The weather condition of the earth is changing fast. There are lot of green house effect that is increasing the temperature of earth every day. This also leads to the melting of the ice poles. We are facing a lot of concerns. The first step in solving these issues is to understand the causes and the rate at which these pollutants are harming the earth. Many devices have been developed by the scientists to understand this burning issue. One such tool is the Argo floats. They are also called as the robots at sea. We in this article will discuss about these robots at sea. These robots were built to keep a track of the global warming and other parameters at the sea. It is a difficult process to manually record the changing effects in the sea waters due to the change in the environment. The technology of these robots is simple and they keep the track of these changes in environment very effectively.
The Argo Floats were a result of fifty research and collaboration agencies across thirty one nations worldwide. When it was first launched it was termed as an integrated ocean observing system. The Argo floats are autonomous robots that can stay in the sea water for a long period of time and continuously. They collect data on temperature, velocity, salinity and other properties of sea water. You will be surprised to know that at present there are about three thousand Argo Floats in all over the world. They can be easily located in various oceans. The data provided by the Argo Floats has helped us a lot to build a huge database on earth’s changing conditions. These robots have proved very useful in collection and processing of data.
Let us discuss a little about the mechanism of these Argo Floats. These robots mainly have three parts and these are the hydraulics, microprocessors, and the data transmission system. The hydraulics system controls an inflatable bladder that makes the robot float. The mechanism consists of a hydraulic piston that works with the help of a pump and a battery. The buoyancy of the Argo Floats is controlled by the piston that moves downwards and this movement inflates the hydraulic bladder. The microprocessors control and administer the functions of the robots to a great extent. These microprocessors make the Argo Floats self reliant. While the Argo floats are controlled from a distant station.
Each Argo Floats has a data transmission system that helps it to connect to the satellites and keep transmitting the data that they are recording from the sea waters. The Argo Floats are generally about twenty five kilogram in weight and they are around one hundred and ten centimeters long. The maximum depth that they can operate from is two thousand meters. If they are placed any deeper they will not be able to transmit the signals. There are clear markings on the Argo Floats that give the details of how much they can be submerged in water. These Argo Floats are dropped into the sea at various places.
The technique that these Argo Floats use is very interesting. The Argo Floats descends to the cruising depth and stays at the level for many days. Once the data is collected the Argo Floats comes to the surface of the water by pumping the fluid into the external bladder. Each Argo Floats can do about one hundred and fifty such cycles. After which it must be removed and reprogrammed for the future cycles. All the parameters that are recorded at various levels are collected by the Argo Floats. Once the robot comes to the surface these information are sent to the satellite that they are connected to. Initially like in all other projects the data collected by Argo Floats were not very reliable. However, with time all the technical hindrances in data collection were removed. Today the data that is collected by Argo Floats are absolutely fine and completely reliable. This is possible because of the great research and development that was done in this field.
We will now discuss in details on what do we need these Argo Floats for. These robots are very useful not only for the ships but also for the people who live on the shores. We all to a certain extent live at the mercy of the Mother Nature. For example the ice poles are melting which is leading to the increase in the sea level. The cities that are located in the sea shores face a major threat due to this approaching water. There might be a day when there will be no beaches left. Similarly when the weather takes a major turn and a storm approaches then the signals transmitted by these Argo Floats can help the ships to divert the direction or to take the required precautions. Same is the case with Tsunami. These Argo Floats can predict Tsunami and also killer waves. This is very helpful for the people living at the shores. The sea farers benefit a lot from these readings that Argo Floats collects.
Argo Floats has been a very important reason for a major reduction in the accidents at sea. Lots of ships were lost to rough weather and killer waves. However, with Argo Floats these problems are solved forever. I hope this article will help you understand the meaning and importance of the Argo Floats. These can be easily located in any sea. Next time you see them you will be able to appreciate the importance that is associated with them. I hope Argo Floats will be made more developed in the future and they will help us to be prepared for the worst. With technology and science maybe we will be able to predict even the doomsday with the Argo Floats.
Well Argo Floats are doing the job that they have been assigned. However, even we must understand our responsibility and start acting on it now. The data that is collected by Argo Floats must be used as a vital source of information to protect this planet we call home. The data gives a good insight into how fast the temperature and other environmental factors are changing. It will not be wrong to say that the readings are even alarming. It is high time that we take these data seriously and work towards a better earth. The Argo Floats have so far recorded and transmitted some very important data about the ocean and their changing conditions. The data provided is not only useful for the present day but also helpful in predicting the future climatic conditions.
Argo Floats: Robots At Sea,