Acoustic Travel Time and Hydrostatic Pressure in Sermilik Fjord, Greenland

2011-08-23 to 2016-08-11 records of round-trip acoustic travel time, bottom pressure, and bottom temperature from inverted echo sounder (PIES) deployments in Sermilik Fjord, southeastern Greenland. The dataset was collected by NOAA NCEI to develop methods for measuring heat content, vertical temperature profiles, and iceberg/sea ice activity in high-latitude fjords. Data from a 1-year pilot deployment and a subsequent multi-year deployment with three instruments are included in NetCDF format.

Use Cases

• Estimate glacial meltwater flux by analyzing correlations between bottom pressure and acoustic travel time anomalies.
• Study internal wave and tidal dynamics using high-frequency time-series of bottom pressure and temperature.
• Calibrate regional ocean models by comparing modeled heat content against profiles derived from acoustic travel time.
• Detect iceberg and sea ice movement events through anomalies in the acoustic travel time and bottom pressure records.

Strengths

• Five-year temporal coverage from 2011 to 2016
• Data from three distinct instrument locations (shelf, mid-fjord, upper fjord) enabling spatial analysis
• Standardized NetCDF format with CF-1.6 conventions for interoperability

Limitations

• Unknown total row count and sampling frequency for the time series
• Geographic scope is limited to a single fjord system in southeastern Greenland
• Bottom temperature data is noted as internal to the instrument, which may limit direct utility

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Collection Method

Deployed pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounders (PIESs) on the sea floor.

Time Range

2011-08-23 to 2016-08-11

Freshness

Data collection ended on 2016-08-11; no update frequency specified.

Geography

Sermilik Fjord, southeastern Greenland