Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1816174

• 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 James Clark Ross Cruise JR17002 Meteorology Data Quality Document

Wind sensors

There are areas in this time series when the met data show signs of wind shielding, predominantly when the wind was blowing from 250-300° from the bow. Shielding occurs when the sensor is partially blocked from the wind by the ship. All met data (apart from light) were flagged appropriately. (BODC assessment).

Air temperature

Viable sensor readings only available from sensor 2 after 29/12/2017 10:45:00. This was due to a faulty sensor (BODC assessment).

Relative humidity

Both sensors experienced saturation at the upper limit. This may be due to older calibrations. Data were flagged appropriately. (BODC assessment).

Light sensors

A sudden jump up in light values was observed in PAR and TIR sensors between 03/01/2018 12:22:00 - 12:23:00. It is not clear if this is a real change due to shading by cloud cover. The data were not flagged. (BODC assessment).

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

Gill Windobserver 70 (ultrasonic) anemometer

A solid state, heated ultrasonic anemometer. Designed for use within the aviation industry and for more extreme weather conditions. It measures the times taken for an ultrasonic pulse of sound to travel from the North transducer to the South transducer, and compares it with the time for a pulse to travel from S to N transducer. Likewise times are compared between West and East, and E and W transducer. The wind speed and direction (and the speed of sound) can then be calculated from the differences in the times of flight on each axis. This calculation is independent of factors such as temperature. It uses 150 Watts of electrical heating in the anemometer head to prevent icing. Wind speed accuracy is +/-2% at 12 m/s. Wind direction accuracy is +/-2 degrees at 12 m/s.

For more information, please see this document: https://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/documents/nodb/pdf/Gill_WindObserver70_2017.pdf

Kipp & Zonen Photosynthetically Active Radiation Quantum Sensor PQS1

The PQS1 is an atmospheric radiometer designed to measure incident radiation at photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) wavelengths. It incorporates a diffuser with an excellent directional (cosine) response and a silicon photodiode detector.

If used in field research applications, the PQS1 can be connected with the METEON handheld display unit, which also as data-logging capability. For permanent installations, it can be connected to the LOGBOX SD data logger.

Specifications

A link to the PQS1 specification sheet can be found here: PQS1 Spec sheet

Kipp and Zonen SP Lite and SP Lite2 Silicon Pyranometer

An atmospheric pyranometer that measures solar radiation over the range 400-1100 nm by means of a silicon photo-diode detector mounted in a diffuser. The sensor measures the radiation received over the entire hemisphere and the diffuser's sensitivity is proportional to the cosine of the angle of incidence of the incoming radiation. The photodiode creates a voltage output that is proportional to the incoming radiation. The SP Lite2 supersedes the SP Lite and features an improved sensitivity and faster response time than its predecessor.

Specifications

Further details can be found in the manufacturer's specification sheets for the SP Lite and SP Lite2.

RRS James Clark Ross Cruise JR17002 Meteorology Instrument Description Document

The meteorological suite of sensors is located on the bow between 20-22 m height. The instruments used to collect this dataset are displayed in the table below.

Rotronic Hygromet MP102H and MP402H temperature and humidity probes

This meteorological probe measures humidity and temperature with the plug-in HygroClip HC2-S3 sensor module, and can also be equipped with a signal conditioned Pt100 temperature probe.

The two models differ in that the MP102H produces a voltage output while the MP402H produces a current output. Other characteristics are common to both models.

The specification sheet can be accessed here Rotronic MP102H and MP402H.

Specifications

Vaisala PTB210 Digital Barometer

The basic specifications for this pressure sensor are as follows:

• Manufacturer: Vaisala
• Type: Silicon capacitive sensor
• Model: PTB210
• Range: 900 - 1100 hPa
• Output: 0-5VDC
• Total Accuracy (20°C): ±0.30hPa
• Operating temperature: -40 to +60 deg C
• Weight: 110g
• Certification Ingress Protection: IP65

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

RRS James Clark Ross Cruise JR17002 Meteorology Processing Procedures Document

Originator's Data Processing

Meterological data were measured from instruments located on the RRS James Clark Ross meterological mast. The data streams were logged every second to the SCS system and merged into comma separated file formats (.ACO). The instruments logged the meterological data to the oceanlogger and anemometer ACO files and the header information was stored in the corresponding .TPL files. The start and end times of the meterological files are shown in the table below.

BODC Data Processing

The data were reformatted to BODC internal format using standard banking procedures. Data were averaged at 60 second intervals. The following table shows how variables within the file were mapped to appropriate BODC parameter codes:

All data expressed at measurement altitude.

All the reformatted data were visualised using the in-house EDSERPLO software. Suspect data were marked by adding an appropriate quality control flag.

Absolute wind speed and direction

Relative wind speed and direction were corrected for the ship's heading and speed using the gyro heading, ship velocities (calculated at BODC from the main positional channels) and an anemometer orientation of 0° on the bow, thus obtaining the BODC derived absolute wind speed and direction parameters, with codes EWSBSS01 and ERWDSS01 respectively.

Calibrations

No calibrations were applied to the meteorological data. The data delivered to BODC were adjusted for manufacturer coefficients.

Project Information

BAS Long Term Monitoring and Survey

Introduction

The Long Term Monitoring and Survey project (LTMS) has been running since the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) was created. This project is one of the BAS core projects, with several groups of scientists collecting various types of data e.g biological, geological, atmospheric, among others.

Data collection is achievable through a wide scope of instruments and platforms, e.g. the Antarctic research stations, autonomous instrument platforms deployed on or from BAS research ships, BAS aircrafts, satellite remote sensing and others.

Scientific Objectives

This project was implemented in order to measure change and variability in the Earth system. Its long term duration allows for the monitoring of processes that could be missed in shorter term studies and experiments. The data collected is also used to check and improve the reliability of models used to stimulate and predict the behavior of the Earth system.

The main objectives are:

• Topographic survey
• Geosciences survey
• Biological survey and monitoring
• Atmospheric and oceanographic monitoring

Data Availability

The data sets obtained through this project are available to the academic community.

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Cruise

Complete Cruise Metadata Report is available here

Fixed Station Information

Fixed Station Information

Western Core Box

The British Antarctic Survey undertakes cruises to determine krill biomass as part of the ongoing assessment of the status of the marine ecosystem in the region of South Georgia. This unique time series, known as the Western Core Box, which has taken place since 1996 is funded by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) British Antarctic Survey Long Term Monitoring programme.

The survey area is located in an on and off shelf survery area (figure.1), which comprises of an acoustic grid survey of 8 transects each of 80 km in length. Standard data collection includes underway biological echosounder acoustic transaects, CTD profiles, stratified and targetted RMT8 hauls of macrozooplankton and micronekton and a set of moorings which provide temporal coverage and a year round set of observations.

The specific aims of the WCB are:

• To quantify the interannual variability and long-term change in the mesoscale distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill.
• To quantify the the interannual variability and long-term change in the mesoscale distribution and abundance of other plankton/micronekton.
• To examine interannual varaibility in the context of environmental variability (climate variability).
• To examine prey availiability in the context of predator and fishery demand.

Figure 1. Western Core Box Survey Area (BAS, 2017).

A list of Western Core Box cruises are shown below.

References

British Antarctic Survey (2017). POETS-WCB. Available at: https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/poets-wcb/ [Accessed 2017].

Related Fixed Station activities are detailed in Appendix 1

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:

Appendix 1: Western Core Box

Related series for this Fixed Station are presented in the table below. Further information can be found by following the appropriate links.

If you are interested in these series, please be aware we offer a multiple file download service. Should your credentials be insufficient for automatic download, the service also offers a referral to our Enquiries Officer who may be able to negotiate access.