Southern Ocean Glider Temperature and Salinity Profiles from 2017-2018

Temperature and salinity profile data collected by an underwater glider near Palmer Station, Antarctica, over a 42-day mission from December 2017 to January 2018. The dataset was generated by Rutgers University's Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RU COOL) and archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Use Cases

• Analyze cross-sectional temperature and salinity profiles to study water mass structure on the Antarctic continental shelf.
• Model the relationship between conductivity and density measurements to understand ocean stratification dynamics.
• Correlate glider trajectory data with temporal profiles to map the spatial distribution of physical properties.
• Investigate winter warming trends by comparing this 2017-2018 time-series data with other historical Antarctic datasets.

Strengths

• Data covers the West Antarctic Peninsula, the fastest winter warming location on Earth.
• Profiles were collected over a continuous 42-day mission, providing a temporal series.
• Data underwent quality checks and aggregation by the National Glider Data Assembly Center (NGDAC).

Limitations

• Dataset is limited to temperature and salinity profiles only, excluding other potential sensors.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the continental shelf near Palmer Station.
• Temporal coverage is a single 42-day window, limiting long-term trend analysis.

Provenance

Source

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RU COOL), archived by NOAA NCEI.

Collection Method

Measurements collected by an underwater glider (ru26d) and transmitted to the Integrated Ocean Observing System's National Glider Data Assembly Center.

Time Range

2017-12-11 to 2018-01-21

Freshness

Data collection ended on 2018-01-21; no update frequency specified.

Geography

Southern Ocean, continental shelf near Palmer Station, Antarctica.