Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2141616

• 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

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) data access conditions

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) is an Executive Agency of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), formerly the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). It was also known previously as the Directorate of Fisheries Research (DFR). This data policy refers to data collected by the organisation under all titles.

• These data have no specific confidentiality restrictions for academic users. However data are restricted for commercial requests and clearance must be obtained by BODC from Cefas before they are released.
• 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 acknowledgement.
• The recommended acknowledgement is: "This study uses data from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), provided by the British Oceanographic Data Centre."

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.

UK Ocean Acidification (UKOA) chl-a, DIC, DO, NH4, NO2, TOxN, PO4, Si, SPM, TA and phaeopigments from bottle samples

Originator's Protocol for Data Acquisition and Analysis

These data were collected from the following CEFAS cruises: 01/13, 02/12, 02/13, 03/11, 05/12, 11/12, 13/11, 13/12, 14/11, 15/11, 15/12, 18/12 and 19/11 that took place in one or more of the North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea and Celtic Sea between 2011 and 2013. Water samples were obtained either from CTD samples or from Ferrybox samples. CTD samples for discrete measurements were collected at selected depths using a CTD rosette of 10 litre Niskin bottles when visiting moorings for servicing. The CTD rosette was fitted with an FSI integrated CTD (Falmouth Scientific Inc., USA) to provide salinity, temperature and depth data.

Salinity, dissolved oxygen and SPM were collected and analysed according to Greenwood et al. (2010). Water samples for oxygen determination were collected and preserved in triplicate using the Winkler method. Samples were analysed on board using an automatic titration system (Sensoren Instrumente Systeme, Germany), with a photometric endpoint. For measurements of suspended particulate matter (SPM), known volumes were passed through pre-weighed 0.4 µm polycarbonate filters and rinsed with 2 x 50 ml ultrapure water. Filters were then dried in a dessicator at room temperature and weighed until filter weight remained constant. Samples were analysed for salinity using a Guildline 8400B salinometer which had been standardized with IAPSO standard seawater.

Total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon were measured at NOCS according to Dickson et al. (2007).

Samples for nutrient analyses were collected from water bottle rosette sampling systems mounted on the lowered CTD. Each sample was passed through a Whatman GF/F filter and preserved with mercuric chloride to give a final concentration of 20 µg l^-1. Samples were stored in the fridge at -18° C until analysed by a Skalar continuous flow analyzer, following Kirkwood (1996).

For chlorophyll measurements, known volumes were filtered through glass fibre filters (GF/F Whatman, UK) in triplicate. Pigments were immediately extracted in 90% buffered acetone and stored in the fridge prior to analysis. A Turner Designs Model 10AU filter fluorometer was used to measure the fluorescence of extracted chlorophyll and phaeopigment before and after acidification following the method described by Tett (1987).

References Cited

Dickson, A. G., Sabine, C. L., and Christian, J. R. 2007. Guide to best practices for ocean CO₂ measurements, PICES Special Publication, 3, Sidney, Canada.

Greenwood, N., Parker, E.R., Fernand, L., Sivyer, D.B., Weston, K., Painting, S.J., Kröger, S., Forster, R.M., Lees, H.E., Mills, D.K., Laane, R.W.P.M. 2010. Detection of low bottom water oxygen concentrations in the North Sea; implications for monitoring and assessment of ecosystem health. Biogeosciences 7, p. 1357-1373.

Kirkwood, D. S. 1996. Nutrients: practical notes on their determination in seawater. ICES Techniques in Marine Environmental Sciences, no 17. International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, Copenhagen, p.23.

Tett, P. 1987. Plankton. In: Baker, J. M., Wolff, J. W. (Eds.), Biological surveys of estuaries and coasts. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 280-341.

Instrumentation Description

Guildline 8400B salinometer, Turner Designs Model 10AU filter fluorometer, Skalar continuous flow analyzer.

BODC Data Processing Procedures

Data were submitted to BODC in 13 individual Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for each cruise. The submission files were saved to the BODC archive with reference MAF140047. The following sample metadata were provided for each cruise: bottle number, cruise, date, time_GMT, Latitude, Longitude, station, sample_depth, water_column_depth and sampling device. The cruise, station, date and time were used to create new entries in the database. Several parameters received were not loaded because they were derived parameters (pH, fCO2, pCO2, HCO3, CO3 and calcite and aragonite saturation states). These variables were calculated from DIC and TA using CO2SYS and are available on request. Where repeat samples were provided, the average and standard were loaded to the database.

For all parameters except dissolved oxygen, no unit conversions were necessary as the units provided matched the units for the BODC parameter codes assigned. Oxygen units were converted as outlined in the table below. The dataset was loaded to the database following BODC protocols.

A parameter mapping table is provided below;

Project Information

UKOARP Theme A: Observations and synthesis to establish variability and trends of oceanic pH

This theme covers a programme of observations, combined with analysis of past and ongoing time series, to determine the magnitude of surface pH variations at seasonal-up-to-decadal time scales. Locations addressed will be the North Atlantic, UK shelf and slope waters, and selected locations in the Southern Ocean and Nordic Seas, using data from time series stations and volunteer observing ships (VOS), measuring three parameters of the marine carbonate system. The observations will be integrated with previous and ongoing international efforts, contributing to the SOCAT dataset, and to the internationally quality-controlled data relevant to ocean pH.

Aims:

• To quantify the rate of progression of ocean acidification in the Atlantic (including European shelf and slope), Southern and Arctic Ocenas, including identification of when/where CaCO₃ undersaturation will occur first.
• To quantify spatial and/or seasonal variability of carbonate system parameters in these areas.
• To improve quantification of the rate of oceanic CO₂ uptake in these areas.

This theme will maintain/upgrade the following existing pCO₂ observations with discrete Total Alkalinity (TA) and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) sampling for:

• The UK/Caribbean "Geest" line
• The Pride of Bilbao ferry line
• The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) and Irish Sea Coastal Observatory (ISCO)
• The RRS James Clark Ross (previously funded under CARBON-OPS)

New observations will be established covering:

• Weekly sampling for TA and DIC in Ryder Bay at Rothera base by the British Antarctic Survey. This will expand the Rothera Oceanographic and Biological Time Series (RaTS) to include carbonate chemistry.
• RV CEFAS Endeavour to be equipped with an underway pCO₂ measurement system to improve coverage in the shelf seas around England and Wales.
• RV CEFAS Endeavour to sample TA and DIC during scheduled work to build up a dataset for UK coastal waters.
• CEFAS "Smartbuoy" sites to be sampled for TA and DIC upto eight times per year on regular service visits to build up time series for each site.

Weblink: http://www.oceanacidification.org.uk/research_programme/co2_uptake.aspx

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: