Ukrainian scientists have started a new study: in March 2025, they deployed 6 ARGO floats in Antarctic waters. This is for the first time not only for our polar explorers who study the Southern Ocean, but for Ukraine as a whole.
ARGO floats – innovative autonomous equipment for underwater measurements that has no engine and moves with the current. They measure temperature, salinity, and pressure at different depths. Then via satellite they transmit this data, along with GPS coordinates, to a global database. Currently, the data will be delivered every 10 days.
These instruments will allow scientists to learn more about changes in currents in the Southern Ocean due to significant influx of fresh water, as well as other processes.
How the scientists’ “underwater assistants” look like and how they were launched can be seen in the video.
We thank oceanographer Natalia Shepel for conducting this important work, thanks to which Ukraine has once again joined global science, and the collected data will be part of the global network of oceanographic observations.
The research is carried out within the OCEAN: ICE project of the EU Horizon Europe program and is co-funded by the EU and the UK Department for Research and Innovation (UKRI).