Conductivity/Temperature/Depth

The Oceanography group maintains and provides Conductivity/Temperature/Depth (CTD) instruments to all Center cruises for measuring water column profiles of temperature and salinity. Generally, over 1000 profiles are collected each year on the northeast continental shelf from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Maine. Profiles are collected at every station on the Center's bottom trawl surveys and at every station on the Center's Ecosystem Monitoring surveys. The database also contains historical hydrographic data from earlier programs, which used other methods to measure temperature and salinity.

To provide hydrographic measurements made by the NEFSC to support research, assessment, and management activities in the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem.