XBT profilers for operational purposes: application and validation in real exercises

Authors

  • Francisco Machín Institut de Ciències del Mar, Centre Mediterrani d’Investigacions Marines i Ambientals (CSIC)
  • Mikhail Emelianov Institut de Ciències del Mar, Centre Mediterrani d’Investigacions Marines i Ambientals (CSIC)
  • Pablo Rodríguez Unitat de Tecnologia Marina, Centre Mediterrani d’Investigacions Marines i Ambientals (CSIC)
  • Emilio García-Ladona Institut de Ciències del Mar, Centre Mediterrani d’Investigacions Marines i Ambientals (CSIC)
  • Javier Menéndez Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima (SASEMAR)
  • Jordi Salat Institut de Ciències del Mar, Centre Mediterrani d’Investigacions Marines i Ambientals (CSIC)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2008.72n4779

Keywords:

XBT probes, operational oceanography, inverse method

Abstract


A methodology for recovering salinity from expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data is presented. The procedure exploits climatological relationships between temperature, salinity and depth to build regional characteristic curves by fitting a polynomial function that minimises both the variance of residuals and unknowns. Hence, salinity is computed and recovered as a function of temperature and depth. Empirical formula are provided to recover the salinity field from temperature-depth measurements for the Cantabrian Sea and Galician Area. The method is validated and applied in the context of two marine rescue exercises carried out in the Bay of Biscay close to the north coast of Spain and in the Finisterre region, where a series of XBT and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles were acquired during fast samplings. The results agree reasonably well with independent data in terms of the spatial structure, with the largest errors in the upper 100 m of the ocean and at intermediate levels. The first diagnoses of the surface geostrophic velocity fields obtained through the salinity reconstruction are coherent and may help in rescue and safety operations during marine emergencies. Hence, we recommend that a technical unit should consider this kind of expandable sampling strategy with both XBT and XCTD data during marine emergencies, since it provides useful and comprehensive information rapidly with minimal interference by means of formal operations on board search and rescue ships.

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Published

2008-12-30

How to Cite

1.
Machín F, Emelianov M, Rodríguez P, García-Ladona E, Menéndez J, Salat J. XBT profilers for operational purposes: application and validation in real exercises. Sci. mar. [Internet]. 2008Dec.30 [cited 2024Mar.28];72(4):779-9. Available from: https://scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es/index.php/scientiamarina/article/view/1035

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