To improve the accuracy of the ocean carbon sink estimates, racing yachts and fishing vessels are being equipped with underway sensors able to measure CO₂. Milestone 9 describes the diagnosis of an optimal sailing yacht equipment fitting strategy and the studies it is based on.
The 2026 release of the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) marks a landmark moment for ocean carbon science and for the TRICUSO project. With 44 million quality-controlled measurements now publicly available, SOCAT v2026 offers an unprecedented window into the health of the ocean carbon sink.
For the first time, a new approach to characterise surface ocean pCO₂ variability using observations from multiple Research Infrastructures, which disentangles the anthropogenic and circulation-driven contributions to observed pCO₂ changes, has been successfully validated at reference ocean time-series stations and extended to the Southern Ocean.
Partner NOC’s lab-on-chip technology miniaturises analytical laboratory methods into compact autonomous sensors. For this milestone, the focus has been on the TADIC sensor, which combines two carbonate-system measurements within a single autonomous lab-on-chip platform…
A new observation-based estimate of the Southern Ocean carbon sink, south of 30°S, has been achieved by using machine learning to combine traditional ship-based measurements from SOCATv2025 with year-round data from autonomous Biogeochemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) floats.
The TRICUSO team at partner GEOMAR has achieved a project milestone of advancing data quality improvement of the SubCtech OceanPack™ through a dedicated long-term laboratory trial.
Wind drives ocean circulation, mediates the air and sea gas exchange and shapes biogeochemical processes. Yet, we have a shortage of direct wind measurements in the Southern Ocean where the most important conditions are the hardest to observe. See how TRICUSO is addressing this challenge by trialing profiling floats equipped with passive acoustic sensors.
Check out our project’s colourful factsheet and learn how TRICUSO is delivering a roadmap for the optimal surface Ocean pCO₂ observing system via novel sensor technology, various platforms, mapping and data synthesis.
TRICUSO’s first video showcases the beautiful scenery of the Antarctic region and focuses on early project stories. It features interviews with consortium scientists discussing the need to expand the capacity for observation in the Southern Ocean where an increase in data is needed to help address the discrepancy between data and models used for forecasting. The video also introduces the project’s ambitions to innovate sensor technology and engage the support of citizen science platforms—racing yachts and tourist vessels—sailing in the Southern Ocean.
TRICUSO recently reached a significant project milestone when the inaugural Steering Committee Meeting for the Surface Ocean CO₂ Observing Network (SOCONET) took place in Bergen, Norway on 16-17 of January to establish the network’s governance structure.
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This work was funded by the European Union under grant agreement no. 101188028. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
