Will the Argo Program cover the deep ocean before 2036?

Prediction market on metaculus. [Argo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argo_\(oceanography\)) is a global array of thousands of [floats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Float_\(oceanography\)), i.e. buoyant oceanographic instrument platforms, that are located [throughout the world's oceans](https://www.ocean-ops.org/share/Argo/Maps/density66.png). The [Argo program](https://globalocean.noaa.gov/research/argo-program/), which was first developed in 1999, provides scientists with "constant monitoring of the temperature, salinity, and currents" of ocean waters across the globe. Due to the floats' physical limitations, Argo provides data only for the "upper ocean", down to a depth of about 2000 meters, which is only about half of the ocean—hence the need for [Deep Argo](https://argo.ucsd.edu/expansion/deep-argo-mission/). [Deep Argo](https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/deepargo/) uses floats that can descend much further, as far as 4000 or even 6000 meters below the surface, depending on the model, allowing for monitoring of temperature and salinity of the deep ocean. The first deep floats were launched in 2014, however Deep Argo is still far less comprehensive than the upper-ocean Argo program. In May 2023, Deep Argo had [197 floats](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1287867/full#f1) concentrated in different areas around the globe.  As of February 2026, Deep Argo had [230 operational floats](https://www.ocean-ops.org/share/Argo/Maps/deep-models_.png) across a handful of regional arrays, compared to [4,355 operational floats](https://www.ocean-ops.org/share/Argo/Maps/density66.png) across the total Argo program. Deep Argo [aims](https://argo.ucsd.edu/expansion/deep-argo-mission/) to put 1,228 deep floats into service around the world, a goal which, as of 2023, they [hoped to accomplish by 2030](https://ecomagazine.com/in-depth/deep-argo-delves-into-the-abyss/). Information on the number and location of Argo floats are also available on the [OceanOPS dashboard](https://www.ocean-ops.org/board?t=argo).

Resolves: 1/1/2036.