Marginal Ice Zone 2014 Campaign: Beaufort Sea Ocean and Wave Data

Over 1,000 measurements of ocean temperature, salinity, and wave characteristics were collected during the summer 2014 field campaign in the Beaufort Sea. This dataset was created by the U.S. Office of Naval Research's Marginal Ice Zone Departmental Research Initiative to study atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions during seasonal ice retreat. The data is hosted by the National Snow and Ice Data Center and is also available on Data.gov.

Use Cases

• Analyzing sea surface temperature gradients near the ice edge to understand melt physics.
• Correlating ocean salinity and density measurements with ice breakup patterns.
• Modeling wave direction, frequency, and significant wave height within the seasonal marginal ice zone.
• Studying the temporal evolution of ocean conditions during the summer retreat of Beaufort Sea ice.

Strengths

• Data originates from a focused U.S. Office of Naval Research departmental research initiative, ensuring a clear scientific objective.
• Provides simultaneous measurements of multiple key variables: temperature, salinity, and wave parameters (direction, frequency, speed, height).
• Captures a specific, critical temporal period: the summer 2014 ice retreat in the Beaufort Sea.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: one lists 2026-03-13, another lists 2014-10-11.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) Marginal Ice Zone Departmental Research Initiative (DRI) program.

Collection Method

Field campaign measurements collected in the Beaufort Sea.

Time Range

Summer 2014

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:06:19.892943

Geography

Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean