SASSIE: Arctic Ocean Salinity and Temperature Profiles

2,246 vertical profiles of temperature and salinity were collected in the Beaufort Sea from August to October 2022. The data, sampled within ~200 km of the sea ice edge, are gridded onto a uniform 0.1 dbar pressure grid from the surface to 200 dbar. This dataset supports research on how meltwater-driven salinity anomalies affect ocean stratification and sea ice growth.

Use Cases

• Analyzing upper ocean stratification changes based on gridded temperature and salinity profiles.
• Studying the impact of sea ice melt on near-surface salinity anomalies and ocean heat content.
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) products with in-situ uCTD measurements.
• Modeling the transition from summer melt to autumn ice advance in the marginal ice zone.

Strengths

• Contains 2,246 in-situ profiles with a mean horizontal spacing of ~800 m, providing dense spatial sampling.
• Measurements are gridded onto a consistent 0.1 dbar vertical resolution, facilitating analysis.
• Data captures a key seasonal transition (summer melt to autumn advance) during an intensive NASA field campaign.

Limitations

• Metadata for columns, file size, and row count is not provided on any platform.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without details.
• The last update date conflicts between sources (2026-04-09 on Data.gov vs. 2022-09-29 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

In-situ profiles collected via Shipboard Underway Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (uCTD) instrument from a moving vessel, with stops under higher ice concentrations.

Time Range

August-October 2022

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:15:58.499520

Geography

Beaufort Sea, within ~200 km of the sea ice edge.