Metadata Report for BODC Series Reference Number 963662
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
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Problem Reports
No Problem Report Found in the Database
Maximum Instrument Depth Greater Than Sea Floor Depth
CTD/XBT Data
It is possible for the maximum depth of a CTD/XBT cast to exceed the estimated sea floor depth at a given location.
The depth of a CTD unit is calculated from its measurements of pressure using an algorithm which makes assumptions about the density profile of the water column and XBT depth is often estimated from an assumed descent rate. Similarly, total water depth is calculated from the two-way travel time of sound waves through the water column making assumptions about the velocity of the sound waves. All of these calculations may contain errors, and the depth of a CTD/XBT unit may therefore appear to be below the sea floor.
Other Instrument Types
It is possible that instrument depths are taken from instantaneous measurements whereas water depth is read from a chart or corrected to a datum, such as mean sea level. If this occurs and the instrument depth has been read at high tide it is possible that an instrument mounted on the sea floor will have a depth half of the tidal range below the sea floor depth.
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
Lockhead Martin T7 XBT probe
The XBT's deployed on this cruise were orignally manufactured by Sippican, which was acquired by Lockhead Martin sometime after this cruise ended.
An XBT probe is an expendable free-fall temperature probe that provides a profile of measured temperature against depth calculated from a fall-rate model. The T-7 XBT Probe can be used within a maximum depth of 760m, may be deployed at a ship speed of up to 15 knots and has a vertical resolution of 65cm.
Further details can be found in the manufacturer's specification sheet.
BODC processing
The data were submitted to BODC in the XBT .EDF (Export Data File) format. The data were transferred to NetCDF format using BODC generated Matlab code. This involves mapping each of the originator's variables to a BODC parameter code. The table below shows the parameter mapping.
Originator's variable | Units | Description | BODC Parameter Code | Units |
---|---|---|---|---|
Depth | metres | Depth from probe free-fall time | DEPHCV01 | metres |
Temperature | degrees C | Temperature of the water column by XBT | TEMPET01 | degrees C |
Sound Velocity | metres per second | Sound velocity in the water column | SVELCV01 | metres per second |
The depth of the falling XBT probe is estimated using time passed. As the XBT records continuously until the probe's wire has run out sometimes the XBT hits the sea floor before it has finished recording. Consequently, many of the profiles provided to BODC were deeper than the sea floor depth recorded by the originators. In these profiles, there was a noticeable change in the data when the probe hit the bottom. This could be verified by comparing the depth this change occurs to the originator's recorded sea floor depth. Using this change as a guide for the sea floor, the data were flagged after this point with the appropriate BODC data quality control flag. The following series were affected, 963662, 963674, 963698, 963778, 963791, 963809, 963858, 963883, 963895, 963902, 963914, 963999.
Subsequently, the data were screened using BODC in-house visualisation software. Any suspect data points were flagged with the appropriate BODC quality control flag.
Originator's processing
36 XBT casts were made throughout JCR84. T5 instruments were used in deep waters (>760 m) and T7 instruments were used in shallow waters (<760 m). The casts were made from the starboard side of the ship due to access considerations. The ship was slowed to a speed of 6 knots or less during T5 casts, while T7s were done at <15 knots. Most of the T5 casts went to the full T5 depth of 1830 m. Sound velocity profiles (SVPs) obtained from the XBT deployments were input to the EM120 multibeam swath bathymetry system and used in the relevant surveys.
Instrument type | Casts |
---|---|
T5 | 1,2,3,4,5,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,20,21,22a,22b,29,30,31,32,33,34, |
T7 | 6,7,8,9,17,18,19,23,24,25,26,27,28,35 |
The cruise report and more information on XBTs can be found via the JR84 metadata Report.
Individual SVP profiles were calculated from the XBT data by the system software, assuming a constant salinity. The *.EDF files (calculated sound velocity profiles) generated by the XBT system software were transferred to the multibeam swath bathymetry data processing workstation, and the data then imported into the multibeam swath bathymetry data acquisition system across the network.
