| Title | Processed near-surface underway temperature and salinity (TSG) observations from SA Agulhas II Voyage 049, December 2021 |
|---|---|
| Project | South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) |
| Authors |
Leon Jacobs Marcel van den Berg Tarron Lamont |
| Publisher | Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (2023) |
| Contributors |
Contact Person: Leon Jacobs Contact Person: Marcel van den Berg Contact Person: Tarron Lamont |
| Abstract | Here we present the 6-second resolution processed Thermosalinograph (TSG) data collected between 03 December 2021 and 28 January 2022 during the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) cruise on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 049. A SeaBird SBE45 Thermosalinograph (TSG) is used to opportunistically collect underway near-surface temperature and conductivity measurements during research and monitoring cruises. Water is continuously pumped to the TSG from an intake located in the hull of the vessel, and the observations are continuously interfaced with navigational information. A temperature sensor close to the intake provides temperature measurements of the incoming water (T1). The temperature of the water inside the conductivity cell (T2) is used to accurately compute salinity (S) from the conductivity measurements (C). The South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) is an annual voyage undertaken by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to change the overwintering teams in Antarctica and to replenish the supplies at the SANAE IV Research base. This voyage was to deliver the SANAE 61 over wintering team to the research base and return with the SANAE 60 team. |
| Methods | The SeaBird SBE45 Thermosalinograph (TSG) is used on the SA Agulhas II for the collection of underway near-surface temperature and conductivity measurements. The underway seawater is obtained from a depth of 7m below the surface and pumped through the TSG. Data is collected using the most recent SeaBird (SBE) SeaSave software and processed using the most recent SBE data processing software. The software was set to record data at 6 second intervals for the duration of the cruise, between 03 December 2021 to 28 January 2022. Data was collected in the southern part of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) region, on the west and south coasts of South Africa, in the eastern part of the South Atlantic Ocean, and in the Southern Ocean. Unreliable TSG measurements can result from a variety of problems encountered during the cruises, including insufficient water flow, extreme air bubbling during severely adverse weather conditions, debris trapped in the system, or a variety of electronic failures. Detailed visual inspection of the ship trajectory and TSG measurements, as well as comparisons with other concurrent and historical near-surface measurements, and expert knowledge of local conditions, were used to identify and remove all unreliable data. |
| Data | |
| Temporal extent | 03 Dec 2021 – 28 Jan 2022 |
| Geographic extent |
The southern part of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) region, on the west and south coasts of South Africa; the eastern part of the South Atlantic Ocean, and the Southern Ocean
North: -30.0 |
| Vertical extent |
Max: -7.0 m Min: -7.0 m |
| Keywords | SA Agulhas II, SA Agulhas II 049, SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, SOUTHERN OCEAN, THERMOSALINOGRAPH, TSG |
| Related resources |
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