Abstract. Currently there is a huge amount of freely available hydrographic data, and it is increasingly important to have easy access to it and to be provided with as much information as possible. Argo is a global collection of around 4000 active autonomous hydrographic profilers. Argo data go through two quality processes, real time and delayed mode. This work shows a methodology to filter profiles within a given polygon using the odd–even algorithm; this allows analysis of a study area, regardless of size, shape or location. The aim is to offer two filtering methods and to discard only the real-time quality control data that present salinity drifts. This takes advantage of the largest possible amount of valid data within a given polygon. In the study area selected as an example, it was possible to recover around 80 % in the case of the first filter that uses cluster analysis and 30 % in the case of the second, which discards profilers with salinity drifts, of the total real-time quality control data that are usually discarded by the users due to problems such as salinity drifts. This allows users to use any of the filters or a combination of both to have a greater amount of data within the study area of their interest in a matter of minutes, rather than waiting for the delayed-mode quality control that takes up to 12 months to be completed. This methodology has been tested for its replicability in five selected areas around the world and has obtained good results.

Abstract. According to the typical thermal structure of the ocean, the water column can be divided into three layers: the mixed layer, the thermocline and the deep layer. In this study, we provide a new methodology, based on a function adjustment to the temperature profile, to locate the minimum and maximum depths of the strongest thermocline. We first validated our methodology by comparing the mixed layer depth obtained with the method proposed here with three other methods from previous studies. Since we found a very good agreement between the four methods we used the function adjustment to compute the monthly climatologies of the maximum thermocline depth and the thermocline thickness and strength in the global ocean. We also provide an assessment of the regions of the ocean where our adjustment is valid, i.e., where the thermal structure of the ocean follows the three-layer structure. However, there are ocean regions where the water column cannot be separated into three layers due to the dynamic processes that alter it. This assessment highlights the limitations of the existing methods to accurately determine the mixed layer depth and the thermocline depth in oceanic regions that are particularly turbulent such as the Southern Ocean and the northern North Atlantic, among others. The method proposed here has shown to be robust and easy to apply.

Abstract. According to the typical thermal structure of the ocean, the water column can be divided into three layers: the mixing layer, the thermocline and the deep layer. In this study, we provide a new methodology, based on a function adjustment on the temperature profile, to locate the minimum and maximum depths of the thermocline, and therefore its thickness, to separate the water column into layers. We first validated our methodology by comparing the mixed layer depth obtained with the method proposed here with that of two previous studies. Since we found a very good agreement between the three methods we used the function adjustment to compute the monthly climatologies of the mixed layer depth, the maximum depth of the thermocline and the thermocline thickness, throughout the ocean. We also provide an assessment of the regions of the ocean where our adjustment is valid, and consequently the regions where the thermal structure of the ocean follows the three-layer structure. However, there are ocean regions where the water column cannot be separated into three layers due to the dynamic processes that alter it and the major contribution of salinity to stratification. This assessment highlights the limitations of the existing methods to accurately determine the mixed layer depth and the thermocline in oceanic regions that are particularly turbulent as the Southern Ocean and the northern North Atlantic, among others. The method proposed here has shown to be robust and easy to apply, and it can be used in both local and global studies.

Objetivo: Evaluar los resultados queratométricos y refractivos tempranos de pacientes con queratocono operados con anillos intracorneales. Método: Se evaluaron 50 ojos de 25 pacientes con queratocono de grado 2 o 3, posoperados con colocación de anillos intracorneales mediante el uso de láser de femtosegundos, al mes del posoperatorio, comparando las queratometrías y las refracciones antes y después de la operación. Resultados: El promedio preoperatorio de las queratometrías planas fue de 48.8 ± 3.65 D y en el posoperatorio fue de 46.44 ± 3.65 D (p < 0.005). El promedio preoperatorio de las queratometrías curvas fue de 53.92 ± 4.50 y en el posoperatorio fue de 49.65 ± 4.15 (p < 0.005). El equivalente esférico preoperatorio fue de −7.39 ± 2.42 D y en el posoperatorio fue de −3.48 ± 2.47 D (p < 0.005). El promedio del cilindro preoperatorio fue de −5.65 ± 2.02 D y en el posoperatorio fue de −3.48 ± 2.47 D (p < 0.005). Conclusiones: La colocación de anillos intracorneales reduce de forma significativa tanto las queratometrías como los equivalentes esféricos y el astigmatismo en pacientes con queratocono en forma temprana.

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