About SAGITTA Project

The Social AGITation for Temperature Analysis (SAGITTA) project is an initiative of the NF-POGO Alumni Network for the Ocean (NANO), a global network of past and present NF-POGO scholars established in 2010.Since 2017, SAGITTA has been supported by POGO through a grant from the Nippon Foundation. SAGITTA is a citizen science project, enabling volunteers to contribute to large-scale oceanographic data collection with an affordable, simple, and reliable temperature-depth (TD) probe that can be used by citizen scientists worldwide while promoting scientific education and ocean literacy.

SAGITTA's mission combines innovation, accessibility, and outreach. The key objectives are:

• Develop Low-Cost Temperature-Depth Probe
• Develop a compact, reliable probe (around 100 USD/unit) with ±0.1°C accuracy and a depth range of 100m
• Smartphone Application as a console for probe control, geolocation, and data transmission to the web.
• Develop Web Data Portal
• Public Engagement & Ocean Literacy

SAGITTA hardware and software are open-access, allowing users to build their own probes or manufacture them at low cost. This ensures broad participation and scalability of ocean monitoring efforts. The SAGITTA project has successfully achieved several of its core objectives. We have developed a compact, reliable, and low-cost temperature-depth probe (around 100 USD/unit) with ±0.1°C accuracy and a depth range of 100m. A dedicated smartphone application has also been completed, serving as a console for probe control, geolocation, and seamless data transmission. The web data portal—launched through this website—provides open access for visualization and analysis of collected data. Beyond technology, SAGITTA is strengthening engagement and ocean literacy by collaborating with fishers and students to expand participation in citizen science. Interested stakeholders are welcome to contact us to join and contribute to this global effort.