Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 941027

• 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

SIMORC Total Brunei ADCP Data Narrative

Narrative

Two ADCPs, 6 current meters and a water level recorder were deployed on a single mooring. The mooring deployment had to be terminated early and only the 75 kHz upward looking ADCP deployed at 650 metres depth was able to be recovered.

Data Quality Information

The following data quality checks were applied

• Changes in speed, direction, salinity or temperature too large to be physically feasible were flagged suspect.
• Speeds stuck at zero for more than 5 consecutive datacycles were flagged suspect

The ADCP data were found to be of mostly good quality although the shallowest bins were noisier. All parameters were flagged suspect for the first 57 datacycles, as the depth channel indicated that the instrument had not yet reached its mooring depth of 650 metres.

Data Access Policy

SIMORC data access conditions

The data collated and held at BODC on behalf of the SIMORC project are restricted. However, the data will be available to download from the Official SIMORC Website, as part of the project protocol. The data set will initially include data from the oil companies TOTAL, Shell and BP.

Narrative Documents

Teledyne RDI's Workhorse Long Ranger ADCP

The Workhorse Long-Ranger acoustic doppler current profiler (Teledyne RD Instruments) is a long-range and long-term self contained ADCP. It has a patented broadband signal (75 kHz) and a standard depth rating of 1500m. It operates effectively between temperatures of -5°C and 45°C and has a velocity accuracy of ±1% ±5mm/s.

The instrument comprises:

• An aluminium transducer head with four beams at 20^o from the vertical in a convex configuration, temperature sensor, electronic assemblies, fluxgate compass, pitch and roll sensors
• 4 x 28 D-cell alkaline battery packs
• 40 MB PC card internal memory (upgradeable to 440 MB)
• 1500m depth rated 6061 aluminium pressure case. End cap with wet material connector and dummy plug

BODC Current Meter Screening

BODC screen both the series header qualifying information and the parameter values in the data cycles themselves.

Header information is inspected for:

• Irregularities such as unfeasible values
• Inconsistencies between related information. For example:
  • Depths of meter and sea bed.
  • Times for mooring deployment and for start/end of data series.
  • Length of record or number of data cycles, the cycle interval, the clock error and the period over which accrued.
  • Parameters stated as measured and the parameters actually present in the data cycles.
• Originator's comments on meter/mooring performance and data quality.

Documents are written by BODC highlighting irregularities which cannot be resolved.

Data cycles are inspected using time series plots of all parameters. Currents are additionally inspected using vector scatter plots and time series plots of North and East velocity components. These presentations undergo intrinsic and extrinsic screening to detect infeasible values within the data cycles themselves and inconsistencies as seen when comparing characteristics of adjacent data sets displaced with respect to depth, position or time. Values suspected of being of non- oceanographic origin may be tagged with the BODC flag denoting suspect value.

The following types of irregularity, each relying on visual detection in the time series plot, are amongst those which may be flagged as suspect:

• Spurious data at the start or end of the record.
• Obvious spikes occurring in periods free from meteorological disturbance.
• A sequence of constant values in consecutive data cycles.

If a large percentage of the data is affected by irregularities, deemed abnormal, then instead of flagging the individual suspect values, a caution may be documented. Likewise documents will highlight irregularities seen in the current vector scatter plots such as incongruous centre holes, evidence of mooring 'knock-down', abnormal asymmetry in tidally dominated records or gaps as when a range of speeds or directions go unregistered due to meter malfunction.

The term 'knock-down' refers to the situation when the 'drag' exerted on a mooring at high current speeds may cause instruments to tilt beyond the angle at which they are intended to operate. At this point the efficiency of the current sensors to accurately record the flow is reduced.

Inconsistencies between the characteristics of the data set and those of its neighbours are sought, and where necessary, documented. This covers inconsistencies in the following:

• Maximum and minimum values of parameters (spikes excluded).
• The orientation and symmetry of the current vector scatter plot.
• The direction of rotation of the current vectors.
• The approximate amplitude and periodicity of the tidal currents.
• The occurrence of meteorological events and, finally, for series for which no time check was possible, the phase.

This intrinsic and extrinsic screening of the parameter values seeks to confirm the qualifying information and the source laboratory's comments on the series. In screening and collating information, every care is taken to ensure that errors of BODC making are not introduced.

BODC Processing

Data were received by BODC in an RDI proprietary format. This was reformatted to Matlab, using the RDI software windadcp and then to QXF format using BODC transfer function 416. The following table shows how the variables within the files were mapped to the appropriate BODC parameter codes:

Following transfer to QXF, the data were screened using BODC's in-house visualisation software, EDSERPLO.

Project Information

System of Industry Metocean data for the Offshore and Research Communities (SIMORC)

The EU-funded SIMORC project is a collaborative effort between MARIS (Netherlands), BODC (UK), the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) and IOC-IODE to provide a harmonised and quality controlled metocean data set from data collected by oil and gas producers, accessible through the SIMORC protocol.

Data Activity or Cruise Information

Data Activity

SIMORC Mooring South China Sea Block J

This mooring was deployed from the survey vessel M/V Malcos on March 18th 2003 and was partially recovered on 12th November 2003. The mooring was deployed on the sea floor on behalf of TOTAL and consisted of the following instruments.

Cruise

Complete Cruise Metadata Report is available here

Fixed Station Information

Fixed Station Information

SIMORC: TOTAL South China Sea Block J Fixed Station Document

This site is offshore Malaysia/ Brunei. The nominal position of this site is 5.65363° N; 113.9425° E with a water depth of 2002 metres.

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: