RAFOS floats are neutrally buoyant drifters tracked acoustically via five sound sources moored south of the Gulf Stream. Each float data set contains a concurrent time series of trajectory, temperature, and pressure measurements. The data were collected by the University of Rhode Island and last updated in March 1990.
Use Cases
- Reconstructing subsurface Lagrangian trajectories based on acoustic travel time data.
- Analyzing temperature and pressure variability along isopycnal surfaces.
- Studying the dynamics and pathways of the Gulf Stream and adjacent currents.
- Validating ocean circulation models with in-situ float trajectory data.
Strengths
- Contains concurrent measurements of trajectory, temperature, and pressure for each float.
- Acoustic tracking system used five precisely timed sound sources for positioning.
- Floats were launched at a specific hydrographic feature (15°C isotherm at 450m).
Limitations
- Last updated 1990-03-26 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- University of Rhode Island, SCIOPS
- Collection Method
- Data collected via acoustically tracked, neutrally buoyant RAFOS floats that telemetered data via the ARGOS satellite system.
- Freshness
- 1990-03-26 23:59:59.999000
- Geography
- North Atlantic, south of the Gulf Stream along a line between 73W and 51W.