Winter temperature and salinity profile measurements in the Southern Ocean using elephant seals as ocean sampling platforms

由于南大洋冬季数据的缺乏，诸如GFDL的海洋模拟器等复杂的海洋模型在正确反映南极海冰区复杂过程的能力方面受到阻碍。 象海豹整个冬天都在南大洋觅食，每天多次穿越0至800米的水柱，为收集温度和盐度分布提供了机会。 由此产生的数据将有助于对水团形成和锋面变化的海洋学研究，包括与历史数据进行比较和同化成一个复杂的海洋模型。

As a result of the paucity of winter data in the Southern Ocean, sophisticated ocean models such as the GFDL MOM are hampered in their ability to properly represent the complex processes in the Antarctic sea ice zone. Elephant seals forage in the Southern Ocean throughout winter, and traverse the water column between 0 and 800 metres many times each day, providing an opportunity to collect profiles of temperature and salinity. The resulting data will contribute to oceanographic studies of water mass formation and frontal variability, including comparisons with historical data and assimilation into a complex ocean model.