CTD Water Measurements from Gulf of Mexico Research Vessels

Gulf of Mexico approaches to Tampa, FL provide the location for this dataset of water temperature, salinity, and sound speed. Data were collected from October 17, -2018 to March 2, 2019 using Sea Bird Electronics SBE19plus CTD sensors on the R/V Sea Scout and R/V C-Wolf for the NOAA-contracted OPR-J317-KR-18 project. Measurements were taken through the water column via daily casts, with dual casts performed on the Sea Scout.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of water temperature and salinity for oceanographic research.
• Calibrating or validating regional oceanographic and acoustic models using in-situ sound speed data.
• Studying daily variability in coastal water properties from repeated CTD casts.
• Supporting environmental monitoring projects under NOAA contracts.

Strengths

• Data collection used industry-standard Sea Bird Electronics SBE19plus CTD sensors.
• Dual CTD casts were performed on the R/V Sea Scout, providing potential for instrument verification.
• Measurements cover a defined time range from 2018-10-17 to 2019-03-02 with at least daily sampling.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown across all platforms.
• A conflict exists in the 'last updated' date: Data.gov reports 2026-04-01, while NASA Earthdata reports 2019-03-02.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

In-situ measurements through the water column using CTD sensors on research vessels.

Time Range

2018-10 17 to 2019-03-02

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:06:21.439847

Geography

Gulf of Mexico approaches to Tampa, FL