SPURS-1 Seasoar: High-Resolution Ocean Salinity and Temperature Profiles

SPURS-1 deployed a Seasoar towed vehicle to collect 1144 vertical casts of temperature, conductivity, salinity, and pressure in the subtropical North Atlantic. The dataset provides a 1-meter gridded, highly processed view of ocean structure from a 900 x 800-mile study area centered at 25N, 38W. This in-situ data, collected during a 2013 spring cruise, complements satellite salinity measurements from Aquarius/SAC-D and SMOS.

Use Cases

• Modeling salinity balance in high-evaporation ocean regions based on detailed in-situ conductivity and temperature profiles.
• Calibrating remotely sensed salinity data from Aquarius/SAC-D and SMOS satellites using concurrent, high-resolution shipborne measurements.
• Analyzing vertical structure of the upper ocean (0-312m) to resolve processes maintaining the surface salinity maximum.
• Studying oceanographic processes at spatio-temporal scales bridging satellite and traditional cruise data.

Strengths

• Contains data from 1144 detailed vertical casts, providing high spatial resolution.
• Data is highly processed and gridded to a consistent 1-meter vertical resolution.
• Integrates with a major oceanographic field campaign (SPURS-1) involving 5 cruises and satellite data.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data schema are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between platforms (2013-04 08 vs. 2026-04-09), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• Spatial coverage is limited to a single cruise period (22 Mar - 8 Apr, 2013) and a maximum depth of 312m.

Provenance

Source

SPURS (Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study) project, likely associated with NASA and POCLOUD.

Collection Method

Data collected via a Seasoar towed vehicle with dual pumped temperature/conductivity sensors, undulating in the upper ocean while towed at ~8 knots.

Time Range

2013-03-22 to 2013-04-08

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:32:08.956004

Geography

Subtropical North Atlantic, within a 900 x 800-mile square study area centered at 25N, 38W.