Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2006433
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
Data Description |
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Data Identifiers |
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Time Co-ordinates(UT) |
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Parameters |
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Definition of BOTTFLAG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BOTTFLAG | Definition |
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0 | The sampling event occurred without any incident being reported to BODC. |
1 | The filter in an in-situ sampling pump physically ruptured during sample resulting in an unquantifiable loss of sampled material. |
2 | Analytical evidence (e.g. surface water salinity measured on a sample collected at depth) indicates that the water sample has been contaminated by water from depths other than the depths of sampling. |
3 | The feedback indicator on the deck unit reported that the bottle closure command had failed. General Oceanics deck units used on NERC vessels in the 80s and 90s were renowned for reporting misfires when the bottle had been closed. This flag is also suitable for when a trigger command is mistakenly sent to a bottle that has previously been fired. |
4 | During the sampling deployment the bottle was fired in an order other than incrementing rosette position. Indicative of the potential for errors in the assignment of bottle firing depth, especially with General Oceanics rosettes. |
5 | Water was reported to be escaping from the bottle as the rosette was being recovered. |
6 | The bottle seals were observed to be incorrectly seated and the bottle was only part full of water on recovery. |
7 | Either the bottle was found to contain no sample on recovery or there was no bottle fitted to the rosette position fired (but SBE35 record may exist). |
8 | There is reason to doubt the accuracy of the sampling depth associated with the sample. |
9 | The bottle air vent had not been closed prior to deployment giving rise to a risk of sample contamination through leakage. |
Definition of Rank |
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Problem Reports
No Problem Report Found in the Database
Data Access Policy
Open Data
These data have no specific confidentiality restrictions for users. However, users must acknowledge data sources as it is not ethical to publish data without proper attribution. Any publication or other output resulting from usage of the data should include an acknowledgment.
If the Information Provider does not provide a specific attribution statement, or if you are using Information from several Information Providers and multiple attributions are not practical in your product or application, you may consider using the following:
"Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0."
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.
Abundance of microbial phytoplankton through the water column by analytical flow cytometry (AFC) analysis of samples collected from CTD casts during AMT21 (D371)
Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis
This data originates from analyses on samples collected from CTD casts during the cruise. Samples were taken from the pre-dawn CTD cast (~0400 - 0600h local time) and from the late morning 'optics' cast (1300h local time).
Seawater samples were collected in clean 250ml polypropylene tubes from Niskin bottles deployed on the pre-dawn and solar noon casts. Samples were stored in a refrigerator and analysed within 1-2 hours of collection.
Fresh samples were measured using a Becton Dickinson FACSort flow cytometer, which characterised and enumerated Prochlorococcus sp. andSynechococcus sp. (both cyanobacteria), pico-eukaryotes, cryptophytes, coccolithophores and other nano-phytoplankton based on their light scattering and autofluorescence properties.
References Cited
Instrumentation Description
Becton Dickinson FACSort flow cytometer
BODC Data Processing Procedures
Data were submitted via email in an Excel spreadsheet and archived under BODC's accession number PML120048. Sample metadata (Station, CTD cast, latitude, longitude, water depth, rosette bottle number and sample depth) were checked against information held in the database. A revised dataset was received with updated niskin bottle numbers. There was one discrepancy between the originators file metadata and those held in the database; cast CTD042 which was provided with date 21st October 2011 but loaded as 20th October 2011 according to the logsheets and confirmation from the originator.
The data were provided in cell abundance per millilitre. These units were consistent with the BODC parameter code units and no conversions were necessary.
The data were reformatted and loaded in BODC's samples database under Oracle Relational Database Management System. Data were marked up with BODC parameter codes and loaded into the database. Individual samples were matched through rosette sampling bottle and depth.
