Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2139728

• 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

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.

CD176 Particulate Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Sampling Document

Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis

Water samples were collected from CTD stations throughout the cruise for later analysis at SAMS. Samples were taken at depths corresponding to discernible water masses or areas exhibiting raised or lowered values as determined from the CTD fluorescence, temperature, salinity and oxygen traces.

Samples were removed from CTD Niskin bottles and filtered through pre-combusted Gelaman A/E 13 mm diameter filter discs, which were then placed in labelled vented petri dishes and kept frozen until analysis. Analysis was later performed by gas chromatography using a LECO CN analyser.

References Cited

Sherwin, T. A. et al, (2005) 'Cruise CD176 Birkenhead to Falmouth via Rockall, Iceland and Oban', Internal Report No 248, Scottish Association for Marine Science.

Available - Cruise CD176 Internal Report

BODC Data Processing Procedures

The particulate organic carbon and nitrogen data were supplied to BODC in Microsoft Excel format. Values were extracted from this and saved in ASCII format prior to being loaded into BODC's ocean database under the ORACLE Relational Database Management System. Data that were considered unrealistic were flagged suspect.

Content of data series

Project Information

Northern Seas Programme

The Northern Seas describes an area extending from the Irish and northern North Sea across the Norwegian Sea up to the marginal Arctic pack-ice zone, including territorial waters of the UK, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Russia. These waters are an important marine environment playing a significant part in regulating world climate due to the area's role in thermocline circulation in addition to acting as a sink for man-made pollutants carried north by ocean currents. These environments are experiencing increasing pressures from both natural and human impacts and consequently the Northern Seas Programme was developed to help advance the understanding of how marine systems in Northern Seas respond to environmental and anthropogenic change.

Scientific Objectives

The central aim of the programme was to 'improve understanding of how the sensitivity of marine ecosystems to environmental perturbation, both natural and anthropogenic, varies along a latitudinal gradient'.

This aim was addressed through the following integrated themes:

Theme A: Understanding fjordic systems: insights for coastal and oceanic processes

Theme B: Ocean Margins: the interface between the coastal zone and oceanic realm

Theme C: Measuring and modelling change: sea sensors and bioinformatics

The Northern Seas Programme was active between 2001 and 2007. The fieldwork programme to address these objectives was conducted by staff from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Data Activity

BODC Sample Metadata Report for CD176_CTD_C016

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: CD176_CTD_C016

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.