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Introduction 
This data report presents the temperature field of the North Atlantic Ocean in 1990 
between the English Channel and the Grand Banks (TWI line AX-3) and between the 
English Channel and Brazil (TWI line AX-11) in the form of profiles and section plots. 
Thanks to the kind support of the Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd AG and Hamburg-Süd 
AG shipping companies and the willing co-operation of the crews of CMS "Köln Atlantic" 
and CMS "Monte Rosa", the measurements were performed by using expendable 
bathythermographs (XBT) launched from the bridge wing by the officer of the watch. 
Measurements along line AX-3 have been carried out since 1988 by CMS "Köln Atlantic" 
and are published in previous data reports. Measurements on line AX-11 started in 
1980, but no data have been published until now because only strip chart (mechanical) 
recorders were available. Until 1986, when CMS "Monte Rosa" became operational on 
line AX-11 (Fig. 1), measurements were undertaken by various Hamburg-Süd vessels. 
In 1990 the strip chart recorder was replaced by a digital XBT data acquisition system 
(Bathy Systems SA-810) which gave us the opportunity to include these data in our 
annual report. Finally, and in addition to our regular Ship-of-Opportunity activities, data 
from the Arctic Ocean are presented which were acquired by the Soviet nuclear 
icebreaker "Rossiya" (Fig. 2) on her cruise to the North Pole. 
This Ship-of-Opportunity Programme (SOOP) is a contribution to the Integrated Global 
Ocean Services System (IGOSS) as well as to the World Ocean Circulation Experiment 
(WOCE). The operation of TWI line AX-3 is part of the German research programme 
WOCE-NORD (WOCE North-Atlantic Overturning Rate Determination) which was 
funded by the German Ministry of Science and Technology (Fkz.: 03F0537A). The 
objectives of this programme, methods of measurement, quality problems, data flow and 
processing are described by Sy and Ulrich (1989,1990), Sy (1990) and Sy (1991) and thus 
need not be repeated here. Apart from some aspects concerning changes both in data 
processing and presentation techniques, which will be discussed in the next section, the 
t 
technical environment is unchanged. With the exception of the NS "Rossiya" cruise, 
shipboard units and data processing techniques of all the data presented here are 
identical. T-7 (Deep Blue) probes are used except where otherwise stated.