Abstract:

This dataset contains estimates of vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and geopotential anomaly from 72-hour low-pass filtered travel time data and Gravest Empirical Mode (GEM) lookup from an array of Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounders (PIES) in the Gulf of Mexico from 2019-06-15 to 2021-05-18. Travel times are in situ measurements. A seasonal temperature GEM has been added to the temperature profiles. Geopotential anomaly is calculated using the seasonally corrected temperature profiles and is calculated to be zero at the bottom. The profiles are provided at 12-hour intervals with 10-dbar pressure intervals. The bottom pressure level depends on the site depth. The data are in NetCDF format. Associated mooring data are available in datasets U1.x852.000:0003 (doi: 10.7266/K4ZF1T9Z; currents), U1.x852.000:0004 (doi: 10.7266/BZ9B3C54; pressure and temperature), U1.x852.000:0005 (DOI: 10.7266/4B13NKBA; vertical acoustic travel time), and U1.x852.000:0008 (doi: 10.7266/2Q0KAAKG; sea surface height anomaly and PIES). CTD data collected during mooring deployment and servicing is available in datasets U1.x852.000:0002 (doi: 10.7266/9BJWE9SM) and U1.x852.000:0001 (doi: 10.7266/ZSW7FB3E).

Suggested Citation:

Donohue, Kathleen, Randolph D. Watts, and Maureen Kennelly. 2022. Estimates of vertical profiles of temperature, salinity and geopotential anomaly from an array of Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounders (PIES) in the Gulf of Mexico from 2019-06-15 to 2021-05-18. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/GE30701Z

Purpose:

This dataset contains estimates of vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and geopotential anomaly from 72-hour low-pass filtered travel time data and GEM lookup from an array of Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounders in the Gulf of Mexico from 2019-06-15 to 2021-05-18. Travel times are in situ measurements. A seasonal temperature GEM has been added to the temperature profiles. Geopotential anomaly is calculated using the seasonally corrected temperature profiles and is calculated to be zero at the bottom. The profiles are provided at 12-hour intervals with 10-dbar pressure intervals. The bottom pressure level depends on the site depth. Dataset was generated to increase understanding of the Loop Current (LC) separation process and to inform LC forecasting efforts. The data are in NetCDF format.

Data Parameters and Units:

Time relative to 00:00:00 ZZ 1 January 2019 (UTC, [days]), latitude [decimal deg], longitude [decimal deg], bottom pressure [dbar], hydrostatic pressure [dbar], water temperature [degrees Celsius], salinity [psu], and geopotential anomaly [m^2/s^2].

Methods:

Vertical acoustic travel time data, round trip from the sea floor to the sea surface, were acquired with URI and Sonardyne current and pressure recording inverted echo sounders (PIES). Data were processed with URI's IES processing package version 4. Twenty-four pings obtained each hour were windowed to remove large outliers. Additional data spikes were removed. Hourly values were obtained as the average of a few pings around the first quartile of the remaining pings. Travel time data were 72-hour lowpass filtered. A seasonal temperature GEM has been added to the temperature profiles. Geopotential anomaly was calculated using the Matlab CSIRO Seawater Library routine sw_gpan.m using the seasonally corrected temperature profile and is calculated to be zero at the bottom.

Instruments:

URI and Sonardyne current and pressure recording inverted echo sounders (IES). The IES is moored in a rigid anchor stand.

Provenance and Historical References:

The GEM methodology and seasonal correction used to estimate the vertical profiles is similar to that described in Hamilton, P., K. Donohue, C. Hall, R. R. Leben, H. Quian, J. Sheinbaum, and D. R. Watts. Observations and dynamics of the Loop Current. OCS Study BOEM 2015-006, U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA, 2014. 417pp. Available online at https://espis.boem.gov/final%20reports/5471.pdf.

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