The dataset consists of 173 CTD casts in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds obtained during 4 surveys. The surveys were performed during 22-24 September 2009, 7-8 December 2009, 9-11 March 2010, and 16-18 June 2010. The casts cover the nearly the entire watercolumn from the surface to approximately 2 m above the bottom. The data were obtained with a SeaBird SBE19plus, which measures temperature, conductivity, pressure, optical backscatter, chlorophyll fluorescence, oxygen, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). All sensors were sampled at 4 Hz. The data were processed using the SeaBird data processing software suite, SBEDataProcessing-Win32. A low pass filter, with time constant of 1 s, was applied to the pressure record. Temperature and conductivity were low pass filtered with a 0.5 s filter time constant. To account for the relatively slower response of the temperature sensor, the temperature was advanced in time by 0.5 seconds relative to pressure. The oxygen voltage was advanced relative to pressure by 2 seconds for the September, December, and June survey casts and 5 seconds for the March survey casts. A correction for conductivity cell thermal mass effects was applied to the conductivity signal using the parameters recommended by SeaBird (alpha=0.04, 1/beta=8.0). A loop edit step was then applied, whereby portions of the cast in which the pressure was not changing sufficiently fast (0.1 dbar/s) were removed. This was followed by computation of salinity, sigma-t, and oxygen concentration. Finally, the data from the downcast were averaged into 1 dbar bins. Further details of the CTD data processing can be found in the header portion of the individual cast files. The final data files contain raw sensor values (1 dbar bin averages) plus a number of derived variables (e.g., salinity, sigma-t, oxygen). A full list of the output variables is contained in the header portion of the cast files.

The dataset is an archive of CTD data obtained from a towed undulating platform (Acrobat) in the region near the mouth of Long Island Sound. The observations were made with a Towed Oceanographic Microstructure and Auxiliary Sensors Instrument (TOMASI) manufactured by Rockland Scientific. The TOMASI was carried aboard a towed undulating vehicle, an Acrobat manufactured by SeaSciences. The Acrobat was towed behind the ship (cable payout is given within the header portion of the data files) and undulated between approximately 2 m below the surface to approximately 5 m above the bottom (or to a maximum depth of about 40 m). The dataset consists of 61 files each containing time series of longitude, latitude, pressure, temperature, conductivity, salinity, and sigma-t.

This dataset is the final processed data for the following cruises in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, Strait of Juan De Fuca, and Puget Sound from 20030602 to 20061004: 1. ECOHAB/PNW1 aboard the Wecoma (W0306a), 2. ECOHAB/PNW2 aboard the Wecoma (W0308c), 3. ECOHAB/PNW3 aboard the Atlantis (AN1117), 4. ECOHAB/PNW4 aboard the Atlantis (AN1130), 5. ECOHAB/PNW5 aboard R/V Melville (8M0509), and 6. ECOHAB/PNW6 aboard R/V Thomas G. Thompson (TN200). These data were collected using the ships' SBE911+ system with dual Temperature and Conductivity sensors, a Chelsea/SeaTech/Wetlabs (Cstar/ECO-(AFL/FL)) fluorometer sensor, Chelsea/Wetlabs Cstar Transmissometer, a Biospherical Instruments/LICOR PAR (Irradiance) sensor, and a Sea Bird SBE043 dissolved oxygen sensor. The data was initially processed using SeaBird Electronics' processing with SeaBird's standard. recommended parameters. The procedure used for quality-control and calibration post processing follows that developed at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in the Eco-FOCI (Fisheries and Oceanography coordinated Investigations) and other in house procedures.

Physical oceanographic data were collected by Navigation Response Team 4 in the Great Lakes area from 19 June 2008 to 15 October 2008. Data were collected from CTD casts and underway vessel profiler. Temperature and salinity profiles were collected from CTD casts. Sound velocity profiles were collected from the underway vessel profiler. Data are self documenting and are in plain ASCII text.

Physical oceanographic data were collected from NOAA Navigation Response Team-2 in the coastal waters of Florida from 13 February 2006 to 08 November 2006. Data were collected from CTD and sound velocimeter casts. Temperature and salinity profiles were collected from the CTD casts. Sound velocity profiles were collected from the sound velocimeter casts. Data are self documenting and are in plain ASCII text.

Temperature profile and sound velocity data were collected using CTD, XCTD, and XBT casts in the Arctic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin, North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and Southern Oceans from April 11, 1975 to August 31, 1998. Data were collected by the US Naval Oceanographic Office as part of the Master Oceanographic Observation Data Set (MOODS) project.

A sound velocity profile was collected using a sound velocimeter cast in Berwick Bay near Morgan City, Louisiana on 04 October 2006 as part of project number OPR-K354-NRT1-06. The data were collected by the NAVIGATION RESPONSE TEAM 1 and submitted by Ruby L. Becker of National Ocean Service. The data are self documenting and are in plain ASCII text.