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About

Virginie Thierry is a leading physical oceanographer whose work has been instrumental in transforming our understanding of the global ocean and its role in the climate system. Her research centers on ocean observation, climate variability, and the development of large-scale monitoring networks. Thierry is a key figure in the Argo program, an international array of nearly 4,000 autonomous profiling floats that has revolutionized oceanography by providing continuous, real-time measurements of temperature and salinity. Her highly cited 2021 paper, "Argo—Two Decades: Global Oceanography, Revolutionized" (125 citations), documents how this network has fundamentally changed the field. She has also been a driving force behind the Deep Argo extension, which explores the full ocean volume, capturing critical data on abyssal warming and freshening—work highlighted in her 2023 paper (24 citations). Looking ahead, Thierry is a vocal advocate for the ambitious OneArgo initiative, which aims to expand the array to 4,700 floats by 2030, as outlined in her 2025 paper (13 citations). Through her leadership, she is ensuring that sustained ocean observations continue to inform climate science and societal decision-making.