This data set contains the CTD data collected by the Stazione Oceanografica of CNR (Italy) from RV URANIA during eight oceanographic campaigns (Table 1). These cruises were part of an intensive field program in the Sicily Channel and in the southern Tyrrhenian basin conducted within the MATER project, funded under FP4-MAS3 (Grant agreement ID: MAS3960051). Data have been used in several studies (see Related documents).

Table1

Cruise name       Date (from – to)                                        

MATER0              6 March 1996 - 19 March 1996                      

MATER1              16 September 1996 - 3 October 1996           

MATER2              14 January 1997 - 30 January 1997             

MATER3              1 October 1997 - 21 October 1997               

MATER4              28 April 1998 - 12 May 1998                       

MATER5              14 October 1998 - 27 October 1998             

MATER6              14 May 1999 - 30 May 1999                        

MATER7              15 November - 1999 26 November 1999     

839 CTD profiles were collected using a Neil-Brown MKIII CTD and profiles in stations 620, 621, 622 of MATER6 were collected with a Seabird 911plus probe. The probes were calibrated in temperature and conductivity at the SACLANT Center of La Spezia, before and after each cruise, and at sea in salinity, against water samples. Declared instrumental precisions were 0.002 °C for temperature and 0.005 for salinity (PSS-78). The data set is provided per cruise as ODV Spreadsheet files in TXT format, containing:

• Cruise name
• Station number
• Type of acquisition (here C for CTD)
• Date in mon/day/yr and Time in hh:mm:ss
• Coordinates in Longitude [degrees_east] and Latitude [degrees_north]
• Bottom depth [m]
• Depth, salt water [m]
• Temperature, IPTS-68 [degC]
• Temperature, ITS-90 [degC]
• Salinity, PSS-78 (Practical Salinity)