Sea Surface Salinity from French RESearcH Vessels : Delayed mode dataset, annual release

French Research vessels have been collecting thermo-salinometer (TSG) data since the early 2000 in contribution to the GOSUD programme. The set of homogeneous instruments is permanently monitored and regularly calibrated. Water samples are taken on a daily basis by the crew and later analysed in the laboratory. We present here the delayed mode processing of the time series intiated in 2001 dataset and an overview of the resulting quality. The careful calibration and instrument maintenance, complemented with a rigorous adjustment on water samples lead to reach an accuracy of a few 10-² PSS in salinity or evenless. Global comparison with the ISAS13 ARGO gridded product shows an excellent agreement of the datasets. The SSS-Fresh dataset appears as highly valuable for the "calibration and validation" of the new satellite observations delivered by SMOS, Aquarius and SMAP.