Since 2008, TDR (time-depth recorder) archival tag have been deployed on elephant seals in the Kerguelen Islands in combination with CTD-SRDLs or with FastLoc GPS for the geo-positioning (C. Guinet, SO-MEMO). The loggers, either TDR-MK9 or TDR10, are manufactured by Wildlife Computers and are able to measure continuously pressure, temperature and light along the seal foraging trip. The resolution and precision of temperature data is rather low, of order 0.5C, however the spatial resolution is unusually high with more than 60 profiles every day.
This original dataset is now publicly available as the MEOP-TDR database. The data is available in timeseries form (nctraj format) and in profile form (ncargo format). In both cases the temperature data has been adjusted to minimize the difference with the SMRU CTD-SRDL temperature data that was available simultaneously.
To download the public data, you have to fill in a simple form following this link, asking for your name, email, who you are and what you plan to do with the data. You will then access a page with the links to the data. The MEOP-CTD, MEOP-SMS and MEOP-TDR databases can be accessed a zip file or through a read-only Dropbox folder. Please do not forget to cite us in your publications, as it is the best way to support us.
Figure 1: Distribution of TDR profiles of temperature and light.
Figure 2: Exemple of temperature section obtained with the TDR-MK9 mk9-0890328-09.