Episode 130: A new generation of Argo floats...and more.

For this first episode of Vibes Under The Sea for 2026, Craig reads four recently published articles that come with marine flavours. The first, sourced from the website of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, reports on how the Argo float ‘ocean observatory’  is to be expanded with a new generation of floats fitted with biogeochemical (BGC) sensors. The second article, published on the website of CSIRO, is about the collaborative effort of CSIRO and Geoscience Australia in delivering high-resolution seabed data "to illuminate our ocean estate and make incredible discoveries".  This is followed by an article from the Australian Antarctic Program which explains how knowing whether a species is absent from a site is equally as important as knowing whether it is present, and is vital information for population and biodiversity studies, detecting changes in species’ distributions, and prioritizing sites for protection. The final article is sourced from the news website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and relates how significant and concerning changes observed by local tour operator Rob Pennicott in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel have prompted him to donate generously to fund scientific surveys in the region.