Great Lakes Glider Trajectory Data with Physical Oceanographic Measurements

Physical oceanographic measurements were collected by a Slocum glider named 'gichigami' deployed in the Great Lakes from July 3 to July 10, 2014. The dataset contains profiles of temperature, conductivity, salinity, and density. Data were gathered by the University of Minnesota Duluth's Large Lakes Observatory and archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Use Cases

• Analyze vertical profiles of temperature and salinity to identify thermocline depth and stratification patterns.
• Model density variations from conductivity and temperature measurements to study water mass movement.
• Map the glider's spatial trajectory alongside concurrent physical measurements for Lagrangian analysis of lake conditions.
• Validate regional hydrodynamic models using in-situ time-series data on water properties from the Great Lakes.

Strengths

• Data covers a complete 8-day glider deployment providing continuous temporal coverage.
• Includes core physical oceanographic variables (temperature, conductivity, salinity, density) for water column analysis.
• Processed and aggregated by the Integrated Ocean Observing System's National Glider Data Assembly Center for compliance.

Limitations

• Dataset is limited to a single 8-day mission in 2014, offering a snapshot rather than long-term trends.
• Unknown row count and sample frequency limit precise statistical analysis of the data density.
• Geographic scope is confined to the specific Great Lakes trajectory of the 'gichigami' glider.

Provenance

Source

University of Minnesota Duluth - Large Lakes Observatory, archived by NOAA NCEI via IOOS NGDAC.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected by a Slocum underwater glider during a deployed mission.

Time Range

2014-07-03 to 2014 07-10

Freshness

Single mission data from 2014; no update frequency.

Geography

Great Lakes