The Aquarius Satellite and SPURS

Fred Bingham
Fred Bingham
Professor
University of North Carolina

Dr. Bingham received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in Oceanography. His research interests include global distributions of sea surface salinity and large scale regional physical oceanography in the Kuroshio, the western North and Equatorial Pacific, and Onslow Bay, North Carolina.

Webinar Clip
One objective of SPURS (Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study) is to analyze salinity variations in a specific area of the mid-Atlantic Ocean at different scales. These variations are happening on a variety of spatial scales and the instrumentation used at-sea can detect salinity within a range of 50-100 kilometers. The Aquarius satellite, launched in 2011, is measuring ocean surface salinity at a "basin" scale, meaning a range of thousands of kilometers. In this clip, Dr. Fred Bingham talks how using both satellites and in-situ equipment is creating a more accurate picture of processes occurring in the salty Atlantic.

Full webinar: Follow that Salt! Results and the Future of Salinity Exploration

Click here for a transcript of this clip (PDF, 35.6 KB).

Resources
Applicable Science Standards
  • Developing and Using Models Developing and Using Models. A practice of both science and engineering is to use and construct models as helpful tools for representing ideas and explanations. These tools include diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations.
  • Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Scientific investigations produce data that must be analyzed in order to derive meaning. Because data patterns and trends are not always obvious, scientists use a range of tools - including tabulation, graphical interpretation, visualization, and statistical analysis - to identify the significant features and patterns in the data. Scientists identify sources of error in the investigations and calculate the degree of certainty in the results. Modern technology makes the collection of large data sets much easier, providing secondary sources for analysis.
  • Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking. In both science and engineering, mathematics and computation are fundamental tools for representing physical variables and their relationships. They are used for a range of tasks such as constructing simulations; solving equations exactly or approximately; and recognizing, expressing, and applying quantitative relationships.