A parameter mapping table is provided below;
Originator's Parameter | Units | Description | BODC Parameter Code | Units | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Synechococcus spp. | cell abundance ml-1 | Abundance of Synechococcus spp. (ITIS: 773: WoRMS 160572) per unit volume of the water body by automated flow cytometry | P700A90Z | cell abundance ml-1 | n/a |
Prochlorococcus spp. | cell abundance ml-1 | Abundance of Prochlorococcus spp. (ITIS: 610076: WoRMS 345515) per unit volume of the water body by automated flow cytometry | P701A90Z | cell abundance ml-1 | n/a |
Pico-eukaryote phytoplankton (<2 µm) | cell abundance ml-1 | Abundance of Picoeukaryotic cells per unit volume of the water body by automated flow cytometry | PYEUA00A | cell abundance ml-1 | n/a |
Cryptophytes | cell abundance ml-1 | Abundance of Cryptophyceae (ITIS: 10598: WoRMS 17639) per unit volume of the water body by automated flow cytometry | J79A0596 | cell abundance ml-1 | n/a |
Coccolithophores | cell abundance ml-1 | Abundance of Coccosphaerales (ITIS: 610061: WoRMS 115059) [Subgroup: coccolithophore] per unit volume of the water body by automated flow cytometry | P490A00Z | cell abundance ml-1 | n/a |
Nanoeukaryote phytoplankton (approx. 2-12 µm) | cell abundance ml-1 | Abundance of nanoeukaryotic cells [Size: 2-12 µm] per unit volume of the water body by automated flow cytometry | X726A86B | cell abundance ml-1 | n/a |
Data Quality Report
BODC were not advised of specific quality checks carried out by the data originators.
Problem Report
Not relevant to this data set.
Project Information
Oceans 2025 Theme 10, Sustained Observation Activity 1: The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT)
The Atlantic Meridional Transect has been operational since 1995 and through the Oceans 2025 programme secures funding for a further five cruises during the period 2007-2012. The AMT programme began in 1995 utilising the passage of the RRS James Clark Ross between the UK and the Falkland Islands southwards in September and northwards in April each year. Prior to Oceans 2025 the AMT programme has completed 18 cruises following this transect in the Atlantic Ocean. This sustained observing system aims to provide basin-scale understanding of the distribution of planktonic communities, their nutrient turnover and biogenic export in the context of hydrographic and biogeochemical provinces of the North and South Atlantic Oceans.
The Atlantic Meridional Transect Programme is an open ocean in situ observing system that will:
- give early warning of any fundamental change in Atlantic ecosystem functionng
- improve forecasts of the future ocean state and associated socio-economic impacts
- provide a "contextual" logistical and scientific infrastructure for independently-funded national and international open ocean biogeochemical and ecological research.
The specific objectives are:
- To collect hydrographic, chemical, ecological and optical data on transects between the UK and the Falkland Islands
- To quantify the nature and causes of ecological and biogeochemical variability in planktonic ecosystems
- To assess the effects of variability in planktonic ecosystems on biogenic export and on air-sea exchange of radiatively active gases
The measurements taken and experiments carried out on the AMT cruises will be closely linked to Themes 2 and 5. The planned cruise track also allows for the AMT data to be used in providing spatial context to the Sustained Observation Activities at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Ocean Observatory (SO2) and the Western Channel Observatory (SO10).
More detailed information on this Work Package is available at pages 6 - 9 of the official Oceans 2025 Theme 10 document: Oceans 2025 Theme 10
Weblink: http://www.oceans2025.org/
Data Activity or Cruise Information
Data Activity
Start Date (yyyy-mm-dd) | 2011-10-30 |
End Date (yyyy-mm-dd) | 2011-10-30 |
Organization Undertaking Activity | Plymouth Marine Laboratory |
Country of Organization | United Kingdom |
Originator's Data Activity Identifier | D371_CTD_CTD059 |
Platform Category | lowered unmanned submersible |
BODC Sample Metadata Report for D371_CTD_CTD059
Sample reference number | Nominal collection volume(l) | Bottle rosette position | Bottle firing sequence number | Minimum pressure sampled (dbar) | Maximum pressure sampled (dbar) | Depth of sampling point (m) | Bottle type | Sample quality flag | Bottle reference | Comments |
