North Atlantic Ocean CTD Cast Profiles from R/V Endeavor Cruise EN492

NOAA_NCEI Accession 0100255 provides 115 CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) casts collected aboard the R/V Endeavor in the North Atlantic Ocean north of Flemish Cap. The dataset includes raw sensor measurements and derived oceanographic variables, processed and binned at 1-decibar intervals. Data collection occurred from April 26 to May 20, 2011.

Use Cases

• Analyze relationships between salinity, potential temperature, and oxygen concentration to study water mass formation.
• Model sound velocity profiles using pressure, temperature, and conductivity sensor data.
• Investigate chlorophyll fluorescence patterns in the upper 1000 decibars for biological activity studies.
• Compare primary and secondary sensor suites (temperature, conductivity, oxygen) for data quality and sensor failure analysis.
• Examine potential density (sigma-theta) and geopotential anomaly for insights into ocean stratification and dynamics.

Strengths

• 115 CTD casts provide multiple vertical profiles for statistical analysis.
• Data includes both raw sensor values (e.g., temperature, conductivity, pressure) and derived variables (e.g., salinity, potential density) calculated using established SeaBird algorithms.
• Sensor data was sampled at 24 Hz and processed with alignment, filtering, and binning to 1 dbar for consistency.

Limitations

• Some casts only cover the upper 1000 decibars, not the full water column, limiting deep-ocean analysis.
• Intermittent failure of the primary temperature sensor during several casts resulted in initial loss of oxygen data, though recalculated.
• The dataset is from a single cruise in 2011, offering a spatial and temporal snapshot rather than long-term monitoring.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Data collected using a SeaBird SBE911+ CTD system aboard the R/V Endeavor, processed with SeaBird SBEDataProcessing and MATLAB software.

Time Range

2011-04-26 to 2011-05-20

Freshness

null

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, region north of Flemish Cap.