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SOFeX 2002 Revelle cruise
PI notes for SF6 Patch Determination Table

PI: Kevin Sullivan (NOAA-AOML)

22 August 2008: Contributed by Kevin Sullivan (NOAA-AOML)
Prepared for OCB data system by Cyndy Chandler, OCB DMO (WHOI).

Original MS Word file downloaded from MBARI: get MS Word file
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Description
This table was a preliminary attempt at a quantitative answer to the question of whether a cast on the Revelle was in or out of the patch. The ten largest underway analyses were averaged for each half day. A regression fit between the year-day (x) and the average half-day maximum (y) yielded an exponential equation. This equation was used to provide a maximum SF6 concentration within the patch when each cast was done. The percentage of that maximum SF6 concentration was calculated for three values associated with each cast: the SF6 in the surface bottle, the largest SF6 measured in any niskin, and the SF6 measured with the underway system (average of ten analyses) during the cast. The largest differences among these three values are seen within the first days of dispersal of the patch. The occurrence of percentages significantly larger than 100% also illustrates the spatial variability of the tracer gas and the difficulties in estimating the half-day maxima.

Contact: Kevin Sullivan (NOAA-AOML)