Short Name:
SPURS1_FLOAT_NEUTRALLYBUOYANT

Neutrally buoyant float data for the SPURS-1 N. Atlantic field campaign

The SPURS (Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study) project is an oceanographic process study and associated field program that aim to elucidate key mechanisms responsible for near-surface salinity variations in the oceans. The project involves two field campaigns and a series of cruises in regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans exhibiting salinity extremes. SPURS employs a suite of state-of-the-art in-situ sampling technologies that, combined with remotely sensed salinity fields from the Aquarius/SAC-D and SMOS satellites, provide a detailed characterization of salinity structure over a continuum of spatio-temporal scales. The SPURS-1 campaign involved a series of 5 cruises during 2012 - 2013 seeking to characterize the salinity structure and balance in a high salinity, high evaporation, and low rainfall region of the subtropical North Atlantic. It aims to resolve processes responsible for maintaining the subtropical surface salinity maximum in this region and within a 900 x 800-mile square study area centered at 25N, 38W. Neutrally buoyant floats drift and move through the water column providing continuous temperature and salinity profiles via 2 integrated CTDs and GPS surface position location data. Two floats were deployed during SPURS-1, one during the Knorr cruise in September 2012 another deployed during the April 2013 Endeavor cruise. Recoveries were in April and September 2013 respectively. Neutrally buoyant float trajectory profile data include georeferenced time series of salinity, temperature, and pressure/depth observations.

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