Airborne eXpendable Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (AXCTD) probe profiles collected in the Beaufort Sea and near the North Pole. The dataset includes 15 surface stations from a Twin Otter skiplane in March and 8 successful CTD profiles from a wheeled Twin Otter in April 2008. Data collection was supported by the National Science Foundation's International Polar Year (IPY) initiative and conducted by the SCIOPS organization.
Use Cases
- Analyzing vertical profiles of conductivity and temperature to study Arctic water mass structure.
- Mapping oceanographic conditions in the Beaufort Sea using geospatial station data from the survey.
- Investigating the relationship between persistently cold air temperatures and near-surface ocean properties recorded by the probes.
- Using the time-series of CTD casts from April 2008 to assess seasonal hydrographic changes in the region.
Strengths
- Contains 23 distinct CTD profile stations (15 surface + 8 full profiles) from the 2008 campaign.
- Data covers a significant spatial extent, from the southern Beaufort Sea to areas near the North Pole.
- Profiles were obtained using digital Airborne eXpendable CTD (AXCTD) probes, a specific technology for airborne deployment.
Limitations
- Sample size is limited to 23 stations, which may not support high-resolution spatial analysis.
- Data is from a single campaign in March-April 2008, offering only a temporal snapshot.
- The description notes challenges in finding open leads for probe drops, which may introduce spatial sampling bias.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS, supported by NSF Grants ARC-0634226, OPP-9910305, and OPP-0352754.
- Collection Method
- Data collected via Airborne eXpendable CTD (AXCTD) probes dropped from Twin Otter aircraft into open leads in the ice.
- Time Range
- March-April 2008.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Beaufort Sea and near the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean.