Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2207623

• 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

RRS James Cook Cruise JC064 Meteorology Data Quality Report

Negative solar radiation and PAR irradiance that occur at night have been flagged suspect.

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

RRS James Cook Cruise JC064 Underway Document

Cruise details

JC064 formed the second leg of the cruise, while JC063 was referred to as the first. The JC064 cruise departed on 10 September 2011 from Santa Cruz de Tenerife and arrived again in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 9 October 2011 where the cruise terminated. The purpose of the cruise was to refurbish a mooring array on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and at the Easter Boundary of the Atlantic near the Moroccan Coast at a nominal latitude of 26.5°N. The moorings are part of the RAPIDMOC mooring array, monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and Heat Flux.

Gill Instruments Windsonic Anemometer

The Gill Windsonic is a 2-axis ultrasonic wind sensor that monitors wind speed and direction using four transducers. The time taken for an ultrasonic pulse to travel from the North to the South transducers is measured and compared with the time for a pulse to travel from South to North. Travel times between the East and West transducers are similarly compared. The wind speed and direction are calculated from the differences in the times of flight along each axis. This calculation is independent of environmental factors such as temperature.

Specifications

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

Kipp and Zonen Pyranometer Model CM6B

The CM6B pyranometer is intended for routine global solar radiation measurement research on a level surface. The CM6B features a sixty-four thermocouple junction (series connected) sensing element. The sensing element is coated with a highly stable carbon based non-organic coating, which delivers excellent spectral absorption and long term stability characteristics. The sensing element is housed under two concentric fitting Schott K5 glass domes.

Specifications

RRS James Cook Cruise JC064 Meteorology Instrumentation

The instruments used to collect this data set are presented in the table below:

All instruments are located on the foremast in order to obtain the best exposure, with the exception of the barometer, which is located in the main lab.

Skye Instruments PAR Energy Sensor Model SKE 510

The SKE 510 is suitable for measuring photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) from natural or artificial light sources. The sensor is fully waterproof and guaranteed submersible to 4m depth, and indoor versions are also available.

The instrument uses a blue-enhanced planar diffused silicon detector to measure energy (in W m^-2) over the 400-700 nm waveband. It has a cosine-corrected head and a square spectral response. The sensor can operate over a temperature range of -35 to 70 °C and a humidity range of 0-100% RH.

Specifications

Vaisala HMP 45 humidity and temperature probe

A humidity and temperature sensor designed for use with the HMI41 Humidity Indicator to measure temperature and humidity, as well as dew point, wet bulb temperature, absolute humidity and mixing ratio. It is also suitable for spot-checking applications. The HMP45 probe is attached to the HMI141 Indicator via a spiral cable. The HMP45 probe features a patented HUMICAP 180 capacitive thin film polymer humidity sensor and a Pt1000 platinum resistance thermometer. The HMP45 measures humidity from 0-100 percent RH at an accuracy of +/- 3 percent RH at 20 degC. It measures temperature from -20 to +60 degC.

For more information, please see this document: https://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/documents/nodb/pdf/Vaisala_HMP_41_42_45.pdf

Vaisala PTB110 barometer

An industrial, analog barometer which uses a silicon capacitive sensor (BAROCAP). The sensor produces either frequency or voltage output and is mountable on a (35 mm wide) DIN rail.

Operating ranges (1 hPa = 1 mbar)

General

Accuracy

* Defined as ±2 standard deviation limits of end-point non-linearity, hysteresis error or repeatability error.
** Defined as ±2 standard deviation limits of inaccuracy of the working standard including traceability to NIST.
*** Defined as the root sum of the squares (RSS) of end-point non-linearity, hysteresis error, repeatability error and calibration uncertainty at room temperature when using voltage output.

More detailed information can be found in the manufacturer's data sheet and user's guide.

RRS James Cook Cruise JC064 Meteorology Data Processing Procedures

Originator's Processing

Meteorological data were taken from the ship's TECHSAS streams and formatted into MSTAR netCDF format. All times were defined as seconds from 00:00:00 01/01/2011.

Wind data were collected using a Gill Windsonic anemometer which was located on the ship's foremast. This instrument measured apparent wind speed and direction during the cruise.

Speed made good and course made good are calculated and, along with corrected heading and distance run, merged onto the same time stamps as the wind data from the anemometer. To avoid problems associated with averaging wind direction over time the relative wind speed, ships heading and course made good were converted to eastward (u) and northward (v) components, and from this the true wind direction was calculated. Wind speed and direction were corrected on board by the Originator to remove the effects of ship movement.

Port and starboard PAR and TIR sensors on the foremast and air pressure from the barometer in the main lab were logged to a separate TECHSAS file. These were then reformatted into MSTAR netCDF. Manufacturer's calibrations were applied to convert the data into physical units.

Humidity and air temperature were recorded using a Vaisala HMP45AL probe located on the starboard side of the foremast. All data were logged using the TECHSAS system.

BODC processing

All 1 second meteorological data for cruise JC064 were supplied to BODC in an MSTAR format and transferred to BODC's internal NetCDF format (QXF). Data were averaged at 30 second intervals.

During transfer the originator's variables were mapped to unique BODC parameter codes. The following table shows the parameter mapping:

Following transfer, all data were screened using BODC in-house visualisation software. Suspect data values were assigned the appropriate BODC data quality flags. Missing data values, where present, were changed to a BODC data value and assigned a data quality flag.

Records from the port and starboard PAR and solar radiation channels were each merged into a single channel by taking the maximum of the port or starboard sensor value at every cycle to minimise shading effects. No additional processing was carried out by BODC.

Project Information

RAPID- Will the Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation Halt? (RAPID-WATCH)

RAPID-WATCH (2007-2014) is a continuation programme of the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Rapid Climate Change (RAPID) programme. It aims to deliver a robust and scientifically credible assessment of the risk to the climate of UK and Europe arising from a rapid change in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). The programme will also assess the need for a long-term observing system that could detect major MOC changes, narrow uncertainty in projections of future change, and possibly be the start of an 'early warning' prediction system.

The effort to design a system to continuously monitor the strength and structure of the North Atlantic MOC is being matched by comparative funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) for the existing collaborations started during RAPID for the observational arrays.

Scientific Objectives

• To deliver a decade-long time series (2004-2014) of calibrated and quality-controlled measurements of the Atlantic MOC from the RAPID-WATCH arrays.
• To exploit the data from the RAPID-WATCH arrays and elsewhere to determine and interpret recent changes in the Atlantic MOC, assess the risk of rapid climate change, and investigate the potential for predictions of the MOC and its impacts on climate.

This work will be carried out in collaboration with the Hadley Centre in the UK and through international partnerships.

Mooring Arrays

The RAPID-WATCH arrays are the existing 26°N MOC observing system array (RAPIDMOC) and the WAVE array that monitors the Deep Western Boundary Current. The data from these arrays will work towards meeting the first scientific objective.

The RAPIDMOC array consists of moorings focused in three geographical regions (sub-arrays) along 26.5° N: Eastern Boundary, Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Western Boundary. The Western Boundary sub-array has moorings managed by both the UK and US scientists. The other sub-arrays are solely led by the UK scientists. The lead PI is Dr Stuart Cunningham of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK.

The WAVE array consists of one line of moorings off Halifax, Nova Scotia. The line will be serviced in partnership with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), Halifax, Canada. The lead PI is Dr Chris Hughes of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Liverpool, UK.

All arrays will be serviced (recovered and redeployed) either on an annual or biennial basis using Research Vessels from the UK, US and Canada.

Modelling Projects

The second scientific objective will be addressed through numerical modelling studies designed to answer four questions:

• How can we exploit data from the RAPID-WATCH arrays to obtain estimates of the MOC and related variables?
• What do the observations from the RAPID-WATCH arrays and other sources tell us about the nature and causes of recent changes in the Atlantic Ocean?
• What are the implications of RAPID-WATCH array data and other recent observations for estimates of the risk due to rapid change in the MOC?
• Could we use RAPID-WATCH and other observations to help predict future changes in the MOC and climate?

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: