Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 2219292

• 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 JC071 meteorology quality control report

Light sensors

Both PAR and TIR sensors exhibited negative readings in the dark. This phenomena is known to be caused by radiation loss at night. Night time negative values were flagged suspect to preserve the data value. (BODC assessment)

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 JC071 underway document

Cruise details

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 JC071 meteorology instrumentation

Instrumentation

The meteorological suite of sensors were located on the foremast, approximately 17.1 m above sea level. The anemometer orientation was 0° on the bow.

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 Analog Barometers Models PTB100 (A), (B) and PTB101 (B), (C)

The PTB 100 series analog barometers are designed both for accurate barometric measurements at room temperature and for general environmental pressure monitoring over a wide temperature range. The long-term stability of the barometer minimizes the need for field adjustment in many applications.

Physical Specifications

The barometers use the BAROCAP^* silicon capacitive absolute pressure sensor developed by Vaisala for barometric pressure measurements. The BAROCAP^* sensor combines the elasticity characteristics and mechanical stability of a single-crystal silicon with the proven capacitive detection principle.

Sensor Specifications

^* BAROCAP is a registered trademark of Vaisala

Vaisala Temperature and Relative Humidity HMP Sensors

A family of sensors and instruments (sensors plus integral displays or loggers) for the measurement of air temperature and relative humidity. All are based on a probe containing a patent (HUMICAP) capacitive thin polymer film capacitanece humidity sensor and a Pt100 platinum resistance thermometer. The probes are available with a wide range of packaging, cabling and interface options all of which have designations of the form HMPnn or HMPnnn such as HMP45 and HMP230. Vaisala sensors are incorporated into weather stations and marketed by Campbell Scientific.

All versions operate at up to 100% humidity. Operating temperature ranges vary between models, allowing users to select the version best suited to their requirements.

Further details can be found in the manufacturer's specification sheets for the HMP 45 series, HMP 70 series and HMP 230 series.

RRS James Cook cruise JC071 meteorology data processing procedures

Originator's Data Processing

All underway sensors/instruments were initially logged via the Ifremer TECHSAS (TECHnical and Scientific sensors Acquisition System) system. The data were then broadcast in UDP/IP frames via the on-board LAN. Data were broadcast in two formats: NMEA broadcasting format and XML broadcasting format. The XML broadcast was used to create TECHSAS NetCDF files while the NMEA broadcast was used to transfer data to the RVS Level-C UNIX system where it was parsed into RVS data streams (RVS format files). For more information please see the JC071 cruise report. Data were further processed in Level-C as described below:

pro_wind

This process is designed to remove the relative variables from the wind data logged by surfmet. By removing any fixed offsets in the system and removing the effect of ship motion, pro_wind is a true representation of ships wind data. The program corrects for the ship's motion using heading, course made good and speed made good. The anemometer orientation for JC071 was 0° on the bow.

Files delivered to BODC

BODC Data Processing

surfmet was selected for transfer into BODC format since it contained all meteorological data. Although pro_wind contained absolute wind speed and direction, the resultant channels were flagged as 'interpolated' throughout and were therefore considered suspect. Consequently, it was preferred to re-derive absolute winds at BODC. The data was reformatted to NetCDF using BODC standard data banking procedures. The following table shows how variables within the file were mapped to appropriate BODC parameter codes:

surfmet

All data expressed at measurement altitude.

All the reformatted data were visualised using the in-house EDSERPLO software. Suspect data were marked by adding an appropriate quality control flag, missing data by both setting the data to an appropriate value and setting the quality control flag.

Absolute wind speed and direction

Relative wind speed and direction from the surfmet stream were corrected for the ship's heading and speed using the POS MV gyro heading, ship velocities (calculated at BODC from the main positional channels) and an anemometer orientation of 0° on the bow.

Calibration

Field Calibrations

No field calibrations were applied to the data at BODC.

Manufacturer's Calibrations

PAR and TIR

The following manufacturer's calibrations were applied to the PAR and TIR light sensors using:

where 'a' is the raw data in volts and 'b' is the calibration offset (µV per W m^-2) as shown below.

Subsequently, the maximum value of the port-side and starboard-side TIR sensors were extracted into a new data channel in order to eliminate the effects of shading. The port-side and starboard-side PAR sensors were not merged because there was a small offset between them.

Air pressure

A manufacturer's calibration was not applied to the barometer because there was no significant offset reported on the certified calibration certificate.

Air temperature and humidity

Manufacturer's calibrations were not applied to the temperature and humidity probe because there were no significant offsets reported on the certified calibration certificate.

Project Information

Oceans 2025 - The NERC Marine Centres' Strategic Research Programme 2007-2012

Who funds the programme?

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funds the Oceans 2025 programme, which was originally planned in the context of NERC's 2002-2007 strategy and later realigned to NERC's subsequent strategy (Next Generation Science for Planet Earth; NERC 2007).

Who is involved in the programme?

The Oceans 2025 programme was designed by and is to be implemented through seven leading UK marine centres. The marine centres work together in coordination and are also supported by cooperation and input from government bodies, universities and other partners. The seven marine centres are:

• National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS)
• Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)
• Marine Biological Association (MBA)
• Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Marine Science (SAHFOS)
• Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL)
• Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
• Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU)

Oceans2025 provides funding to three national marine facilities, which provide services to the wider UK marine community, in addition to the Oceans 2025 community. These facilities are:

• British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), hosted at POL
• Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL), hosted at POL
• Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP), hosted at SAMS

The NERC-run Strategic Ocean Funding Initiative (SOFI) provides additional support to the programme by funding additional research projects and studentships that closely complement the Oceans 2025 programme, primarily through universities.

What is the programme about?

Oceans 2025 sets out to address some key challenges that face the UK as a result of a changing marine environment. The research funded through the programme sets out to increase understanding of the size, nature and impacts of these changes, with the aim to:

• improve knowledge of how the seas behave, not just now but in the future;
• help assess what that might mean for the Earth system and for society;
• assist in developing sustainable solutions for the management of marine resources for future generations;
• enhance the research capabilities and facilities available for UK marine science.

In order to address these aims there are nine science themes supported by the Oceans 2025 programme:

• Climate, circulation and sea level (Theme 1)
• Marine biogeochemical cycles (Theme 2)
• Shelf and coastal processes (Theme 3)
• Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (Theme 4)
• Continental margins and deep ocean (Theme 5)
• Sustainable marine resources (Theme 6)
• Technology development (Theme 8)
• Next generation ocean prediction (Theme 9)
• Integration of sustained observations in the marine environment (Theme 10)

In the original programme proposal there was a theme on health and human impacts (Theme 7). The elements of this Theme have subsequently been included in Themes 3 and 9.

When is the programme active?

The programme started in April 2007 with funding for 5 years.

Brief summary of the programme fieldwork/data

Programme fieldwork and data collection are to be achieved through:

• physical, biological and chemical parameters sampling throughout the North and South Atlantic during collaborative research cruises aboard NERC's research vessels RRS Discovery, RRS James Cook and RRS James Clark Ross;
• the Continuous Plankton Recorder being deployed by SAHFOS in the North Atlantic and North Pacific on 'ships of opportunity';
• physical parameters measured and relayed in near real-time by fixed moorings and ARGO floats;
• coastal and shelf sea observatory data (Liverpool Bay Coastal Observatory (LBCO) and Western Channel Observatory (WCO)) using the RV Prince Madog and RV Quest.

The data is to be fed into models for validation and future projections. Greater detail can be found in the Theme documents.

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: