NASA, WHOI to Hold Media Briefing on Ocean Salinity Expedition

Aug. 29, 2012

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-165

NASA, WHOI TO HOLD MEDIA BRIEFING ON OCEAN SALINITY EXPEDITION

WASHINGTON -- NASA-funded researchers are making final preparations at
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Mass.,
for an ocean-going campaign designed to shed new light on the link
between ocean salinity and shifts in global precipitation patterns.

Reporters are invited to attend a media briefing on the expedition at
10 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, Sept. 5, at WHOI. Media also can participate
via telephone.

NASA's field campaign, named the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean
Region Study (SPURS), will take the research vessel Knorr to a
high-salinity region in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of
Portugal. The six-week voyage will deploy numerous instruments, many
of which will make autonomous measurements over the course of a year
to create a three-dimensional picture of salinity beneath the ocean
surface.

The panelists on the briefing are:

-- Raymond Schmitt, senior scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution
-- Eric Lindstrom, physical oceanography program scientist, NASA
Headquarters, Washington
-- Dave Fratantoni, associate scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution

Reporters who attend the briefing will meet SPURS researchers, tour
the Knorr and see the variety of instruments and vehicles that will
be deployed at sea. The instruments will collect data to complement
observations from NASA's salinity-sensing instrument aboard the
Aquarius/SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas) observatory
launched in June 2011.

To participate in the media briefing in person or via telephone,
reporters must contact Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov or
202-358-0918; or Stephanie Murphy at samurphy@whoi.edu or
508-289-2271.

For information on SPURS, visit:

http://spurs.jpl.nasa.gov/SPURS/


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