Project Proposal for IODE: The Surface Salinity Project

Abstract

The Ocean Observations Panel for Climate and its predecessor examined the usefulness of surface salinity data in the context of climate change detection. They stated that "At high latitude, sea surface salinity is known to be critical for decadal and longer time scale variations associated with deep ocean over turning and the hydrological cycle. In the tropics, and in particular in the western Pacific, and Indonesian Seas, and in upwelling zones salinity is also believed to be important." They quote the benchmark sampling strategy to be one sample per 200 km square every 10 days and with an accuracy of 0.1 PSU. They also state that the tropical western Pacific and Indian Oceans and high latitudes should receive the highest priority.