Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2101116

• 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

Lachat QuikChem 8500 flow injection analyzer (FIA) and Ion Chromatography (IC) system

The Lachat QuikChem 8500 can operate FIA and IC simultaneously and independently on the same instrument platform. FIA and IC are complementary analytical techniques that are commonly used in the same laboratory.

Instrument includes - sampler, dilutor, sampling pump, electronics unit, and data station.

Flow injection analysis is ideally suited for processing relatively large numbers of samples. Ion Chromatography adds the power to profile samples for a class of ionic species.

FIA Productivity Characteristics

• Fast Startup - ~5 minutes
• Rapid Analysis - 20 to 60 seconds is typical
• High Sample Throughput - 60 to 120 samples per hour is typical
• Broad Working Range - Parts per trillion to percents
• Complete Baseline Resolution - No carryover between samples
• Wide Dynamic Range - 2 to 3 decades is typical
• Fast Shutdown - ~5 minutes
• Rapid Method Changeover - ~10 minutes

New FIA Features

• Run up to 5 channels for high productivity analysis or dedicated operation.
• New 2-cm flow cell methods allow more signal for detection at lower levels.
• Run Omnion 3.0 software on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating systems.
• Interface Omnion software in multiple languages - including Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Italian.

For more information about this model see the manufactures data sheet - Lachat QuikChem 8500.

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.

JC086 discrete dissolved inorganic nutrients sampling document

Originator's protocol for data acquisition and analysis

The following information contains extracts from the JC086 cruise report.

Water samples were drawn from the CTD rosette bottles deployed during the cruise for ammonia, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, with the majority of the sampling effort concentrated in areas of the water column corresponding with changes in water mass. Samples were also drawn from the ships non-toxic water supply.

SAMS Analysis

Samples were collected in 125 ml acid cleaned polythene bottles directly from CTD spigots without the use of a tube. Samples were stored in a fridge prior to analysis. The analysis was carried out within 24 hours of sample collection with a Lachat Quick Chem 8500 flow injection autoanalyser using the manufacturer's recommended methods.

Samples were measured in triplicate to identify instrument precision. A stock mixed standard was prepared in deionized water with subsequent dilutions made in OSIL Low Nutrient Sea Water using the instrument auto-dilutor facility. Five standard concentrations and a blank were run in all cases and new standards were prepared every 48 hours. Using standards prepared in Low Nutrient Sea Water removes the need to do a separate salt correction. Three standard concentration ranges were prepared for the non-toxic and CTD samples depending on expected nutrient concentration.

NOC Analysis

Samples were taken in 30ml plastic vials which were filled up to 2/3 of the total volume to allow expansion of water. Samples were labelled and stored in the freezer until analysis. The analysis was carried out at NOCS using a Quattro nutrient analyzer system.

BODC data processing procedures

Data from SAMS were provided in Mstar format and the data from NOC in .CSV format. The data files were converted to Microsoft Excel format and loaded into BODC's ocean database under the ORACLE Relational Database Management System without modification. Data that were considered unrealistic were flagged suspect. Metadata collected from the various data files were favoured by BODC over the metadata recorded in the cruise report logs in the JC086 cruise report.

Content of data series

Data quality report

BODC applied flags to negative silicate values at CTD cast 59 bottle 13 and CTD cast 64 bottle 17.

No problems were reported and no significant issues encountered during BODC data banking procedures.

References cited

Griffiths C. R. et al., 2013. RRS James Cook Cruise JC086, 06 May 2013 - 26 May 2013. Govan to Govan, Scotland - the Extended Ellett Line. Scottish Association for Marine Science. (Scottish Marine Institute, Oban).

Available - Cruise JC086 Internal Report

Hartman, S., J. L. Menzel and Achterberg.E., 2014. Discrete Carbon Dioxide Data Obtained During the R/V James Cook EEL_2013_JC86 Cruise Along Extended Ellett Line. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. doi: 10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.CLIVAR_EEL_2013_JC86

The doi referenced was created prior to BODC receiving the data and is a subset of the dataset (only NOC nutrients).

Project Information

Oceans 2025 Theme 10, Sustained Observation Activity 4: The Extended Ellett Line

The Ellett Line (begun in 1975 and since 1996 the Extended Ellett Line from Scotland to Iceland) crosses important north Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) components and thus provides an additional contribution to understanding the north Atlantic response to climate change. Sustained Observation Activity (SO) 4 will repeat this section annually collecting a wide variety of physical and biogeochemical measurements, and will, to enhance the time variable component, make use of Argo floats and gliders. SO 4 will be implemented by physical, biological and chemical scientists at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).

SO 4 formally contributes to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)-funded Marine Environmental Change Network (MECN). Established in 2002 to coordinate and promote the collection and utilisation of marine time-series and long-term data sets, the goal of the network is to use long-term marine environmental data from around the British Isles and Ireland to separate natural fluctuations from global, regional and local anthropogenic impacts.

The specific deliverables for SO 4 are:

• A time series of the evolution of the hydrography of the northeast Atlantic, together with a more formal understanding of the causes of any changes observed
• An archived data set available to the international community via the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC)
• A platform for further scientific research

More detailed information on this Work Package is available at pages 15 - 16 of the official Oceans 2025 Theme 10 document: Oceans 2025 Theme 10

Weblink: http://www.oceans2025.org/

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Data Activity

BODC Sample Metadata Report for JC086_CTD_C008

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

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:

Appendix 1: JC086_CTD_C008

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.