Funded under NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program, the Aquarius instrument will collect sea surface salinity (SSS) data over the global oceans. SSS is key to understanding the water cycle because 86% of global evaporation and 78% of global precipitation occur over the oceans. Together with in-water profiles from the ARGO system, scientists will have an unprecedented three-dimensional view of ocean salinity patterns. With these data and advanced computer models, we will discover how our oceans are tied to water cycle and climate. Our education technology team has developed a set of interactive tools using historical salinity, temperature, and density data sets (2005 NOAA World Ocean Atlas & Database for the "Flat Map Interface" and 2009 NOAAA World Ocean Atlas & Database for the "GoogleEarth Interface"). These data are available as three distinct yet complementary tools that highlight: (1) spatial patterns of long-term mean data; (2) annual cycle of monthly mean data; and (3) change over time of yearly mean data. Each interactive tool has its own "Tutorial" slide show.
MONTHLY MEAN MAPS & TIME-SERIES PLOTS FOR SALINITY - TEMPERATURE - DENSITY Create global maps of mean conditions for any month at designated depths (down to 1500m) using the pull-down menus. Monthly time-series graphs of salinity, temperature, or density can be plotted by selecting up to six locations (by clicking on the map or typing latitude/latitude information into the fields below). These time-series plots can also represent up to six different depths. Plotted data will also be shown in a table that is easily downloaded (e.g., into Excel). Sources include interpolated atlas data or actual measurements from the database.
