OCS-South Atlantic: Coastal Currents and Temperature Profiles

North American Coastline-South oceanographic data were collected from February 16, 1983 to July 1, 1985 as part of the Outer Continental Shelf - South Atlantic project. The dataset contains time-series measurements of ocean currents from moored meters and temperature-depth profiles from expendable bathythermographs (XBTs). Processed data conform to the NODC standard F015 and C118 formats, reporting current vector components at 10-15 minute intervals and temperature profiles at non-uniform depth inflection points.

Use Cases

• Analyzing coastal current variability based on east-west (u) and north-south (v) vector components.
• Studying vertical temperature structure and thermocline dynamics from XBT inflection point data.
• Modeling shelf circulation and water mass properties using Eulerian current measurements and concurrent temperature profiles.
• Calibrating regional hydrodynamic models with in-situ current meter and bathythermograph observations.

Strengths

• Data is processed to established NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) standard formats (F015, C118).
• Time-series data provides high temporal resolution, with current measurements typically reported at 10-15 minute intervals.
• Combines two complementary physical oceanography data types: Eulerian current measurements and temperature-depth profiles.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, file size, and license information are not provided by any source.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a specific historical period (1983-1985).
• Conflicting information exists for the project start date (1982-02-16 in the title vs. 1983-02-16 in descriptions).

Provenance

Source

Applied Science Associate, INC., submitted to NOAA NODC.

Collection Method

Collected using moored current meter casts and expendable bathythermograph (XBT) instruments.

Time Range

1983-02-16 to 1985-07-01

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:12:36.852917

Geography

North American Coastline-South, South Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.