pouliquen Sylvie , Hosoda Shigeki , Roemmich Dean , Gilson John , Johnson Gregory C. , Martini Kim , Murphy David J. , Scanderbeg Megan , Bhaskar T. V. S. Udaya , Buck Justin J. H. , Merceur Frederic , Carval Thierry , Maze Guillaume , Cabanes Cécile , André Xavier , Poffa Noé , Yashayaev Igor , Barker Paul M. , Guinehut Stéphanie , Belbéoch Mathieu , Ignaszewski Mark , Baringer Molly O'Neil , Schmid Claudia , Lyman John M. , McTaggart Kristene E. , Purkey Sarah G. , Zilberman Nathalie , Alkire Matthew B. , Swift Dana , Owens W. Brechner , Jayne Steven R. , Hersh Cora , Robbins Pelle , West-Mack Deb , Bahr Frank , Yoshida Sachiko , Sutton Philip J. H. , Cancouët Romain , Coatanoan Christine , Dobbler Delphine , Juan Andrea Garcia , Gourrion Jerôme , Kolodziejczyk Nicolas , Bernard Vincent , Bourlès Bernard , Claustre Hervé , D'Ortenzio Fabrizio , Le Reste Serge , Le Traon Pierre-Yve , Rannou Jean-Philippe , Saout-Grit Carole , Speich Sabrina , Thierry Virginie , Verbrugge Nathalie , Angel-Benavides Ingrid M. , Klein Birgit , Notarstefano Giulio , Poulain Pierre-Marie , Vélez-Belchí Pedro , Suga Toshio , Ando Kentaro , Iwasaska Naoto , Kobayashi Taiyo , Masuda Shuhei , Oka Eitarou , Sato Kanako , Nakamura Tomoaki , Sato Katsunari , Takatsuki Yasushi , Yoshida Takashi , Cowley Rebecca , Lovell Jenny L. , Oke Peter R. , van Wijk Esmee M. , Carse Fiona , Donnelly Matthew , Gould W. John , Gowers Katie , King Brian A. , Loch Stephen G. , Mowat Mary , Turton Jon , Rama Rao E. Pattabhi , Ravichandran M. , Freeland Howard J. , Gaboury Isabelle , Gilbert Denis , Greenan Blair J. W. , Ouellet Mathieu , Ross Tetjana , Tran Anh , Dong Mingmei , Liu Zenghong , Xu Jianping , Kang KiRyong , Jo HyeongJun , Kim Sung-Dae , Park Hyuk-Min TITLE=Argo Data 1999–2019: Two Million Temperature-Salinity Profiles and Subsurface Velocity Observations From a Global Array of Profiling Floats JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science VOLUME=7 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00700 DOI=10.3389/fmars.2020.00700 ISSN=2296-7745 ABSTRACT=

In the past two decades, the Argo Program has collected, processed, and distributed over two million vertical profiles of temperature and salinity from the upper two kilometers of the global ocean. A similar number of subsurface velocity observations near 1,000 dbar have also been collected. This paper recounts the history of the global Argo Program, from its aspiration arising out of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, to the development and implementation of its instrumentation and telecommunication systems, and the various technical problems encountered. We describe the Argo data system and its quality control procedures, and the gradual changes in the vertical resolution and spatial coverage of Argo data from 1999 to 2019. The accuracies of the float data have been assessed by comparison with high-quality shipboard measurements, and are concluded to be 0.002°C for temperature, 2.4 dbar for pressure, and 0.01 PSS-78 for salinity, after delayed-mode adjustments. Finally, the challenges faced by the vision of an expanding Argo Program beyond 2020 are discussed.