IMOS - Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) - Quality Assessment and Control Report - Salinity Records

This report details the quality control (QC) procedures applied to salinity data collected from the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) moorings between 2006 and 2021. These measurements help to quantify heat and fresh water transfers, help to distinguish Eulerian from Lagrangian influences on seasonal records, and contribute to understanding controls on surface mixed layer depth (and thus light availability to primary production). The quality controlled datasets are publicly available via the AODN Data Portal. This report should be consulted when using the data.

The Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) Observatory located near 141°E and 47°S provides high temporal resolution observations in Subantarctic waters. It is focused on the Subantarctic Zone because waters formed at the surface in this region by deep wintertime convection slide under warmer subtropical and tropical waters, carrying CO2 and heat into the deep ocean, where it is out of contact with the atmosphere. This process also supplies oxygen for deep ocean ecosystems, and exports nutrients that fuel ~70% of global ocean primary production. Local biological production also impacts carbon cycling and the SOTS moorings measure several variables important to these processes.