SPURS: Salinity processes in the upper-ocean regional study: The north atlantic experiment

SPURS is an ongoing endeavor, and this special issue provides insight into our work midway through the enterprise. Weekly global maps of surface salinity from remote sensing have stimulated a resurgence of work on salinity processes in the upper ocean and the role of the ocean in the global water cycle. It is amazing to see the emerging analyses of salinity variability over the full range of temporal and spatial scales, from microstructure to basin-scale. We can expect more exciting insights about the vitally important global water cycle as SPURS-1 analysis progresses and SPURS-2 begins.