Near-realtime oceanographic profile data collected by AXBT's and AXCTD's from NOAA Aircraft from 20100508 to 20100724 as part of the GTSPP in response to the 20100420 Deepwater Horizon oil spill event (NCEI Accession 0065723)

Near-realtime oceanographic profile data were collected by NOAA aircraft using AXBT and AXCTD instruments from May to July 2010. The Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP) processed this data in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) archives and updates this collection.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil plume transport by analyzing temperature and salinity vertical profiles to infer ocean currents.
• Calibrating satellite-derived sea surface temperature data using in-situ AXBT measurements.
• Studying the impact of the oil spill on water column stratification by comparing pre-spill and response-period salinity profiles.
• Mapping the spatial extent of subsurface oceanographic anomalies using the geospatial coordinates of each aircraft drop.

Strengths

• Data collected during a major environmental event provides a focused temporal snapshot.
• Multiple format availability (CSV, NetCDF, ASCII) increases accessibility for different tools.
• Includes inventory files and visual plots for each vertical profile.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column names, and sample size are unknown.
• Data is from a single, short-term event in 2010, limiting temporal generalizability.
• Geographic coverage is restricted to the Gulf of Mexico flight paths during the response.

Provenance

Source

NOAA aircraft (NOAA42 and NOAA49) instruments, processed by the Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP).

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from Airborne eXpendable Bathythermographs (AXBT) and Airborne eXpendable Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (AXCTD) probes, transmitted via the Global Telecommunication System (GTS).

Time Range

2010-05-08 to 2010-07-24

Freshness

Collection was updated weekly in 2010; final update was July 24, 2010.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico, specifically areas related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.