Professor Kuo-Ping Chiang(蔣國平) from National Taiwan Ocean University(NTOU), in collaboration with Professor Jan Sen(詹森) from National Taiwan University(NTU), has led the "Voyage to the Blue Ocean - Northwest Pacific Observation Network Project" and the "Kuroshio and Turbulence Energy Exchange Integration Project." Recently, they achieved a significant milestone as the first research vessel from Taiwan to visit Palau, a diplomatic ally. This not only expands Taiwan's marine research beyond the surrounding waters but also represents a major step towards global ocean exploration and the realization of the blue ocean vision.

Before the voyage, the research team selected an international cyclone vortex for observing hydrological characteristics, turbulence intensity, biogeochemistry, and meteorological parameters. Within the vortex observations, a total of 41 turbulence profiles were conducted. This marked the first time in Taiwan's marine academic community that intensive turbulence observations were carried out within mesoscale vortices in the open ocean, setting records for the easternmost and southernmost direct measurements of turbulence.

Operation of the turbulence profiler (VMP-250) (Photo Credits: Jan Sen).

The scientific objectives of this collaboration were to explore the energy exchange and transfer between mesoscale ocean eddies and inertial internal waves and internal tides. Furthermore, the research aimed to understand the dynamic processes of submesoscale meandering currents, circular currents, filamentary currents, vortex currents, and smaller-scale turbulence. This advancement not only represents a significant progress in marine science but also helps elucidate the role of these processes in the global ocean's energy budget. It also facilitates the establishment of mathematical models that capture the interactions between various scales of motion, enhances the realism of dynamic mechanisms in numerical models, improves the accuracy of numerical simulations and coupled climate change models. These efforts contribute to predicting global warming, understanding the distribution of oceanic blue carbon budgets, and furthering our knowledge in these areas.

Taiwan-US Marine Cooperation Legend (LGD) 2308 Voyage route, cyclone vortex physical and biogeochemical hydrological sampling,
and turbulence intensity observation points (+ symbols), SWOT satellite altimetry ocean field Z-calibration route (drawn by Jan Sen)

LGD 2308 Voyage, the first station of vortex hydrological observation, conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)
instrument and Niskin bottles being deployed from the starboard side.
(Photo Credits: Jan Sen)

Led by Professor Jan Sen from NTU's Institute of Oceanography, the research team consisted of scientists and engineers from the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI) of the National Applied Research Laboratories, forming a multinational, cross-university, and interdisciplinary research team. With the participation of Captain Huang Chiu-Hsing(黃久倖) and the entire crew of the Research Vessel "Legend," as well as eight researchers from the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, they successfully carried out satellite remote sensing missions for ocean surface waves and seafloor topography, along with mesoscale ocean eddy research. On July 3rd, they safely docked at the port of Koror in Palau, setting a new record for Taiwan's research vessel fleet by visiting Palau for the first time. They look forward to future voyages to Guam to achieve more milestones. The "Voyage to the Blue Ocean" project, a Taiwan-US collaboration, has been vigorously promoted by Professor Kuo-Ping Chiang, the convener of the National Science Council and the Taiwan Ocean Research Alliance. It serves as a key pillar for the future development of Taiwan's marine science and an important bridge connecting Taiwan with other countries' marine research endeavors.

For more information about the scientific maiden voyage, please visit the Taiwan Ocean Research Alliance's website: https://tou.ntou.edu.tw/