Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 1928047

• 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

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.

Turner Designs Trilogy Fluorometer

The Trilogy Laboratory Fluorometer is a compact laboratory instrument for making fluorescence, absorbance and turbidity measurements using the appropriate snap-in Application Module.

The following snap-in application modules are available:

For extracted chlorophyll measurements using EPA 445, Trilogy automatically calculates the concentration using the filtered and solvent volumes. The turbidity modules use an IRLED with a wavelength of 860nm to meet ISO 7027 standards for turbidity water quality measurements.

Specifications

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

DY032 Ammonium concentrations from CTD bottles

Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis

Sampling was undertaken on CTD casts. Sampling ranged from depths of 4000m to 5m but generally the method was only sensitive enough to detect ammonium at shallower depths within the mesopelagic zone or where local phenomena occurred.

Ammonium was measured using the SOES standard operating procedure. In summary, 10ml of water is sampled into an acid-washed vial and 800 µl of OPA working reagent is added immediately. The OPA working reagent is light-sensitive and is stored in the dark; a daily calibration is carried out to account for the diminishing fluorescence over time. Samples are incubated in the dark for 3-4 hours and subsequently measured using a Turner Trilogy fluorometer fitted with an ammonium/CDOM module. The raw fluorescence (RFU) is measured three times per sample to produce an average. The regression equation from the daily calibration is used to calculate the ammonium concentration.

For more information see thecruise report

BODC Data Processing Procedures

Data received were loaded into the BODC database using established BODC data banking procedures.

The parameter mapping of the originator and BODC parameters is provided below;

Project Information

Fix0³ - Fixed-Point Open Ocean Observatories

Fixed point Open Ocean Observatory network (FixO³) is a EUR7 million, four-year (2013-2017) research programme network including 29 partners from academia, research institutions and small and medium enterprises (SME). In addition, 12 international experts from a wide range of disciplines comprise an Advisory Board.

Background

FixO³ is coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre, UK, and seeks to integrate European open ocean fixed point observatories and to improve access to these key installations for the broader community. These will provide multidisciplinary observations in all parts of the oceans from the air-sea interface to the deep seafloor. FixO³ will build on the significant advances achieved through the FP7 programmes EuroSITES, ESONET and CARBOOCEAN.

Open ocean observation is currently a high priority for European marine and maritime activities. FixO³ will provide important data on environmental products and services to address the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and in support of the EU integrated Maritime Policy.

The FixO³ network will provide free and open access to in situ fixed point data of the highest quality. It will provide a strong integrated framework of open ocean facilities in the Atlantic from the Arctic to the Antarctic and throughout the Mediterranean, enabling an integrated, regional and multidisciplinary approach to understand natural and anthropogenic change in the ocean.

The programme will be achieved through:

1. Co-ordination activities to integrate and harmonise the current procedures and processes. Strong links will be fostered with the wider community across academia, industry, policy and the general public through outreach, knowledge exchange and training.

2. Support actions to offer a) access to observatory infrastructures to those who do not have such access, and b) free and open data services and products.

3. Joint research activities to innovate and enhance the current capability for multidisciplinary in situ ocean observation.

Further details are available on the FixO³ website.

Participants

29 different partners involved in FixO³. These institutions are;

• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
• Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS)
• Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR)
• MARUM, Unviersity of Bremen (UniHB)
• Universitetet I Bergen (UiB)
• Universitetet I Tromsø (UiT)
• Alfred Wegener Institut für Polarund Meeresforschung (AWI)
• University of Exeter (UNEXE)
• SLR Consulting (SLR)
• Institut français de recherché pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER)
• Blue Lobster IT ltd. (BLIT)
• Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
• Marine Institute (MI)
• The University Court of The University of Aberdeen (UNIABDN)
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
• Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)
• University of St Andrew (USTAN)
• Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO)
• NKE Instrumentation (NKEI)
• Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento das Pescas (INDP)
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
• Texcel Technology Plc (TEXCEL)
• University of Gothenburg (UGOT)
• 52°North(52°North)
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche (CNR)
• Stichting Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Voor Zeeonderzoek (NIOZ)
• Imar- Instituto do Mar (IMAR)

Research details

Overall, twelve Work Packages have been funded by the FixO³ programme. These are described in brief below:

• Work Package 1: Project Management.
  - To effectively manage FixO³ to maximise the production of results in the most cost effective manner and to the proposed timescales.
  - To facilitate communication and integration between the partners and disseminate information about the project to the wider community.
  - To identify and resolve disputes between partners.
  - To keep the project on track, and ensure timely interaction and delivery of reports to the European Commission.

• Work Package 2: Technical harmonization.
  - To review the current status of existing systems in operational use considered in the project;
  - To synthesize the characteristics of infrastructures offering TNA;
  - To increase the high-frequency measurements on fixed platforms;
  - To define the best technical practices for compatible, robust and cost-effective systems on a variety of fixed applications;
  - To promote tests of new or prototype instruments on a non-operational basis;
  - To define procedure for harmonizing and merging quality assessed high frequency fixed platform data;
  - To define procedures and technological solutions for integration and testing of new sensors on these systems;
  - To increase the traceability, quality and reliability of sensor metadata and data products.

• Work Package 3: Procedural harmonization.
  To harmonise procedures across the network the following steps will be undertaken:
  1) Assessment of operational procedures for sustained Eulerian observations
  2) Further development of principles of 'best practice'
  3) Development of the FixO³ observatories 'label' building on ESONET and in collaboration with JERICO
  

• Work Package 4: Data management and harmonization.
  To harmonise data policies and to provide a formal basis for data exchange between FixO³ infrastructures.
  - To improve standardisation, interoperability and compliance with major international initiatives
  - To harmonise data management and standardisation efforts with other European and international marine data and observatory infrastructures.
  - To foster the cooperation with the marine carbon observation community by disseminating FixO³ data via relevant international infrastructures and data centres such as the ICOS Ocean Thematic Centre
  To coordinate, harmonise and optimize the implementation and integration of Service Activities provided by the different partners in WP10 and to strengthen and monitor the dissemination of knowledge.

• Work Package 5: Innovation through industry.
  - Promote interaction between the ocean observatory research community and the commercial sector
  - Proactively promote FixO³ and wider open ocean observatory products and services to the commercial sector
  - Identify innovative products and services within the ocean observatory community and develop targeted IPR agreements to encourage interest by the commercial sector.

• Work Package 6: Interface with policy and intergovernmental bodies.
  - To link the FixO³ efforts to international and intergovernmental bodies and activities.
  - To ensure visibility and facilitate further implementation and long-term stewardship of deep-ocean fixed-point time series observations
  - To develop a strategy for the future.

• Work Package 7: International and European networking of fixed-point observatories
  - To consolidate and promote the synergy between European research groups and institutions.
  - To enhance the interaction with industry
  - To link ocean scientists and engineers into an international team in marine science.
  - Management of TNA activities.

• Work Package 8: Outreach and training.
  - To engage with, educate and inform public, scientific and policy user groups.
  - To develop an informative and interactive suite of complimentary tools that educates and engages public, scientific and policy user groups to maximise engagement with end users.
  - To produce educational and informational resources that deliver knowledge to end user groups
  - To deliver a series of training opportunities that informs, educates and promotes best practices to professional users of hardware, data and data products.
  

• Work Package 9: Transnational access to FixO³ infrastructures
  - To support external scientific users by providing coordinated, free-of-charge, transnational access to fixed open-ocean observatories, including:
  1) Ocean surface, water column and seafloor observatory installations and systems considered for transnational access under this proposal
  2) One shallow water test site able to make practical and fast tests of instruments, systems, procedures and new technologies applicable to fixed open-ocean observatories that will be accessible under TNA

• Work Package 10: Service activities: Access to data products and knowledge
  - To provide access to the data products and knowledge derived from most of the observatories which compromise the FixO³ network.

• Work Package 11: Optimisation of ocean observing capability
  - To carry out research on the specification for an optimum observational network of FixO³ platforms, integrated and complemented by other platforms.

• Work Package 12: Research and development on critical observatory functions
  - To enhance the capability of the FixO³ infrastructures to make very high quality observations
  - To develop a new low energy consuming platform design in order to promote more sensors per platform and extension capacities.

Observatories

FixO3

The British Oceanographic Data centre store data from PAP, NOG and SOG as of January 2018.

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Data Activity

No Document Information Held for the Series

Related Data Activity activities are detailed in Appendix 1

Cruise

Complete Cruise Metadata Report is available here

Fixed Station Information

Fixed Station Information

Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) Observatory

The Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) observatory is a site at which moorings were deployed in the Northeastern Atlantic, as part of the ANIMATE (Atlantic Network of Interdisciplinary Moorings and Time-series for Europe), MERSEA (Marine Environment and Security for the European Area), EuroSITES, Oceans2025, Fix03 and CLASS projects. The PAP site is centred at latitude 49° N and longitude 16.5° W. Moorings have occupied this region since 2002 and are typically deployed for 12 months.

Please note: Near Real Time data is only stored at BODC where delayed mode data were not recovered. All near real time data can be found at the OceanSites GDA and through IFREMER.

Data summary

Status Indicators

Related Fixed Station activities are detailed in Appendix 2

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: DY032_CTD_DY032-024

Related series for this Data Activity 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.

Appendix 2: Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP)

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.