IN2023_V07: Triaxus Oceanographic Data for SWOT Satellite Validation

Five Triaxus tows collected 121.75 hours of multidisciplinary ocean data south of Tasmania to validate the groundbreaking SWOT satellite mission. The data includes CTD, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, and plankton measurements from a voyage between November 15 and December 20, 2023. This record is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Validate Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite sea surface height observations based on in-situ subsurface CTD and dissolved oxygen data.
• Characterize small-scale (10-100 km) variability in ocean dynamics based on high-resolution transects across an Antarctic Circumpolar Current meander.
• Quantify cross-frontal transport of heat and carbon based on concurrent physical (CTD) and biogeochemical (nitrate, fluorescence) sensor data.
• Investigate linkages between physical processes and biological activity based on Laser Optical Plankton Counter (LOPC) and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection spanned 121.75 hours over 5 distinct tows, providing substantial temporal coverage.
• Includes duplicate sensor measurements for core parameters (pressure, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen) from a Seabird SBE9plus CTD.
• Multidisciplinary sensor suite captures physical, optical, chemical, and biological variables (CTD, PAR, transmissometer, ECO Triplet, SUNA nitrate, LOPC).

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description notes software crashes and schedule failures during data collection, which may affect data continuity.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data collected via towed TRIAXUS platform (hull #2) with a suite of oceanographic sensors during RV Investigator voyage IN2023_V07.

Time Range

November 15, 2023 to December 20, 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-18 18:01:11.929251; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Ocean region south of Tasmania, focusing on a meander of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.