| Summary: | Chemical and bathythermograph data were collected using moored current meter casts and other instruments from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and CAPT. BRADY J in the Gulf of Mexico from May 19, 1981 to April 12, 1983. Data were submitted by RAYTHEON CO. as part of the Brine Disposal project. Data has been been processed by NODC to the NODC standard F004- Water Physics and Chemistry format and Universal Bathythermograph Output (UBT) format. Full format descriptions are available from NODC homepage at http://www.noaa.nodc.gov. The F004 format is used for data from measurements and analyses of physical and chemical characteristics of the water column. Among chemical parameters that may be recorded are salinity, PH, and concentration of oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, chlorophyll, and suspended solids. Physical parameters that may be recorded include temperature, density (sigma-t), transmissivity, and current velocity (east-west and north-south components). Cruise and station information, including environmental conditions of the study site at the time of observations, is also included. The UBT file format is used for temperature-depth profile data obtained using expendable bathythermograph (XBT) instruments. Standard XBTs can obtain profiles at depths of about 450 or 760 m. With special instruments, measurements can be obtained to 1830 m. Cruise information, position, date, and time are reported for each observation. The data record comprises pairs of temperature-depth values. Unlike the MBT data file, in which temperature values are recorded at uniform 5m intervals, the XBT Data File contains temperature values at non-uniform depths. These depths are at a minimum number of points ("inflection points") required to record the temperature curve to an acceptable degree of accuracy. On output, however, the user may request temperature values either at inflection points or interpolated to uniform depth increments.
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