October 24, 2019

The SPURS (Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study) project is a NASA-funded oceanographic process study and associated field program that aims to elucidate key mechanisms responsible for near-surface salinity variations in the oceans. 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, SMAP and SMOS satellites, provide a detailed characterization of salinity structure over a continuum of spatio-temporal scales. While SPURS-1 focused on the salinity maximum region of the sub-tropical N. Atlantic, SPURS-2 concentrated on the dynamic and seasonally variable, rainfall-dominated region of the eastern tropical Pacific centered at 10°N, 125°W.  The SPURS-2 campaign involved two month-long cruises by the R/V Revelle in August-September 2016 and October-November 2017 combined with complementary sampling on a more continuous basis over this period by the schooner Lady Amber.

This third release includes a further nine new datasets of what will ultimately likely be a total of twenty-seven in-situ datasets produced during the SPURS-2 field campaign that will be archived and distributed by the PO.DAAC.  Illustrated below, datasets comprising this current release include: PAL (Acoustic Passive Listener), Seaglider, towed Surface Salinity Profile (SSP), research vessel meteorology and surface water observations, Pico Mooring, Neutrally Buoyant Float, and underway data from the sailing vessel Lady Amber.

Figure.  Sample SPURS-2 data outputs for released datasets: A) ARGO-PAL trajectory (top) and rain rate time series plots (bottom), B) Seaglider trajectory (top) and sea water salinity time series (bottom), C) AOML Drifter track (top) and surface salinity time series(bottom), D) Neutrally buoyant float trajectory profile (top) and CTD salinity time series (bottom), E) Pico mooring salinity depth profile series (top) and time series plots (bottom), F) SPURS-2 research vessel trajectory meteorological and surface water measurements (top) and surface salinity time series (bottom), and G) along-track SSP trajectory (top) and associated surface salinity time series (bottom).

SPURS-2 Resources at PO.DAAC: