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Riser, S. and Anderson, J. (14-Nov-13)

Using data from profiling floats enhanced with an auxiliary Surface Temperature and Salinity (STS) CTD, the upper ocean response to rainfall is observed. To date, 69 floats equipped with STS CTDs have been deployed in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans allowing for high vertical resolution (10 cm) observations in the upper ocean. While previous studies have shown the upper ocean is well mixed the majority of the time, hundreds of significant (>0.1 PSU) and often short-lived freshening events have been observed. In addition to these storm-induced responses, diurnal cycles in both temperature and salinity are ubiquitous in the tropics. We examine these and other aspects of the data in the context of near-surface variability.