Sea surface temperature and salinity from French research vessels, 2001–2013

Type Article
Date 2015
Language English
Author(s) Gaillard FabienneORCID1, Diverres Denis2, Jacquin Stephane2, Gouriou Yves2, Grelet Jacques2, Le Menn Marc3, Tassel Joelle3, Reverdin Gilles4
Affiliation(s) 1 : UBO, Ifremer, UMR 6523, LPO,CNRS,IRD, CS 10070, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
2 : Inst Rech Dev, US Imago, BP 70, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
3 : SHOM, CS 92803, F-29228 Brest, France.
4 : UPMC, LOCEAN, Sorbone Univ, CNRS,IRD,MNHN, F-75005 Paris, France.
Source Scientific Data (2052-4463) (Nature Publishing Group), 2015 , Vol. 2 , N. 150054 , P. 1-9
DOI 10.1038/sdata.2015.54
WOS© Times Cited 14
Abstract French Research vessels have been collecting thermo-salinometer (TSG) data since 1999 to contribute to the Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD) programme. The instruments are regularly calibrated and continuously monitored. Water samples are taken on a daily basis by the crew and later analysed in the laboratory. We present here the delayed mode processing of the 2001–2013 dataset and an overview of the resulting quality. Salinity measurement error was a few hundredths of a unit or less on the practical salinity scale (PSS), due to careful calibration and instrument maintenance, complemented with a rigorous adjustment on water samples. In a global comparison, these data show excellent agreement with an ARGO-based salinity gridded product. The Sea Surface Salinity and Temperature from French REsearch SHips (SSST-FRESH) dataset is very valuable for the ‘calibration and validation’ of the new satellite observations delivered by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and Aquarius missions.
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