North Sea

Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column

From mid-January to mid-February, several fisheries research ships conduct fisheries biological observations in support of increasing knowledge of the factors that influence the biological/fisheries characteristics of the commercial fish stocks of the North Sea. In addition to these observations, temperature and salinity observations are taken at each of the 500 or so stations worked, and these observations are maintained in a separate data set for merging with the ICES IBTS database, and for use by researchers concerned with the interpretation of the IBTS observations. The dataset currently extends to 12,000 profiles of temperature, salinity and nutrients. ICES produces an annual summary of these observations, and an atlas describing them is available. Prior to 1990 the February IBTS was known as the International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS). From 1999 the IBTS was made a component of the GOOS Initial Observing System.

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
H. C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46
Copenhagen V

DK-1553
Denmark