ALAS
Also: ALACE
Autonomous Lagrangian Current Explorer
"An Autonomous Lagrangian Circulation Explorer (ALACE) float is an instrument that can be programmed to cycle up and down vertically through the water column at predetermined intervals, in order to provide vertical profiles of temperature and salinity." Source:
The ALACE programme began in the early 1990's and could be considered a pre-cursor to the current ARGO system
Definition based on (revised from) IPCC AR4.
All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.