China Begins Development of Float to Monitor Oceans

China has begun the development of its own float to monitor the temperature, salinity, and velocity of the upper ocean, Wu Lixin, head of the National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, said Thursday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) – The float, a free-drifting sensor system, would help in learning about natural phenomena and the development of ocean resources, collecting data from the ocean at a depth of 2,000 meters (6,561 feet), the Xinhua news agency quoted Wu as saying.

A total of 82 million yuan, equivalent to $12.7 million, have been allocated to produce the devices in the eastern coastal Chinese city of Qingdao, the media outlet reported.

China is part of the global program dubbed Argo aimed at studying the oceans. At the moment, it comprises more than 3,000 drifting floats that carry out measurements at different depths. This information is then transmitted to the satellite, and, subsequently, to the data processing centers.