Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1222960

• Metadata Summary

• Problem Reports

• Data Access Policy

• Narrative Documents

• Project Information

• Data Activity or Cruise Information

• Fixed Station Information

• BODC Quality Flags

• SeaDataNet Quality Flags

Metadata Summary

Problem Reports

No Problem Report Found in the Database

RRS James Clark Ross Cruise AMT7 (JR34) Underway Meteorology Data Quality Report

Data quality report

Users should be cautious when using ship-borne wind measurements. Although the relative wind data have been corrected for ship's heading and speed, they are still sensitive to shielding effects. Users can consult the ship's E-W and N-S speed alongside the wind speed and direction.

Data Access Policy

Public domain data

These data have no specific confidentiality restrictions for users. However, users must acknowledge data sources as it is not ethical to publish data without proper attribution. Any publication or other output resulting from usage of the data should include an acknowledgment.

The recommended acknowledgment is

"This study uses data from the data source/organisation/programme, provided by the British Oceanographic Data Centre and funded by the funding body."

Narrative Documents

Kipp and Zonen CM5/CM6 pyranometer

General Information

Pyranometers designed for measuring the irradiance on a plane surface, which results from the direct solar radiation and from the diffuse solar radiation incident from the hemisphere above. Reflected solar radiation can be measured with the pyranometer in the inverted position. It uses a Moll thermopile consisting of 14 constantan-Manganin junctions and a pair of Schott K5 glass domes. The transmittance spectra of the K5 exhibits a cut-on limit at 310 nm in the ultraviolet and a cut-off limit at the 2800 nm. A desiccant cartridge is mounted in the core of the radiometer. The CM5 and CM6 are identical except the latter possesses a white shield to shade the body of the instrument from the differential illumination and a mounting base containing a spirit level. The pyranometers comply with the specifications for a `first class' pyranometer, as published in the `Guide to meteorological instruments and methods of observation', Fifth edition, 1983, from the Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)- Geneva, Switzerland.

Specifications

Table of WMO Classification of pyranometers.

CM5/6 Pyranometer is a first class pyranometer. This table was taken from the manual.

More information on the CM5 may be found in the Kipp and Zonen CM5/6 manual.

Vector Instruments air temperature sensor

Instrument used to measure air temperature. The model is unknown.

Vector Instruments cup anemometer

Instrument used to measure wind speed. The model is unknown. It is assumed to consist of a 3-cup rotor, a precision ball-race mounted shaft and internal modules and components to provide electrical output signals. The outline and mechanical design of Vector Instruments cup anemometers, common to the A100 series, has remained largely unchanged since the introduction of the original Porton Anemometer in 1972.

Vector Instruments wind vane

Instrument used to measure wind direction. The model is unknown. It is assumed to consist of a free-rotating fin that is mounted on a shaft and internal modules and components to provide electrical output signals.

Didcot DRP-1 PAR sensor

Instrument used to measure the photosynthetically active radiation spectral range of solar radiation. It is assumed to have a spectral response of 400-700nm. It could have any type of collector (flat plate cosine collector, spherical or hemispherical).

Trimble 4000DS Global Positioning System receiver

The Trimble 4000DS Differential Surveyor is similar to the 4000RS (a Maxwell-based receiver that is oriented toward precision positioning applications. It is intended for use as a DGPS base station, generating RTCM-104 corrections). The 4000Ds can apply RTCM-104 corrections to the satellite data it receives in order to generate accurate position fixes in real time.

RRS James Clark Ross Cruise AMT7 (JR34) Underway Meteorology Instrumentation Document

The instrumentation has been collated from various sources as historic notation of instrumentation was not well maintained. Care may be required if making assumptions based on the instruments used.

The following instruments used for meteorological measurements:

RRS James Clark Ross Cruise AMT7 (JR34) Underway Meteorology Data Processing Document

Originator's Data Processing

Raw data were logged as ADC counts on the ship's computers. They were converted into engineering units using initial manufacturers' calibrations.

The data were submitted to BODC in RVS internal format for post-cruise processing and data banking.

BODC Data Processing

Reformatting

Underway data files were merged into a single binary merge file using time as the primary linking key. The time span of the file was from 13/09/1998 16:00:00 to 25/10/1998 19:55:00, with a sampling interval of 1 minute.

Screening

Each data channel was inspected on a graphics workstation and any spikes or periods of dubious data were flagged. The power of the workstation software was used to carry out comparative screening checks between channels by overlaying data channels. A map of the cruise track was simultaneously displayed in order to take account of the oceanographic context.

Data processing, correction and calibration

Relative wind speed and direction were logged from the meteorological package during the cruise. The ship's speed and heading channels were used with the relative wind data to produce absolute wind speed and direction.

Vaisala PA11 Digital Barometer

This barometer was discontinued in the 20th Century and little information remains. Information was requested from Vaisala who managed to supply a PA11A digital barometer brochure. One would expect the information in the brochure to not be too dissimilar to that expected of the PA11.

Project Information

The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) - Phase 1 (1995-2000)

Who was involved in the project?

The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme was designed by and implemented as a collaboration between Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC). The programme was hosted by Plymouth Marine Laboratory and involved additional researchers from UK and international universities throughout its duration.

What was the project about?

When AMT began in 1995 the programme provided a platform for international scientific collaboration, including the calibration and validation of SeaWiFs measurements and products. The programme provided an exceptional opportunity for nationally and internationally driven collaborative research and provided a platform for excellent multi-disciplinary oceanographic research. As an in situ observation system, the data collected by the AMT consortium informed on changes in biodiversity and function of the Atlantic ecosystem during this period of rapid change to our climate and biosphere.

The scientific aims were to assess:

• mesoscale to basin scale phytoplankton processes
• the functional interpretation of bio-optical signatures
• the seasonal, regional and latitudinal variations in mesozooplankton dynamics

When was the project active?

The first phase of the AMT programme ran from 1995 to 2000 and consisted of a total of 12 cruises. A second phase of funding allowed the project to continue for the period 2002 to 2006 with a further 6 cruises.

Brief summary of the project fieldwork/data

The AMT programme undertook biological, chemical and physical oceanographic research during the annual return passage of the RRS James Clark Ross between the UK and the Falkland Islands or the RRS Discovery between the UK and Cape Town, a distance of up to 13,500 km. This transect crossed a range of ecosystems from sub-polar to tropical and from euphotic shelf seas and upwelling systems to oligotrophic mid-ocean gyres. The transect route was covered north-south in September/October and south-north in April/May of each year.

The measurements of hydrographic and bio-optical properties, plankton community structure and primary production completed on the first 12 transects (1995-2000) represent the most coherent set of repeated biogeochemical observations over ocean basin scales. This unique dataset has led to several important discoveries concerning the identification of oceanic provinces, validation of ocean colour algorithms, distributions of picoplankton, identifying new regional sinks of pCO2 and variability in rates of primary production and respiration.

Who funded the project?

The programme was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and further support was received from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with equipment and funding from the Sea-viewing Wild Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) project.

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Cruise

Complete Cruise Metadata Report is available here

Fixed Station Information

No Fixed Station Information held for the Series

BODC Quality Control Flags

The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle:

SeaDataNet Quality Control Flags

The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle: