Two decibar averaged CTD profiles collected during BATS Validation (BVAL) cruises from April 1991 through July 2025

<p><strong>BATS Validation Cruises</strong></p> <p>Following the first several years of the BATS project it was deemed necessary by the JGOFS steering committee and BATS PI’s to conduct validation cruises in the vicinity of the nominal BATS site to better understand the mesoscale and larger scale variability of the region. In particular, a focus of the BVAL cruises was to assess the spatial scale representation of the BATS and Hydrostation ‘S’ programs. Initial focus of the BVAL cruises was to investigate mesoscale variability and meridional gradients of the local region. Later, cruises focused on specific mesoscale eddies (e.g., Mcgillicuddy et al., 1998; McGillicuddy et al., 1999) and effects of tropical cyclones through the local region.</p> <p>In 2000 it was deemed more important to document the larger scale changes in the North Atlantic Subtropical gyre and BVAL cruises established a transect line from ~ 35N to 19N (Bermuda to Puerto Rico) very similar to the WOCE A22 repeat hydrography line (Johnson et al., 2020). These annual Bermuda to Puerto Rico transects have been run since 2000 and target stations at every one degree of latitude and typically have been conducted in September/October of each year to capture maximal heat content in the upper ocean. However, since this timeframe coincides with high tropical cyclone activity the cruises were reluctantly (as of 2022) moved to start in June/July of each year for safety and operational reasons. In the pentad prior to 2022 every BVAL cruise was significantly impacted but multiple tropical cyclones. Parameters presented are the same as provided in the BATS standard CTD data.</p><p><strong>BATS验证航次</strong></p><p>在百慕大大西洋时间序列研究（BATS）项目实施最初数年后，联合全球海洋通量研究计划（JGOFS）指导委员会与BATS首席研究员团队认定，有必要在名义BATS站点周边开展验证航次，以更全面地认知该区域的中尺度及更大尺度的海洋变异性。其中，BVAL航次的核心目标之一是评估BATS与“S水文站（Hydrostation ‘S’）”项目的空间尺度代表性。BVAL航次初期聚焦于探究本地海域的中尺度变异性与经向梯度；后续则转向针对特定中尺度涡旋的研究（如McGillicuddy等，1998；McGillicuddy等，1999），以及热带气旋途经该区域所产生的影响。</p><p>2000年，学界认为记录北大西洋副热带环流的更大尺度变化更为关键，因此BVAL航次设立了一条从约35°N至19°N（百慕大至波多黎各）的断面航线，该航线与世界海洋环流实验（WOCE）A22重复水文断面航线高度相似（Johnson等，2020）。自2000年起，这类百慕大至波多黎各的年度断面航次持续开展，以每1度纬度设置一个目标站位，通常于每年9月至10月实施，以捕捉上层海洋的最大热含量。但由于该时段恰逢热带气旋活动高发期，出于安全与作业效率考量，截至2022年，航次已无奈调整至每年6月至7月开展。在2022年前的五年间，每一次BVAL航次均受到多场热带气旋的显著影响。本次公开的参数与BATS标准温盐深剖面仪（CTD）数据所采用的参数完全一致。</p>