BOMEX - Salinity-Temperature-Depth (STD) Data

BOMEX - Salinity-Temperature-Depth (STD) Data is a historical digital data set archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). BOMEX Archive includes, data collected during the Barbados Oceanographic and Meteorological Experiment (BOMEX) in 1969. Parameters included in this dataset are: sea temperature, salinity, and depth. With the cooperation of the Government of Barbados and with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as lead agency, the Barbados Oceanographic and Meteorological Experiment (BOMEX) was conducted over the tropical Atlantic East of Barbados in the summer of 1969. The field operations for this multiagency national study of the ocean-atmosphere system were divided into four observation periods: May 3 to 15, May 24 to June 10, June 19 to July 2, and July 11 to July 28. The first three were devoted to the Sea Air Interaction Program--the BOMEX 'Core Experiment'--within a 500-km by 500-km square ship array. During the fourth period, the array was extended southward to incorporate the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The following is a list of the 8 different records and their respected data sets for this project. Miscellaneous Data (DSI-9670) - C00598 Rawinsonde and Radiometersonde Data (DSI-9671) - C00302 Boom Surface Meteorological Data (DSI-9672) - C00303 Salinity-Temperature-Depth (STD) Data (DSI-9673) - C00599 Aircraft Data (DSI-9674) - C00600 Boundary Layer Instrument Package (BLIP) Data (DSI-9675) - C00304 Surface Radar Data (DSI-9676) - C00601 Dropsonde Data (DSI-9677) - C00602 STD DATA Salinity-Temperature-Depth Data Set (STD) instruments were casts from the surface to 1,000m. The instrument's underwater signals were frequency modulated and multiplexed so that salinity, temperature, and depth measurements were transmitted through the lowering cable as a single composite wave form. These were scheduled for the Discoverer, Oceanographer, and Rockaway at 0100, 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800, and 2100 GMT; during Period IV, however, the first sounding from the Discoverer was made at 0000 rather than 0100. Soundings from the Mt. Mitchell and Rainier were scheduled at 0100, 0600, 1200, and 1800 GMT. All schedules were adhered to within +/-30 min. The sensor package was soaked at the surface for 5 min., lowered at a rate of approximately 20m/min to 100m, and then allowed to descend at 40 to 50m/min. The depths were determined from the STD strip-chart recorder on deck. Data were recorded during each descent only.