Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1850003

• 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.

Project Information

Atmospheric Chemistry Studies in the Oceanic Environment (ACSOE)

Introduction

ACSOE was a NERC Thematic Research Programme which investigated the chemistry of the lower atmosphere (0-12 km) over the oceans. The studies aimed to bring about a clearer understanding of natural processes in the remote marine atmosphere, and how these processes are affected by atmospheric pollution originating from the continents. This information is vital to help understand regional and global-scale changes in atmospheric chemistry and climate.

Aims and Objectives

The £3.9 million NERC-funded programme was instigated as a major UK contribution to this international scientific effort between 1995 and 2000. The overarching aim of ACSOE was to investigate the processes that control the production and fate of trace gases and particles (condensation nuclei and aerosols) in the atmosphere over the oceans. For convenience it was divided into three separate but linked activities:

1. MAGE, Marine Aerosol and Gas Exchange - to study air-sea exchange especially of atmospherically-important gases produced by marine microorganisms, such as dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
2. OXICOA, Oxidising Capacity of the Ocean Atmosphere - a study of the tropospheric ozone budget and underlying chemistry
3. ACE, Aerosol Characterisation Experiment - to investigate the development of aerosols and clouds in European air spreading out into the Atlantic Ocean

The project had several objectives including:

• To determine the ozone budget of the background lower atmosphere (i.e. the troposphere)
• To study the sunlight-initiated chemistry of gases and particles (aerosol) in the background atmosphere
• To determine the importance of night-time chemistry
• To seek evidence for extensive halogen atom chemistry
• To measure air-sea gas transfer rates
• To assess the role of coastal and open ocean waters as sources of reactive gases
• To observe the effects of atmospheric deposition on oceanic biogeochemistry
• To investigate how clouds are affected by the chemistry of the inflowing air
• To identify within-cloud processes affecting particle size and chemistry

Project Co-ordination:

The programme was led by Professor Stuart Penkett of the University of East Anglia and involved over 100 scientists from leading British and International universities and institutes. Atmospheric data are held at BADC and data collected in the marine environment for the MAGE component of the programme are held at BODC.

Fieldwork description:

Fieldwork was carried out in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and involved air-, land- and sea-based measurements, coupled with modelling studies. Measurements were made at remote field sites (Mace Head, Ireland; Weybourne, Norfolk; Tenerife), from the NERC research vessels Challenger and Discovery and aboard the Meteorological Research Flight C-130 and the Cranfield Jetstream aircraft.

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: