Line W Hydrography: CTD and Water Sample Casts

From September 6th to September 11th, 2004, this dataset contains 72 full-depth hydrographic casts collected along the Line W section in the Northwest Atlantic. It includes measurements of conductivity, temperature, pressure, dissolved oxygen, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs 11, 12, 113) from CTD sensors and calibrated water samples. The data supports analysis of oceanographic properties and transient tracer distribution.

Use Cases

• Calibrating CTD sensor readings for salinity and dissolved oxygen using onboard water sample analysis.
• Studying ocean circulation and water mass formation using lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) data.
• Tracking the penetration and distribution of anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as transient tracers.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of physical and chemical oceanographic parameters along a specific transect.

Strengths

• Contains 72 full-depth casts, providing substantial vertical profile coverage.
• Includes sensor data calibrated with direct water sample analysis for key parameters like salinity and oxygen.
• Measures multiple transient tracers (CFCs 11, 12, 113), which are valuable for dating water masses.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are unknown, limiting immediate usability.
• Conflicting last-updated dates (2004 vs. 2026) across platforms create uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• Dataset size, row count, and license information are not provided in any source.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via CTD, LADCP, and rosette water samples from the R/V CAPE HATTERAS research vessel.

Time Range

September 6th, 2004 to September 11th, 2004

Freshness

2026-03-06 (from datagov, but conflicts with 2004 date from nasa_earthdata)

Geography

Northwest Atlantic, along Line W from the continental shelf south of New England toward Bermuda.