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620336 | 20.00 | 1 | 1 | 303.20 | 304.00 | 300.70 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620339 | 20.00 | 2 | 2 | 202.70 | 203.80 | 201.10 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620342 | 20.00 | 3 | 3 | 177.90 | 178.50 | 176.20 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620345 | 20.00 | 4 | 4 | 177.40 | 178.40 | 176.00 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620348 | 20.00 | 5 | 5 | 152.40 | 153.40 | 151.10 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620351 | 20.00 | 6 | 6 | 142.70 | 143.10 | 141.20 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620354 | 20.00 | 7 | 7 | 142.70 | 143.10 | 141.20 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620357 | 20.00 | 8 | 8 | 142.50 | 143.40 | 141.30 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620360 | 20.00 | 9 | 9 | 130.50 | 131.00 | 129.10 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620363 | 20.00 | 10 | 10 | 130.10 | 131.00 | 128.90 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620366 | 20.00 | 11 | 11 | 112.40 | 113.00 | 111.20 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620369 | 20.00 | 12 | 12 | 91.70 | 92.90 | 91.00 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
620372 | 20.00 | 13 | 13 | 76.10 | 76.90 | 75.30 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621101 | 20.00 | 14 | 14 | 76.00 | 76.60 | 75.10 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621104 | 20.00 | 15 | 15 | 56.90 | 57.80 | 56.30 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621107 | 20.00 | 16 | 16 | 57.00 | 57.80 | 56.30 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621110 | 20.00 | 17 | 17 | 32.70 | 33.30 | 32.10 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621113 | 20.00 | 18 | 18 | 32.90 | 33.50 | 32.30 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621116 | 20.00 | 19 | 19 | 21.70 | 22.40 | 21.20 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621119 | 20.00 | 20 | 20 | 18.50 | 19.40 | 18.10 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621122 | 20.00 | 21 | 21 | 18.90 | 19.30 | 18.30 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621125 | 20.00 | 22 | 22 | 3.10 | 3.90 | 2.80 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621128 | 20.00 | 23 | 23 | 2.90 | 4.00 | 2.70 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported | ||
621131 | 20.00 | 24 | 24 | 2.60 | 4.20 | 2.70 | Niskin bottle | No problem reported |
Please note:the supplied parameters may not have been sampled from all the bottle firings described in the table above. Cross-match the Sample Reference Number above against the SAMPRFNM value in the data file to identify the relevant metadata.
Related Data Activity activities are detailed in Appendix 1
Cruise
Cruise Name | D371 (AMT21) |
Departure Date | 2011-09-29 |
Arrival Date | 2011-11-13 |
Principal Scientist(s) | Glen A Tarran (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) |
Ship | RRS Discovery |
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:
Flag | Description |
---|---|
Blank | Unqualified |
< | Below detection limit |
> | In excess of quoted value |
A | Taxonomic flag for affinis (aff.) |
B | Beginning of CTD Down/Up Cast |
C | Taxonomic flag for confer (cf.) |
D | Thermometric depth |
E | End of CTD Down/Up Cast |
G | Non-taxonomic biological characteristic uncertainty |
H | Extrapolated value |
I | Taxonomic flag for single species (sp.) |
K | Improbable value - unknown quality control source |
L | Improbable value - originator's quality control |
M | Improbable value - BODC quality control |
N | Null value |
O | Improbable value - user quality control |
P | Trace/calm |
Q | Indeterminate |
R | Replacement value |
S | Estimated value |
T | Interpolated value |
U | Uncalibrated |
W | Control value |
X | Excessive difference |
SeaDataNet Quality Control Flags
The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle:
Flag | Description |
---|---|
0 | no quality control |
1 | good value |
2 | probably good value |
3 | probably bad value |
4 | bad value |
5 | changed value |
6 | value below detection |
7 | value in excess |
8 | interpolated value |
9 | missing value |
A | value phenomenon uncertain |
B | nominal value |
Q | value below limit of quantification |
Appendix 1: D371_CTD_CTD059
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.
Series Identifier | Data Category | Start date/time | Start position | Cruise |
---|---|---|---|---|
1341006 | Water sample data | 2011-10-30 05:22:00 | 26.09026 S, 25.02517 W | RRS Discovery D371 (AMT21) |
2055242 | Water sample data | 2011-10-30 05:22:00 | 26.09026 S, 25.02517 W | RRS Discovery D371 (AMT21) |
2122981 | Water sample data | 2011-10-30 05:22:00 | 26.09026 S, 25.02517 W | RRS Discovery D371 (AMT21) |
2126607 | Water sample data | 2011-10-30 05:22:00 | 26.09026 S, 25.02517 W | RRS Discovery D371 (AMT21) |