Southern Ocean Temperature and Salinity Profiles from XBT and XCTD Casts

Expendable probe data from the R/V XUE LONG captured temperature, salinity, conductivity, sound velocity, and density profiles in the Southeast Indian Ocean and Weddell Gyre. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory collected this data for the US/Chinese Ship of Opportunity Sampling Program. Measurements were taken during a single voyage from December 28, 2001, to March 11, 2002.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature profiles from XBT data to study ocean heat content.
• Calculating water density from XCTD salinity and temperature profiles to identify water masses.
• Mapping sound velocity profiles from XCTD data for underwater acoustics research.
• Correlating conductivity and salinity measurements to assess sensor performance and data quality.

Strengths

• Profiles include five distinct physical parameters: temperature, salinity, conductivity, sound velocity, and density.
• Data collection covers a specific, focused time period of over two months during the austral summer.

Limitations

• The dataset is limited to a single research cruise, providing only a temporal snapshot.
• The specific number of casts, rows, and spatial resolution of profiles is unknown.
• Data is over 20 years old, limiting analysis of recent oceanographic changes.

Provenance

Source

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Collected from Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) and Expendable Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (XCTD) probes deployed from a moving ship.

Time Range

2001-12-28 to 2002-03-11

Freshness

Data collection ended on 2002-03-11; no updates are expected.

Geography

Southeast Indian Ocean and Weddell Gyre in the Southern Ocean.