Scientists like to measure the salinity of the ocean because it gives a lot of information about the motion and the origin of water masses. Salinity is a measure of conductivity and so the instruments that measure salinity really measure the number of electrons that are carried by the sea salt ions. The vertical salinity structure of the ocean is recorded with a conductivity sensor mounted on a CTD. Even though these sensors are very exact to begin with they have a small deviation from the real value, and scientists like to reduce the measured error to a minimum. For this purpose, oceanographers use a salinometer in order to measure the exact salinity of a water sample and to be able to correct the CTD salinity.
The salinometer is a box with a water bath that keeps samples at a constant temperature. The salinometer measures the salinity of the water sample against the salinity of an industrially manufactured water sample (Copenhagen standard water) with a standard salinity of 34.999. This is a more elaborate way to measure salinity of a water sample but with a very small error in order to effectively correct for deviations in the conductivity sensor of the CTD.
Prince William Sound has, at present, 2 NDBC Buoys that measure salinity at a depth of 2 meters. Buoy 46060 and Buoy 46081. Look for dat from these buoys on their individual station pages and as a layer in Mapserver (Interactive Data Portal). ARGO floats (drifting buoys) measure salinity in the Gulf of Alaska and in the Pacific Ocean. This data is also available through a Mapserver layer.
Data Access
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