The following salinities were assumed for each given cast in order to calculate the sound velocity profiles.
Cast(s) | Assumed salinity (ppt) | File name |
---|---|---|
1 | 33.93 | T5_0002.EDF |
2 | 33.90 | T5_0004.EDF |
3 | 33.90 | T5_0006.EDF |
4 | 33.50 | T5_0007.EDF |
5 | 33.50 | T5_0008.EDF |
6 | 33.60 | T7_0009.EDF |
7 | 33.58 | T7_0010.EDF |
8 | 33.46 | T7_0011.EDF |
9 | 33.55 | T7_0012.EDF |
10 | 33.55 | T5_0013.EDF |
11 | 33.56 | T5_0014.EDF |
12 | 33.51 | T5_0015.EDF |
13 | 33.50 | T5_0016.EDF |
14 | 33.40 | T5_0017.EDF |
15 | 32.96 | T5_0018.EDF |
16 | 33.50 | T5_0019.EDF |
17 | 33.30 | T7_0020.EDF |
18 | 33.40 | T7_0021.EDF |
19 | 32.20 | T7_0022.EDF |
20 | 33.40 | T5_0023.EDF |
21 | 33.30 | T5_0024.EDF |
22a | 33.30 | T5_0025.EDF |
22b | 33.30 | T5_0026.EDF |
23 | 33.30 | T7_0027.EDF |
24 | 33.30 | T7_0028.EDF |
25 | 33.0 | T7_0029.EDF |
26 | 33.30 | T7_0030.EDF |
27 | 33.40 | T7_0031.EDF |
28 | 33.20 | T7_0032.EDF |
29 | 33.30 | T5_0033.EDF |
30 | 33.27 | T5_0034.EDF |
31 | 33.30 | T5_0035.EDF |
32 | 32.78 | T5_0036.EDF |
33 | 33.55 | T5_0037.EDF |
34 | 33.56 | T5_0038.EDF |
35 | 33.60 | T7_0039.EDF |
Project Information
AutoSub Under Ice (AUI) Programme
AutoSub was an interdisciplinary Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) thematic programme conceived to investigate the marine environment of floating ice shelves with a view to advancing the understanding of their role in the climate system.
The AUI programme had the following aims:
- To attain the programme's scientific objectives through an integrated programme based on interdisciplinary collaborations and an international perspective
- To develop a data management system for the archiving and collation of data collected by the programme, and to facilitate the eventual exploitation of this record by the community
- To provide high-quality training to develop national expertise in the use of autonomous vehicles in the collection of data from remote environments and the integration of such tools in wider programmes of research
- To stimulate and facilitate the parameterising of sub-ice shelf processes in climate models, and to further demonstrate the value of autonomous vehicles as platforms for data collection among the wider oceanographic and polar community
Following the invitation of outline bids and peer review of fully developed proposals, eight research threads were funded as part of AUI:
Physical Oceanography
- ISOTOPE: Ice Shelf Oceanography: Transports, Oxygen-18 and Physical Exchanges.
- Evolution and impact of Circumpolar Deep Water on the Antarctic continental shelf.
- Oceanographic conditions and processes beneath Ronne Ice Shelf (OPRIS).
Glaciology and Sea Ice
- Autosub investigation of ice sheet boundary conditions beneath Pine Island Glacier.
- Observations and modelling of coastal polynya and sea ice processes in the Arctic and Antarctic.
- Sea ice thickness distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea.
Geology and Geophysics
- Marine geological processes and sediments beneath floating ice shelves in Greenland and Antarctica: investigations using the Autosub AUV.
Biology
- Controls on marine benthic biodiversity and standing stock in ice-covered environments.
The National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS) hosted the AUI programme with ten further institutions collaborating in the project. The project ran from April 2000 until the end of March 2005, with some extensions to projects beyond this date because of research cruise delays. The following cruises were the fieldwork component of the AUI project:
Table 1: Details of the RRS James Clark Ross AUI cruises.
