CanOA is a voluntary observing ship programme operating on board the passenger ferry “Volcán de Tauce”, which covers the route between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The project is a collaboration between the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Naviera Armas.
This weekly transect between the two capitals provides repeated observations across the Canary archipelago, an area where the influence of subtropical waters, wind-driven processes and atmospheric transport can be studied along a regular route.
The CanOA line was designed as a platform for continuous monitoring of surface-ocean properties from a moving vessel. The ferry route makes it possible to obtain frequent measurements at sea without the logistical constraints of fixed offshore stations.
The measuring system installed in the ship’s engine room includes a General Oceanics PCO2 system and a LICOR 7000 infrared CO2 analyser. It measures surface-ocean CO2-system variables; air-sea CO2 fluxes are derived from these observations. The system is complemented by seawater temperature sensors, a thermosalinograph, a dissolved oxygen sensor and autonomous recording of navigation and environmental variables. Since August 2021, data have been transmitted by satellite to the onshore laboratory and to the ICOS network.