Equatorial Pacific CTD Cast Profiles and Meteorological Data from 2002

March to November 2002 physical profile and meteorological data collected from CTD casts in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The dataset includes temperature and salinity profiles gathered during NOAA ship cruises to service the TAO/TRITON buoy array. Data were collected by Dr. Mike McPhaden of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) under the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) project.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature and salinity profiles to study ocean stratification and heat content.
• Correlating in-situ CTD cast data with concurrent meteorological observations from the servicing cruises.
• Validating and calibrating continuous data streams from the TAO/TRITON buoy array using ship-based profile measurements.

Strengths

• Data collected during dedicated NOAA ship cruises (RONALD H. BROWN and KA'IMIMOANA) over an 8-month period.
• Profiles support a major international ocean observation project (TAO/TRITON).

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a single year (2002), restricting long-term trend analysis.
• Spatial coverage is confined to specific cruise tracks in the equatorial Pacific, not a uniform grid.
• Specific row counts, column details, and data completeness metrics are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL).

Collection Method

Collected from Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) casts and meteorological instruments aboard NOAA research vessels.

Time Range

March 2002 to November 2002.

Freshness

Data is from 2002; no updates expected.

Geography

Equatorial Pacific Ocean, along cruise tracks servicing the TAO/TRITON buoy array.