Three Decades of in Situ Sea Surface Salinity Measurements in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

Acknowledgements

    Compiling three decades of in situ Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) data is the result of the hard work and intellectual efforts of a large body of scientists, engineers, technicians, administration people, ship officers and crews within agencies and institutions. Foremost among them is the contribution of J. R. Donguy who, together with one of us (C. Hénin), initiated the first IRD Voluntary Observing Ship program in the tropical Pacific, as early as 1969. Numerous IRD scientists and technicians have contributed to collecting the present SSS data set. We would like to acknowledge B. Buisson, Y. Dandonneau, P. Desfontaine, D. Diveres, L. Foucher, F. Gallois, R. Gérard, J. Grelet, J.M. Ihily, A. Le Corvaisier, J. Marchand, L. Marec, Y. Montel, J.Y. Panche, C. Peignon,  M. Privé, P. Rual, M. Sicard, P. Waigna, S. Waigna, and H. Walico. The savoir-faire and motivation of  F. Gallois and J. Grelet was instrumental in developing the thermosalinograph network at the early stage of the operation. We also gratefully acknowledge the contribution of C. Cosca and M. McPhaden from PMEL, and K. Ando from JAMSTEC in providing quality controlled thermosalinograph data from cruises servicing the TAO and TRITON moorings. Thermosalinograph data from TAO mooring sites in the COARE domain were used to built the 1969-95 gridded SSS field; these data reflect a co-operative effort of IRD (J. Picaut), PMEL (M. McPhaden), and the University of Hawaii (R. Lukas). We are also thankful to numerous scientists in different Pacific countries for providing hydrocast and CTD measurements collected during more than 200 research cruises. Finally, this data collection would not have been possible without the contribution of the officers and crew members on hundreds of commercial vessels and Navy ships steaming in the tropical Pacific. We would like to ask you to join with us in acknowledging their efforts