{"id":251,"date":"2018-09-13T14:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T18:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/staff\/cclayson\/?page_id=251"},"modified":"2021-04-15T13:01:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T17:01:11","slug":"spurs-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/staff\/cclayson\/projects\/spurs-2\/","title":{"rendered":"SPURS-2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

SPURS-2<\/h1>\n

\"\"The overall goal of the SPURS-2 field program is to understand the structure and variability of upper-ocean salinity under the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the region of the eastern tropical Pacific in 2016-2017. The Pacific ITCZ, with its frequent, heavy rainfall, is a major source of freshwater. Ultimately, this freshwater input contributes to the large-scale pattern of low SSS in the eastern tropical Pacific, but the initial input of freshwater is in “puddles” on the ocean surface with scales similar to the atmospheric mesoscale.<\/p>\n

There are several key\u00a0scientific questions for the SPURS-2 field program:<\/p>\n

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  1. Where does the freshwater go? In other words, how does the ocean integrate the freshwater forcing and destroy the salinity variance created at the surface?<\/li>\n
  2. By what oceanic processes is the freshwater transformed from shallow, patchy “puddles” of freshwater into the large-scale mean distribution of salinity that makes up the Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool?<\/li>\n
  3. What impact will this horizontal and vertical variability have on the performance of satellite-based measurements of SSS?<\/li>\n
  4. What are the local and non-local effects of the freshwater flux on the ocean?<\/li>\n
  5. How does the ocean SSS impact the feedbacks on the atmosphere?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These are general issues that frame the interests of SPURS-2. More specifically, the program is expected to focus on certain physical processes, such as:<\/p>\n