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Southern Ocean Fine structure (SOFine) project data set

Data set information

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General  
Data holding centreBritish Oceanographic Data Centre
CountryUnited Kingdom  United Kingdom
ProjectSouthern Ocean Fine structure(SOFine)
Time periodData collected during one SOFine cruise plus 2-year moorings, 2008-2010
OngoingNo
Geographical area

Southern Ocean: southwest of South America, Drake Passage and Scotia Sea

Observations 
Parameters

Horizontal spatial co-ordinates; Date and time; Air pressure; Variable fluorescence parameters; Vertical velocity of the water column (currents); Bathymetry and Elevation; Moored instrument depth; Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Turbulence in the water column; Electrical conductivity of the water column; Air temperature; Density of the water column; Wind strength and direction; Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents)

Instruments

Current profilers; lowered current profilers; thermosalinographs; single-beam echosounders; multi-beam echosounders; salinity sensor; unknown; microstructure sensors; CTD; satellite positioning systems; water body temperature sensor; water temperature sensor

Description 
Summary

The Southern Ocean Fine structure (SOFine) dataset comprises hydrographic (temperature, salinity, current velocities, microstructure and turbulence), bathymetric and meteorological (air temperature, pressure, winds, humidity and irradiance) measurements from the Kerguelen Plateau region of the Southern Ocean. The data were collected between late 2008 and early 2010 via one research cruise (November - December 2008) and two long-term mooring deployments (November 2008 - January 2010). Data collection involved the deployment of a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) package accompanied by lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCPs) at numerous locations across the study area. Microstructure was measured using a freefall Vertical Microstructure Profiler (VMP) and opportunistic measurements of upper ocean turbulence were collected with a tethered ISW Wassermesstechnik microstructure profiler. The station data were supplemented by continuous underway measurements of current velocities (using a vessel mounted ADCP, VMADCP); bathymetry (using single- and multi-beam echosounders); and surface ocean and meteorological parameters. Floats and drifters were also deployed, as were five moorings: three were recovered approximately 2.5 weeks later during the cruise and two were deployed for more than one year. The moored instruments measured physical parameters such as temperature, conductivity and pressure, horizontal and vertical current velocities (using moored ADCPs) and turbulence (using moored microstructure profilers, MMPs). The SOFine project aimed to enhance our understanding of frictional processes that slow the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and help to drive the Southern Ocean overturning circulation. SOFine involved researchers from UK, US, Australian and German institutions, including the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the University of East Anglia (UEA), British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the University of Tasmania and the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), University of Kiel. The UK principal investigator (PI) is A. Naveira Garabato from the School of Ocean and Earth Science, NOC and the majority of the data are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). The float and drifter data are managed by the Argo programme and Australian research institutions, and are not held at BODC.

OriginatorsUniversity of Southampton Department of Oceanography
Data web sitehttps://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/bodc_database/nodb/data_collection/4270/
Availability 
OrganisationBritish Oceanographic Data Centre
AvailabilityLicence; by negotiation
ContactPolly Hadžiabdić (Head of the BODC Requests Team)
Address

British Oceanographic Data Centre
Joseph Proudman Building 6 Brownlow Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5DA
United Kingdom

Telephone+44 (0)782 512 0946
Emailenquiries@bodc.ac.uk
Administration 
Collating centreBritish Oceanographic Data Centre
Local identifier1048SOFINE
Global identifier4270
Last revised2021-04-21