Argo France SNO
The SNO (National Observation Service) Argo-France is responsible for the scientific management, expertise and coordination of Argo France. The SNO Argo France, part of the OSU IUEM (Observatoire de l'Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer), is managed by the Physical and Space Oceanography Laboratory (LOPS, Brest, France) and the Villefranche Oceanography Laboratory (LOV, Villefranche-sur-mer, France) within the partner OSUs: OSU STAMAR at the Villefranche Marine Environment Institute (IMEV) and OSU Ecce Terra (Sorbones University). It has been accredited by CNRS/INSU since 2011 to support and organize Argo France activities and provide high-quality data.
The SNO Argo-France objectives for the period 2020-2024 are to:
- provide high-quality Argo data to the French scientific community in order to foster and promote the French contribution to climate studies, and more generally to oceanographic research using Argo data (physical and biochemical parameters) directly or through reanalysis and assimilation products;
- consolidate and organize the French contribution to the international Argo program and the European Euro-Argo research infrastructure;
- consolidate and strengthen the development of the BGC Argo mission to measure biogeochemical parameters from Argo floats;
- consolidate and strengthen the development of the Deep Argo mission to measure the ocean floor.
Argo France SNO flow chart