Unlike some coastal research stations that measure carbon dioxide levels on a temporary basis, Katama will monitor levels 24 hours a day. Unlike some coastal research stations that measure carbon dioxide levels on a temporary basis, Katama will monitor levels 24 hours a day.
Scientists know that global warming can raise ocean temperatures and affect currents.
But it is still unclear how the ocean absorbs atmospheric heat. These are the kinds of questions the data we obtain from this observatory may help answer,'' said Wade McGillis, a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which will monitor Katama. The observatory is made up of a cluster of oceanographic sensors that can measure such things as wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity, solar and infrared radiation, and carbon dioxide concentrations. In the so-called greenhouse effect, gases released into the atmosphere trap the planet's heat like a greenhouse. Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the primary greenhouse gas, but other culprits are methane and hydroflourocarbons, or HFCs.