More than 100 oceanic floats are now diving and drifting in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica during the peak of winter there. These instruments are gathering data from a place and season that’s poorly studied, despite its important role in regulating the global climate. A new study from the University of Washington, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Princeton University and several other oceanographic institutions uses data gathered by the floating drones over past winters to learn how much carbon dioxide is transferred by the surrounding seas.