France launches its first ocean-bottom floats

"Ifremer, the French research institute dedicated to the ocean, announced on Monday that it had deployed its first two floats from the Argo network, in order to measure ocean currents and global warming. After the United States and China, France is the third country in the world to design autonomous underwater instruments capable of operating at extreme depths while measuring salinity, temperature, oxygen and pressure. "We will be able to track global warming down to the ocean depths", said Virginie Thierry, a physical oceanographer at Ifremer."

"The floats are programmed on a ten-day cycle to dive to a depth of 6,000 metres and then return to the surface, according to the Ifremer website. During this ascent, they collect physical and chemical data from the depth to the surface and then transmit the data via satellite. Launched in the early 2000s, the Argo programme consists of 4,000 profiling floats drifting across the world's seas and oceans, measuring temperature, salinity and other parameters in almost real time. Around 30 countries around the world participate in this network."

"With 306 underwater robots by the end of 2025, France is the second largest contributor to the programme after the United States, which manages more than 2,300, according to the Argo website. By 2028, the French fleet is expected to be reinforced by 30 of these new profiling floats capable of withstanding the extreme pressures of the deep sea, and are expected to be deployed mainly in the North Atlantic. The cost of these floats is around €80,000 each. Argo data is cited in more than 6,000 scientific publications and nearly 500 doctoral theses, according to the programme's website."

Ifremer deployed two Argo profiling floats capable of diving to 6,000 metres to measure salinity, temperature, oxygen and pressure. The floats follow a ten-day cycle, diving to depth and returning to the surface while collecting physical and chemical data and transmitting it via satellite. The Argo programme includes 4,000 floats and around 30 participating countries. France will reach 306 underwater robots by end of 2025, becoming the second largest contributor after the United States, and plans to add 30 deep-capable floats by 2028, mainly in the North Atlantic. Each float costs about €80,000, and Argo data supports thousands of publications and hundreds of doctoral theses.

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