Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1850980
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
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Time Co-ordinates(UT) |
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Parameters |
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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
Clean pumped sea water supply
The system comprises a precision echosounder (PES) fish attached to a clean, reinforced tube (typically composed of braided polyvinyl chloride (PVC)). The fish is designed to be towed alongside a moving ship at a depth of one to three metres and water is drawn through the system by a clean pump. The tube usually leads to a clean laboratory on board the vessel, inside which samples are drawn for analysis. The system is typically used for continuous, underway, clean sampling (e.g., trace metal studies) of near surface waters.
Inorganic nutrients concentrations (nanomolar sensitivity nitrate plus nitrite and phosphate) for UK SOLAS cruise Discovery D326
Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis
Water samples for nanomolar sensitivity nutrients were collected from the stainless steel and titanium CTD deployments. The 20 litre OTE bottles and 10 litre OTE trace metal bottles were subsampled into acid washed 60 ml LDPE bottles. Pumped surface samples were also taken from the trace metal clean fish.
Analyses for nitrate plus nitrite and phosphate at nanomolar concentrations were conducted on a purpose built, segmented flow autoanalyser. The method is described and reviewed in detail by Patey et al., 2008. Two liquid waveguide capillary flow cells provided a two metre pathlength. Two tungsten-halogen light sources were used in conjunction with fibre optic spectrometers to monitor the absorbance of the solution flowing through the waveguide. In general, samples only believed to have very low concentrations of dissolved nutrients were analysed.
References Cited
Patey M.D., Rijkenberg M.J.R., Statham P.J., Stinchcombe M.C., Achterberg E.P., Mowlem M., 2003. Determination of nitrate and phosphate in seawater at nanomolar concentrations. Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 22, 819-827.
BODC Data Processing Procedures
The final quality controlled version of the nanomolar sensitivity nutrients data were received from Matt Patey who as a UK SOLAS PhD student supervised by E. Achterberg was in charge of the analysis and processing of these data as part of his PhD. The data were sent as an updated version of the D326 CTD and underway compendium files compiled by Micha Rijkenberg. The files were archived in accession SOC090255. CTD data were identified using CTD cast number, bottle number and approximate bottle firing depth. Underway data were identified using samples identifiers and sampling date and time. No discrepancies were found between the source files and existing records in BODC database.
Parameter codes defined in BODC parameter dictionary were assigned to the variables as follows:
| Originator's Parameter | Units | Description | BODC Parameter Code | Units | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nM NO2/3 | nM | Concentration of nitrate plus nitrite (nanomolar sensitivity) | NTRZLWTX | µmol l-1 | Values converted by dividing by 1000, with precision valid to the fifth decimal place |
| stdev | nM | Standard deviation of replicate nitrate plus nitrite samples | SDNZLWTX | µmol l-1 | |
| nM PO4 | nM | Concentration of phosphate (nanomolar sensitivity) | PHOSLWTX | µmol l-1 | Values converted by dividing by 1000, with precision valid to the fifth decimal place |
| stdev | nM | Standard deviation of replicate phosphate samples | SDPHLWTX | µmol l-1 |
The data were banked according to BODC standard procedures for sample data. The data were banked as received, with no averaging or other modifications applied.
Data Quality Report
The data have been quality controlled by the originators. Some phosphate concentrations on two casts (16415A and 16416A) were highlighted as being of poorer quality than usual by the originator due to problems with the calibration. These data have been flagged using the flag for data originator's QC issue in the BODC quality flag scheme.
Data users should be aware that the data have been measured using a method allowing nanomolar sensitivity and the values in µmol l-1 are therefore precise down to the fourth decimal place.
Project Information
UK Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study
The UK Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (UK SOLAS) is the UK's contribution to the international SOLAS programme.
