Observing the oceans from the Alps – why and how ?

Conférence en anglais, accessible à tout niveau

The ocean is a key component of the climate system, and ocean circulation performs several essential functions within this system. Observing ocean circulation and understanding its changes over time is therefore a top priority in the context of global change. Yet, this circulation is challenging to observe because the ocean is a hostile environment that allows little light to pass through. This conference will describe how oceanographers currently observe ocean circulation by combining information from multiple observation platforms. Grenoble oceanographers will specifically present how numerical simulation models have become leading tools for observing the ocean today and will address a question they are asked almost daily: why and how become an oceanographer in Grenoble?