Ocean Glider Trajectory Profile Data from Gulf of Mexico 2015

Physical oceanographic measurements were collected by the Rutgers University glider 'ru31' in the Gulf of Mexico from October 28 to November 1, 2015. The dataset includes profiles of temperature, conductivity, salinity, and density. Data were managed by the Integrated Ocean Observing System's National Glider Data Assembly Center and archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Use Cases

• Analyze vertical temperature and salinity profiles to identify water mass stratification.
• Map density variations to study mixing processes and current structures in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Correlate conductivity and temperature measurements to validate satellite-derived sea surface salinity products.
• Use geospatial trajectory data to model the 3D advection of dissolved materials in coastal waters.

Strengths

• Data collected during a focused 5-day mission for a specific research consortium (CONCORDE).
• Measurements include four core physical oceanographic variables essential for water mass analysis.
• Data underwent quality checks for file format compliance by the IOOS National Glider Data Assembly Center.

Limitations

• Dataset is limited to four physical variables, excluding other available sensor data like oxygen and chlorophyll.
• Temporal coverage is very short, capturing only a 5-day snapshot in late 2015.
• Geographic scope is restricted to the specific glider track within the Gulf of Mexico.

Provenance

Source

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; archived by NOAA NCEI (Accession 0153548).

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected by an autonomous underwater glider (ru31).

Time Range

2015-10-28 to 2015-11-01

Freshness

Data is from a single deployment ending 2015-11-01; no update frequency indicated.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico (specific glider trajectory).