UK SOLAS formed interdisciplinary teams to address three primary aims
- To determine the mechanisms controlling rates of chemical transfer and improve estimates of chemical exchanges
- To evaluate the impact of these exchanges on the biogeochemistry of the surface ocean and lower atmosphere and on feedbacks between the ocean and atmosphere
- To quantify the impacts of these boundary layer processes on the global climate system
UK SOLAS started in 2003, to run for seven years. The programme was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
Funded projects
In total, 19 projects have been funded by UK SOLAS, over four funding rounds.
| Project Title | Short Title | Principal Investigator |
|---|---|---|
| Impact of atmospheric dust derived material and nutrient inputs on near-surface plankton microbiota in the tropical North Atlantic | Dust | Eric Achterberg |
| The role and effects of photoprotective compounds in marine plankton | - | Steve Archer |
| Field observations of sea spray, gas fluxes and whitecaps | SEASAW | Ian Brooks |
| Factors influencing the biogeochemistry of iodine in the marine environment | - | Lucy Carpenter |
| Global model of aerosol processes - effects of aerosol in the marine atmospheric boundary layer | GLOMAP | Ken Carslaw |
| Ecological controls on fluxes of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) to the atmosphere | - | David Green |
| Dust outflow and deposition to the ocean | DODO | Ellie Highwood |
| Investigation of near surface production of iodocarbons - rates and exchanges | INSPIRE | Gill Malin |
| Reactive halogens in the marine boundary layer | RHaMBLe | Gordon McFiggans |
| The role of bacterioneuston in determining trace gas exchange rates | - | Colin Murrell |
| Measuring methanol in sea water and investigating its sources and sinks in the marine environment | - | Phil Nightingale |
| The impact of coastal upwellings on air-sea exchange of climatically important gases | ICON | Carol Robinson |
| The Deep Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment | DOGEE | Rob Upstill-Goddard |
| High wind air-sea exchanges | HiWASE | Margaret Yelland |
| Aerosol characterisation and modelling in the marine environment | ACMME | James Allan |
| 3D simulation of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) in the north east Atlantic | - | Icarus Allen |
| Processes affecting the chemistry and bioavailability of dust borne iron | - | Michael Krom |
| The chemical structure of the lowermost atmosphere | - | Alastair Lewis |
| Factors influencing the oxidative chemistry of the marine boundary layer | - | Paul Monks |
UK SOLAS has also supported ten tied studentships, and two CASE studentships.
Fieldwork
UK SOLAS fieldwork has included eight dedicated research cruises in the North Atlantic Ocean. Continuous measurements were made aboard aboard the Norwegian weather ship, Polarfront, until her decommission in 2009. Time series have been established at the SOLAS Cape Verde Observatory, and at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory L4 station. Experiments have taken place at the Bergen mesocosm facility.
A series of collaborative aircraft campaigns have added complementary atmospheric data. These campaigns were funded by UK SOLAS, African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA-UK), Dust and Biomass Experiment (DABEX) and the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM).
Weblink: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/solas/
Data Activity or Cruise Information
Cruise
| Cruise Name | D326 |
| Departure Date | 2008-01-05 |
| Arrival Date | 2008-02-05 |
| Principal Scientist(s) | Eric Pieter Achterberg (University of Southampton School of Ocean and Earth Science) |
| Ship | RRS Discovery |
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:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Blank | Unqualified |
| < | Below detection limit |
| > | In excess of quoted value |
| A | Taxonomic flag for affinis (aff.) |
| B | Beginning of CTD Down/Up Cast |
| C | Taxonomic flag for confer (cf.) |
| D | Thermometric depth |
| E | End of CTD Down/Up Cast |
| G | Non-taxonomic biological characteristic uncertainty |
| H | Extrapolated value |
| I | Taxonomic flag for single species (sp.) |
| K | Improbable value - unknown quality control source |
| L | Improbable value - originator's quality control |
| M | Improbable value - BODC quality control |
| N | Null value |
| O | Improbable value - user quality control |
| P | Trace/calm |
| Q | Indeterminate |
| R | Replacement value |
| S | Estimated value |
| T | Interpolated value |
| U | Uncalibrated |
| W | Control value |
| X | Excessive difference |
SeaDataNet Quality Control Flags
The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | no quality control |
| 1 | good value |
| 2 | probably good value |
| 3 | probably bad value |
| 4 | bad value |
| 5 | changed value |
| 6 | value below detection |
| 7 | value in excess |
| 8 | interpolated value |
| 9 | missing value |
| A | value phenomenon uncertain |
| B | nominal value |
| Q | value below limit of quantification |
