Great Lakes Glider Measurements of Temperature and Salinity from 2015

Physical trajectory profile data from the Slocum glider 'gichigami' deployed by the University of Minnesota - Duluth's Large Lakes Observatory. The dataset contains oceanographic measurements of temperature, conductivity, salinity, and density collected in the Great Lakes from July 22 to July 27, 2015. Data were aggregated and preserved by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Use Cases

• Analyze vertical profiles of temperature and salinity to model thermal stratification in the Great Lakes.
• Map glider trajectory against concurrent measurements of conductivity and density to study water mass movement.
• Use time-series of physical properties from a specific deployment to calibrate or validate regional hydrodynamic models.
• Investigate correlations between in-situ measured conductivity and derived salinity for sensor validation studies.

Strengths

• Data collected via an autonomous Slocum glider, providing high-resolution vertical profiles.
• Measurements cover multiple key physical oceanographic properties: temperature, conductivity, salinity, and density.
• Temporal coverage is precisely defined for a 6-day deployment in July 2015.

Limitations

• Dataset is limited to a single, short 6-day deployment, restricting longitudinal analysis.
• Unknown row count and specific spatial resolution of profile measurements.
• Data is from 2015 and may not reflect current conditions in the Great Lakes.

Provenance

Source

University of Minnesota Duluth - Large Lakes Observatory, via NOAA NCEI.

Collection Method

Measurements gathered by a Slocum glider deployment, aggregated by the IOOS National Glider Data Assembly Center.

Time Range

2015-07-22 to 2015-07-27

Freshness

Single deployment from 2015; no update frequency indicated.

Geography

Great Lakes