Cruise No. | Cruise No. synonyms | Dates | Areas of study |
---|---|---|---|
JR20030218 | JR84 | 28 February 2003 to 4 April 2003 | Amundsen Sea, Antarctica |
JR20040813 | JR106, JR106a, JR106N (North) | 10 August 2004 to 30 August 2004 | Northeast Greenland Continental Shelf, Greenland |
JR20040830 | JR106b, JR106S (South) | 30 August 2004 to 16 September 2004 | Kangerlussuaq Fjord, Greenland |
JR20050203 | JR97, JR097 | 3 February 2005 to 11 March 2005 | Fimbul Ice Shelf and Weddell Sea, Antarctica . This cruise was redirected from the Filcner-Ronne Ice Shelf to the Fimbul Ice Shelf because of unfavourable sea-ice conditions. |
All the cruises utilised the AutoSub autonomous, unmanned and untethered underwater vehicle to collect observations beneath sea-ice and floating ice shelves. AutoSub can be fitted with a range of oceanographic sensors such as:
- Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) instruments
- Acoustic Doppler Current Profillers (ADCP)
- A water sampler
- Swath bathymetry systems
- Cameras
In addition to use of AutoSub during each cruise measurements were taken from ship. These varied by cruise but included:
- Ship underway measurements and sampling for parameters such as:
- Salinity
- Temperature
- Fluorescence
- Oxygen 18 isotope enrichment in water
- Bathymetry using a swath bathymetry system
- Full-depth CTD casts for with observations of samples taken for parameters such as:
- Salinity
- Temperature
- Fluorescence
- Optical transmissivity
- Dissolved oxygen
- Oxygen 18 isotope enrichment in water
- Water CFC content
- Sea floor photography and video using the WASP system
- Sea floor sampling with trawls/rock dredges
- Sea ice observations (ASPeCt), drifters and sampling
The AutoSub project also included numerical modelling work undertaken at University College London, UK.
The project included several firsts including the first along-track observations beneath an ice shelf using an autonomous underwater vehicle. The AutoSub vehicle was developed and enhanced throughout this programme and has now become part of the NERC equipment pool for general use by the scientific community. Further information for each cruise can be found in the respective cruise reports (links in Table 1).
Data Activity or Cruise Information
Cruise
Cruise Name | JR20030218 (JR84) |
Departure Date | 2003-02-28 |
Arrival Date | 2003-04-04 |
Principal Scientist(s) | Adrian Jenkins (British Antarctic Survey) |
Ship | RRS James Clark Ross |
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:
Flag | Description |
---|---|
Blank | Unqualified |
< | Below detection limit |
> | In excess of quoted value |
A | Taxonomic flag for affinis (aff.) |
B | Beginning of CTD Down/Up Cast |
C | Taxonomic flag for confer (cf.) |
D | Thermometric depth |
E | End of CTD Down/Up Cast |
G | Non-taxonomic biological characteristic uncertainty |
H | Extrapolated value |
I | Taxonomic flag for single species (sp.) |
K | Improbable value - unknown quality control source |
L | Improbable value - originator's quality control |
M | Improbable value - BODC quality control |
N | Null value |
O | Improbable value - user quality control |
P | Trace/calm |
Q | Indeterminate |
R | Replacement value |
S | Estimated value |
T | Interpolated value |
U | Uncalibrated |
W | Control value |
X | Excessive difference |
SeaDataNet Quality Control Flags
The following single character qualifying flags may be associated with one or more individual parameters with a data cycle:
Flag | Description |
---|---|
0 | no quality control |
1 | good value |
2 | probably good value |
3 | probably bad value |
4 | bad value |
5 | changed value |
6 | value below detection |
7 | value in excess |
8 | interpolated value |
9 | missing value |
A | value phenomenon uncertain |
B | nominal value |
Q | value below limit of quantification |