A3 Lecture Resources

Links and References

Argo Float Resources

• Important Notice to Argo Users About Pressure Offset Errors - Critical information about pressure measurement accuracy and data quality considerations for Argo float datasets.

Examples Where Accuracy Matters

• Climate Change: Ocean Heat Content - Sea surface temperature increasing by 0.13°C/decade (0.013°C/year) demonstrates why measurement accuracy is critical for detecting climate signals.

• Purkey, S. G., & Johnson, G. C. (2013). Antarctic Bottom Water Warming and Freshening: Contributions to Sea Level Rise, Ocean Freshwater Budgets, and Global Heat Gain. Journal of Climate, 26(16), 6105-6122. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00834.1 - AABW freshening rate of ~0.002 kg/g per decade and warming contributing to sea level rise demonstrates the need for extremely precise salinity and temperature measurements to detect climate-driven changes in deep ocean waters.

TEOS-10 Equation of State

• TEOS-10 Primer - TEOS-10 - why was it created? TEOS-10 uses Absolute Salinity (mass fraction of salt in seawater, g/kg) instead of Practical Salinity (essentially conductivity-based). Spatial variations in seawater composition mean that Absolute Salinity is not simply proportional to Practical Salinity, and thermodynamic properties like density are more correctly expressed as functions of Absolute Salinity.

Additional Resources

Additional links and resources for A3: Hydrography & Measurement Principles will be added here.