Zimin A.V., Atadzhanova O.A., Konik A.A., Gordeeva S.M.
The paper presents the results of a quantitative comparison of temperature and salinity fields obtained from oceanographic ship measurements with data from global oceanological databases. The measurements were performed at a regular location of oceanographic stations in the South-Western part of the Barents Sea from October 29 to November 2, 2018, as part of the 74th expedition to the research vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh”. For comparison, MERCATOR PSY4QV3R1, CMEMS GLORYS12v1, World Ocean Atlas 2013, GHRSST OSTIA, and Suomi NNP VIIRS data on horizons from 0 to 100 meters were used. Comparisons were made using averages and variances; anomalies, spatial correlations, and divergence functions were estimated relative to observational data and the modified Hausdorff distance was calculated for the selected isolines. Comparison of the results of ship observations and products showed that among the latter there are no data sets that reliably describe the thermohaline characteristics of the entire water column in the Barents Sea in the autumn period. The main differences in products are shown in the description of the temperature distribution, and the salinity fields are generally reproduced better. The greatest agreement with the measurement results was observed in the product GHRSST OSTIA describing only the surface temperature of the ocean. The analysis shows that it is too early to fully rely on global product data when describing the variability of hydrological conditions in the Arctic seas, despite their coverage and regular updates.
