Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1665128

• 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.

AMT1 Chlorophyll-a and Phaeopigments from underway surface samples

Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis

This data originates from analyses on underway samples collected from the ship's non-toxic supply. The seawater samples were collected approximately every 2 hours while the ship was underway. Pigment samples were filtered through Whatman GF/F filters prior to extraction in 10 ml of 90% acetone for a minimum of 15 hours and analysed using fluorometric techniques on board the ship.

Chlorophyll-a data were obtained with a flow-through Turner-10 fluorometer, which used a standard Turner Designs chlorophyll fluorescence filter set. At the start of the cruise the flow-through cell was cleaned and the dessicant changed, and the instrument's zero was set with a clean water blank. The cell was also regularly checked for fouling throughout the cruise.

Instrumentation Description

Turner-10 fluorometer

BODC Data Processing Procedures

Data were submitted to BODC in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format and saved to the archive with reference PML010015. The samples were provided with Julian Day and time (GMT) as metadata. Sample metadata were loaded to the database. Parameter codes defined in BODC parameter dictionary were assigned to the variables. Units for Chlorophyll-a concentration were converted from nanograms per litre to milligrams per cubic metre by a multiplying the original values with 0.001. Phaeopigment data were delivered in units equivalent to the ones used in the BODC parameter dictionary, no conversion was necessary.

Data were loaded into BODC's database using established BODC data banking procedures.

A parameter mapping table is provided below;

Data Quality Report

When loading the data into BODC's database, there was a need to flag 5 samples, as they showed improbable values.

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: