Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1250900
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
Data Description |
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Data Identifiers |
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Time Co-ordinates(UT) |
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Spatial Co-ordinates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parameters |
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Definition of BOTTFLAG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BOTTFLAG | Definition |
|---|---|
| 0 | The sampling event occurred without any incident being reported to BODC. |
| 1 | The filter in an in-situ sampling pump physically ruptured during sample resulting in an unquantifiable loss of sampled material. |
| 2 | Analytical evidence (e.g. surface water salinity measured on a sample collected at depth) indicates that the water sample has been contaminated by water from depths other than the depths of sampling. |
| 3 | The feedback indicator on the deck unit reported that the bottle closure command had failed. General Oceanics deck units used on NERC vessels in the 80s and 90s were renowned for reporting misfires when the bottle had been closed. This flag is also suitable for when a trigger command is mistakenly sent to a bottle that has previously been fired. |
| 4 | During the sampling deployment the bottle was fired in an order other than incrementing rosette position. Indicative of the potential for errors in the assignment of bottle firing depth, especially with General Oceanics rosettes. |
| 5 | Water was reported to be escaping from the bottle as the rosette was being recovered. |
| 6 | The bottle seals were observed to be incorrectly seated and the bottle was only part full of water on recovery. |
| 7 | Either the bottle was found to contain no sample on recovery or there was no bottle fitted to the rosette position fired (but SBE35 record may exist). |
| 8 | There is reason to doubt the accuracy of the sampling depth associated with the sample. |
| 9 | The bottle air vent had not been closed prior to deployment giving rise to a risk of sample contamination through leakage. |
Definition of Rank |
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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
Niskin Bottle
The Niskin bottle is a device used by oceanographers to collect subsurface seawater samples. It is a plastic bottle with caps and rubber seals at each end and is deployed with the caps held open, allowing free-flushing of the bottle as it moves through the water column.
Standard Niskin
The standard version of the bottle includes a plastic-coated metal spring or elastic cord running through the interior of the bottle that joins the two caps, and the caps are held open against the spring by plastic lanyards. When the bottle reaches the desired depth the lanyards are released by a pressure-actuated switch, command signal or messenger weight and the caps are forced shut and sealed, trapping the seawater sample.
Lever Action Niskin
The Lever Action Niskin Bottle differs from the standard version, in that the caps are held open during deployment by externally mounted stainless steel springs rather than an internal spring or cord. Lever Action Niskins are recommended for applications where a completely clear sample chamber is critical or for use in deep cold water.
Clean Sampling
A modified version of the standard Niskin bottle has been developed for clean sampling. This is teflon-coated and uses a latex cord to close the caps rather than a metal spring. The clean version of the Levered Action Niskin bottle is also teflon-coated and uses epoxy covered springs in place of the stainless steel springs. These bottles are specifically designed to minimise metal contamination when sampling trace metals.
Deployment
Bottles may be deployed singly clamped to a wire or in groups of up to 48 on a rosette. Standard bottles and Lever Action bottles have a capacity between 1.7 and 30 L. Reversing thermometers may be attached to a spring-loaded disk that rotates through 180° on bottle closure.
D366 ammonium measurements from CTD rosette bottle samples
Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis
Samples for water column measurements of ammonium were taken from the 20 L Niskin bottles deployed on the stainless steel CTD rosette frame. Samples were taken on a daily basis, and all CTD stations were covered. Samples for ammonium were collected in polypropylene vials and reagent added, with subsequent fluorimetric analysis 24 h later. The method by Kerouel and Aminot (1997) was followed, allowing nanomolar ammonium concentrations to be determined. Typically 6-12 depths were covered for a CTD cast.
References Cited
Kerouel, R. and Aminot, A. (1997). Fluorometric determination of ammonia in sea and estuarine waters by direct segmented flow analysis. Marine Chemistry, 57, 265-275.
BODC Data Processing Procedures
Data were submitted after the cruise and archived under BODC's accession number USO130151. The ammonium data were provided in a file with sample metadata (station, cast number, date and depth). The data were matched to the metadata in the database based on cast/depth combinations. A number of discrepancies were discovered and queried with the originator. A revised data file was received with these discrepancies resolved. In addition there was a corrected version of data for cast 68.
No unit conversion was necessary as the data were provided in equivalent units to the assigned BODC parameter code. The data were loaded to the database using established BODC procedures.
A parameter mapping table is provided below;
| Originator's Parameter | Units | Description | BODC Parameter Code | Units | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonium concentration | nmol l-1 | Concentration (nM sensitivity) of ammonium {NH4} per unit volume of the water body [dissolved plus reactive particulate phase] by nanomolar ammonium fluorometry after Kerouel and Aminot (1997) | AMONNAKA | umol l-1 | Unit conversion /1000 applied. Nano-molar data represented in micro-molar units are valid to the fourth decimal place |
Data Quality Report
No data quality issues were reported. The cast 74 depth 20m data value was flagged suspect as it was much lower than the other values from surrounding depths from cast 74.
Problem Report
Not relevant to this data set.
Project Information
UKOARP Theme B: Ocean acidification impacts on sea surface biology, biogeochemistry and climate
The overall aim of this theme is to obtain a quantitative understanding of the impact of ocean acidification (OA) on the surface ocean biology and ecosystem and on the role of the surface ocean within the overall Earth System.
The aims of the theme are:
- To ascertain the impact of OA on planktonic organisms (in terms of physiological impacts, morphology, population abundances and community composition).
- To quantify the impacts of OA on biogeochemical processes affecting the ocean carbon cycle (both directly and indirectly, such as via availability of bio-limiting nutrients).
- To quantify the impacts of OA on the air-sea flux of climate active gases (DMS and N2O in particular).
The main consortium activities will consist of in-situ measurements on three dedicated cruises, as well as on-deck bioassay experiments probing the response of the in-situ community to elevated CO2. Most of the planned work will be carried out on the three cruises to locations with strong gradients in seawater carbon chemistry and pH; the Arctic Ocean, around the British Isles and the Southern Ocean.
Weblink: http://www.oceanacidification.org.uk/research_programme/surface_ocean.aspx
Data Activity or Cruise Information
Cruise
| Cruise Name | D366 (D367) |
| Departure Date | 2011-06-06 |
| Arrival Date | 2011-07-09 |
| 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 |
