Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1359863

• 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 Discovery AMT15 (D284) - Continuous Underway Navigation and Bathymetry Data Quality Report

Data Quality Report

Bathymetry data have had rudimentary flagging applied and care should be taken using these data.

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

Kongsberg Simrad EA500 bathymetric echosounder

The EA500 is a bathymetric echosounder that can be used in water as deep as 10,000 m. It features triple frequency operation with a separate digitiser for each channel and high transmitted power with an instantaneous dynamic range of 160 dB. The instrument can operate with several pulses in the water simultaneously and has bottom tracking capabilities. A wide range of transducers (single beam, split beam or side-looking) is available and the ping rate is adjustable up to 10 pings per second. The split beam operation measures the athwartships inclination angle of the seabed.

This instrument was introduced in June 1989 and and replaced by the EA 600 in 2000.

Specifications

Further details can be found in the manufacturer's specification sheet.

Ashtech GG24 receiver

The GG24 is an all-in-view Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) receiver that blends GPS and GLONASS into a single position solution. This receiver uses all available satellites from both systems to obtain the best position information.

The three-dimensional position and velocity are calculated when tracking any combination of five satellites. Up to five independent measurements are determined every second, with no interpolation or extrapolation from previous solutions.

Specifications

Further details can be found in the manufacturer's specification sheet.

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 Discovery AMT15 (D284) - Continuous Underway Navigation and Bathymetry Instrumentation Document

The following instruments were used for the navigation and bathymetry measurements:

RRS Discovery AMT15 (D284) - Underway Navigation and Bathymetry Processing Document

Originator's Data Processing

RRS Discovery is fitted with a central data logging system known as the ABC system. All available data streams from the ABC were collected. Most data streams have a one second sample interval with the exception of surfmet (30s) and ea500d1 (ping interval). ASCII listings were produced for all ABC system data streams.

The data archive was distributed to the PSO and BODC on DVD with compression of some datasets, notably processed CTD data and all the ABC data. A backup copy of the DVD was left onboard the ship, also one backup was taken back to UKORS. Approximately eight Gigabytes of data were acquired including processed data.

BODC Data Processing

Reformatting

Data from the full-resolution RVS files were transferred to BODC's NetCDF format (QXF) under the BODC Underway Data System (BUDS). This transfer involved reducing the data to 60 second intervals using averaging. Directional data were reduced by averaging using a unit circle.

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

Navigational data were available from different systems on the Discovery. These were screened in order to select the best quality data for the primary navigation channels. The data from the GPS system were consistently good and showed no spikes.

A program was run which located any null values in the latitude and longitude channels and checked to ensure that the ship's speed did not exceed 15 knots. There were few speed check failures in the navigation data or gaps. These points were screened again to look for improbable spikes which were flagged as null. The gaps were then filled using linear interpolation.

Project Information

The Atlantic Meridional Transect - Phase 2 (2002-2006)

Who was involved in the project?

The Atlantic Meridional Transect Phase 2 was designed by and implemented by a number of UK research centres and universities. The programme was hosted by Plymouth Marine Laboratory in collaboration with the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. The universities involved were:

• University of Liverpool
• University of Newcastle
• University of Plymouth
• University of Southampton
• University of East Anglia

What was the project about?

AMT began in 1995, with scientific aims to assess mesoscale to basin scale phytoplankton processes, the functional interpretation of bio-optical signatures and the seasonal, regional and latitudinal variations in mesozooplankton dynamics. In 2002, when the programme restarted, the scientific aims were broadened to address a suite of cross-disciplinary questions concerning ocean plankton ecology and biogeochemistry and the links to atmospheric processes.

The objectives included the determination of:

• how the structure, functional properties and trophic status of the major planktonic ecosystems vary in space and time
• how physical processes control the rates of nutrient supply to the planktonic ecosystem
• how atmosphere-ocean exchange and photo-degradation influence the formation and fate of organic matter

The data were collected with the aim of being distributed for use in the development of models to describe the interactions between the global climate system and ocean biogeochemistry.

When was the project active?

The second phase of funding allowed the project to continue for the period 2002 to 2006 and consisted of six research cruises. The first phase of the AMT programme ran from 1995 to 2000.

Brief summary of the project fieldwork/data

The fieldwork on the first three cruises was carried out along transects from the UK to the Falkland Islands in September and from the Falkland Islands to the UK in April. The last three cruises followed a cruise track between the UK and South Africa, only deviating from the traditional transect in the southern hemisphere. During this phase the research cruises sampled further into the centre of the North and South Atlantic Ocean and also along the north-west coast of Africa where upwelled nutrient rich water is known to provide a significant source of climatically important gases.

Who funded the project?

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

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: