Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1667701

• 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

Data Access Policy

Open Data supplied by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

You must always use the following attribution statement to acknowledge the source of the information: "Contains data supplied by Natural Environment Research Council."

Narrative Documents

Non-toxic (underway) sea water supply

A source of uncontaminated near-surface (commonly 3 to 7 m) seawater pumped continuously to shipboard laboratories on research vessels. There is typically a temperature sensor near the intake (known as the hull temperature) to provide measurements that are as close as possible to the ambient water temperature. The flow from the supply is typically directed through continuously logged sensors such as a thermosalinograph and a fluorometer. Water samples are often collected from the non-toxic supply. The system is also referred to as the underway supply.

AMT2 Chlorophyll-a and phaeopigments from underway surface samples

Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis

These data originate from analyses on underway samples collected from the ship's non-toxic supply. The 1 L samples were filtered through GF/F filters, extracted for 18-24 h in 90% acetone and chlorophyll fluorescence measured with a fluorometer using the method of Welschmeyer (1994).

References cited

Welschmeyer, Nicholas A., 1994. Fluorometric analysis of chlorophyll a in the presence of chlorophyll b and pheopigments, Limnology Oceanography, 39 (8), 1985-1992

BODC Data Processing Procedures

Data were submitted to BODC in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format along with the HPLC pigment data. The samples were provided with Julian Day, time (GMT), sample number and sample depth as metadata.

Parameter codes defined in BODC parameter dictionary were assigned to the data. Duplicate samples were averaged and standard deviations generated. Data were loaded into BODC's database using established BODC data banking procedures.

No unit conversion was necessary as originator's units were consistent with the ones used in the BODC parameter dictionary.

A parameter mapping table is provided below;

Data Quality Report

BODC were not advised of any data quality issues by the originator.

Problem Report

Not relevant to this data set.

AMT2 High Performance Liquid Chromatography pigment samples from the surface underway supply

Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis

This data originates from samples collected during AMT2 cruise from the ship's surface underway supply. Water samples were filtered through a GF/F membrane filter and then frozen in liquid nitrogen for subsequent analysis in the laboratory. The analysis procedures involved acetone extraction followed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

Instrumentation Description

Not relevant to this dataset.

BODC Data Processing Procedures

Data were submitted to BODC in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format and archived under BODC's accession number PML010015. The file was provided to BODC with the following metadata: cruise, time, Julian Day, depth, latitude and longitude. Sample metadata were checked against information held in the database and in the cruise report- there were no discrepancies. There were 7 samples with repeat measurements and the average and standard deviation of these were loaded to the database. Samples were loaded with a depth of 6 m.

Parameter Cantha ratio was not loaded to the database as it is a derived parameter. Originators parameters Corr Chl a and Corr Phaeo were not loaded to the database as part of this dataset as they had been previously loaded as tne fluorometeric chlorophyll-a dataset.

The data were reformatted and parameter codes defined in BODC parameter dictionary were assigned to the originators variables. Data were loaded into BODC's samples database under the Oracle Relational Database Management System.

There were no details of the pigment concentration units supplied in or with the file. Comparison with subsequent AMT cruise HPLC pigment datasets indicates the data were provided in units of mg m^-3. These data were converted to ng L^-1 for all parameters except chlorophyll-a which was provided in equivilent units to the BODC code assigned.

A parameter mapping table is provided below;

Data Quality Report

BODC was not advised of any specific quality issues with the data. No values were flagged by BODC.

Problem Report

Not relevant to this data set.

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: