Abstract
In summer 1999, an extensive survey of the tropical Atlantic ocean was operated during the EQUALANT99 cruise. Several experiments were carried out on board including, for the first time in that area, eXpendable Conductivity–Temperature–Depth (XCTD) launches. The aim of this experiment was first to evaluate XCTD temperature and salinity profiles, and secondly to check how XCTD could be used together with altimetric satellite missions in order to capture a good picture of the tropical Atlantic surface circulation.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Chantal Andrié, responsible for the Equalant project, to the other EQUALANT99 colleagues, and to the R/V Thalassa crew. The objective analysis code was provided by P. DeMey. Part of this work was funded by the French Programme National d'Etudes de la Dynamique du Climat (PNEDC) and the French Programme National de Télédétection Spatiale (PNTS). The authors were supported by the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).
Notes
An updated version of a paper originally presented at Oceans from Space ‘Venice 2000’ Symposium, Venice, Italy, 9–13 October 2000.