SPURS-1: Neutrally Buoyant Float Salinity and Temperature Profiles from the North Atlantic

Two neutrally buoyant floats deployed during the 2012-2013 SPURS-1 campaign provide continuous georeferenced profiles of salinity and temperature in the subtropical North Atlantic. The data, collected by NASA, characterize a high-salinity, high-evaporation region within a 900 x 800-mile study area centered at 25N, 38W. Floats were deployed in September 2012 and April 2013, with recoveries in April and September 2013 respectively.

Use Cases

• Modeling upper-ocean salinity balance based on continuous in-situ salinity and temperature profiles.
• Validating satellite salinity measurements from Aquarius/SAC-D and SMOS based on detailed in-situ observations.
• Analyzing oceanographic processes in a high-salinity maximum region based on georeferenced time-series data.
• Studying water column structure and drift patterns based on float trajectory and pressure/depth observations.

Strengths

• Data is part of a focused process study (SPURS-1) involving 5 cruises over 2012-2013.
• Combines state-of-the-art in-situ sampling with satellite remote sensing for multi-scale characterization.
• Covers a specific 900 x 800-mile study area in the subtropical North Atlantic.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files include non-tabular formats (ISO, BIN, PDF, JPEG), which may require specialized tools.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Deployed from research vessels (Knorr and Endeavor) using neutrally buoyant floats with integrated CTDs and GPS.

Time Range

2012-2013

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:15:53.262855; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Subtropical North Atlantic, centered at 25N, 38W within a 900 x 800-mile area.