Some of his most notable contributions include his role in launching the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) in 1990, conceived to offer a comprehensive global overview of heat flux linked to ocean circulation. This project, which used satellite readings and marine sensors for over a decade, laid the groundwork for our current understanding of ocean behavior.
He later played a leading role in developing the high-precision altimeter, which culminated in 1992 with the TOPEX/Poseidon project. It enabled the continuous measurement of the dynamic topography of the ocean surface from space and the calculation of changes in the ocean’s heat content. These innovations opened the door to unprecedented, continuous global observation.
Starting in 1998, Wunsch’s vision took shape in the Argo project, an international network of thousands of free-floating buoys that systematically monitor ocean temperature, salinity and currents down to a depth of 2,000 meters – critical data to study climate change.
Rising risks and international cooperation
The observations gathered over decades clearly show that global sea levels are rising and that heat is accumulating in the oceans, increasing the probability of extreme weather events like heat waves, heavy rain and flooding. “The more energetic the ocean is, the more extreme events you can expect,” Wunsch warned.
Given this scenario, the researcher stresses the importance of global scientific cooperation, a principle he has championed throughout his career. As the committee noted, his contributions reveal that it is only possible to understand the evolution of the climate system and face its consequences for the planet through global collaboration.