Proxy Ocean examines the ocean as a driving force within our planetary system and highlights its paradox as a global commons: accessible in theory, but exploited in practice. Autonomous floats, such as those deployed by the Argo programme, enable real-time monitoring of climate change. As of January 2025, 3,990 floats surface every ten days to transmit data, forming a “planetary brain” that maps the ocean’s stories. Proxy Ocean connects global sensing data with local ecological responses, helping communities predict extreme weather. It envisions a distributed sensory network, redefining planetary intelligence through interconnected processes of sensing and sensitivity.
