Southern Ocean CTD Data from Aurora Australis 1993 Cruise

CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) data from 62 casts conducted during the Aurora Australis KROCK cruise from January to March 1993. The data, collected by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC), supplements a krill and geology research program in the Prydz Bay region. Measurements include Pressure, Temperature, Salinity, and Sigma-T.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between Temperature and Salinity (T-S diagrams) using the provided columns to identify water masses in Prydz Bay.
• Modeling ocean density profiles by calculating Sigma-T from the Pressure, Temperature, and Salinity data fields.
• Investigating vertical ocean structure by plotting Geopotential Anomaly or Specific Volume Anomaly against Pressure from the 62 CTD casts.
• Calibrating regional ocean models with in-situ conductivity (conduction) and temperature measurements from the 1993 time period.

Strengths

• Contains data from 62 distinct CTD casts, providing multiple vertical profiles.
• Covers a specific temporal range (Jan-Mar 1993) for a focused research cruise.
• Includes core oceanographic variables like Pressure, Temperature, and Salinity essential for water column analysis.

Limitations

• Limited spatial coverage focused primarily on the Prydz Bay region.
• Dataset is a subset of the full cruise data, potentially omitting other measurements.
• Data is from a single cruise in 1993, limiting temporal analysis and modern comparisons.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Collected via ship-based CTD casts during the Aurora Australis KROCK 92/93 research cruise.

Time Range

January to March 1993.

Freshness

Last updated in February 1993; represents a historical snapshot.

Geography

Prydz Bay region in the Southern Ocean.