Resources

NERC Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS) Rivers, Atmosphere and Coasts (RACS) data set - coastal oceanographic data (1992-1995)

Data set information

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General  
Data holding centreBritish Oceanographic Data Centre
CountryUnited Kingdom  United Kingdom
Time periodData collected from December 1992 until July 1995
OngoingNo
Geographical area

North Sea waters within 20 km of the East Coast of England from Great Yarmouth to Berwick on Tweed.

Observations 
Parameters

Ammonium and ammonia concentration parameters in water bodies; Transmittance and attenuance of the water column; Particulate total and organic carbon concentrations in the water column; Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies; Dissolved organic carbon concentration in the water column; Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Sediment grain size parameters; Metal concentrations in sediment pore waters; Particulate metal concentrations in the water column; Particulate total and organic nitrogen concentrations in the water column; Nutrient concentrations in sediment pore waters; Nitrate concentration parameters in the water column; Phytoplankton taxonomic abundance in water bodies; Phosphate concentration parameters in the water column; Uptake of other nutrients in the water column; Primary production in the water column; Salinity of the water column; Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents); Nutrient fluxes between the bed and the water column; Metal fluxes between the bed and the water column; Dissolved concentration parameters for other gases in the water column; Dissolved total and organic nitrogen concentrations in the water column; Urea concentration parameters in the water column; Radioactivity in water bodies; Zoobenthos taxonomic abundance; Phaeopigment concentrations in the water column; Concentration of suspended particulate material in the water column; Nitrite concentration parameters in the water column; Suspended particulate material grain size parameters; Geological sample radioactivity; Alkalinity, acidity and pH of the water column; Visible waveband radiance and irradiance measurements in the atmosphere; Visible waveband radiance and irradiance measurements in the water column; Concentration of other organic contaminants in the water column; Sediment water content, porosity and surface area; Dissolved trace metalloid and inorganic selenium concentrations in water bodies; Nitrogen concentrations in sediment; Silicate concentration parameters in the water column; Bathymetry and Elevation; Carbon concentrations in sediment; Temperature of the water column

Instruments

Fluorometers; current meters; radiometers; optical backscatter sensors; thermosalinographs; nutrient analysers; atmospheric radiometers; particulates samplers; salinity sensor; redox potential sensors; unconsolidated sediment corers; gas chromatographs; autoanalysers; optical microscopes; titrators; inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometers; spectrophotometers; gamma-ray spectrometers; transmissometers; CTD; in-situ particle sizers; dissolved gas sensors; pH sensors; sediment settling tubes; shipboard incubators; in-situ incubators

Description 
Summary

The dataset contains hydrographic and biogeochemical data, including continuous underway measurements of surface temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll and attenuance, irradiance and bathymetric depth. Underway dissolved oxygen and/or trace metal measurements were also collected on occasion. Hydrographic profiles of temperature, salinity, transmittance, fluorescence, dissolved oxygen (data often of poor quality) and scalar irradiance were undertaken, and associated water samples were routinely analysed for suspended particulate material (SPM), chlorophyll, nutrients and particulate organic carbon/particulate organic nitrogen (POC/PON). In addition, dissolved and particulate trace metals, production, contaminants, dissolved organic carbon/total dissolved nitrogen (DOC/TDN) were determined in some cases. Benthic measurements were also collected, including benthic flux determinations (microcosm experiments), sediment characterisation, pore water chemistry measurements and the quantification of the benthic macrofauna. The coastal oceanographic data set was collected along the east coast of England between Great Yarmouth and Berwick upon Tweed. Data were collected between December 1992 and July 1995 during a series of 17 RRS Challenger cruise legs. Most cruises covered two survey grids: one from Great Yarmouth to the Humber designed around the distribution of the sandbanks and a second simple zig-zag grid from the Humber to Berwick on Tweed. A large number of anchor stations, usually over one or two tidal cycles, were worked in the vicinity of the Humber mouth or the Holderness coast. Each cruise leg returned underway data and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data and water bottle rosette samples from grid nodes. A Lasentech in-situ particle sizer was used to obtain grain size distributions at spot depths for each CTD station on many of the cruise legs. Box and multicorer samples were collected on approximately one third of the cruise legs. The River-Atmosphere-Coast Study (RACS) was the component of the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS) programme looking at processes from the river catchment into the coastal sea. Investigators include representatives of Plymouth University, Southampton University, Liverpool University, University of East Anglia, Newcastle University, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and the University of Wales, Bangor. All data sets collected during the RACS Challenger cruises are held by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). All underway and CTD data have been fully calibrated and quality controlled by BODC. The water sample and benthic data sets have been quality controlled by the data originators and submitted to BODC. The data are held in the BODC project database and have been published as part of a fully documented CD-ROM product.

OriginatorsPlymouth Marine Laboratory
University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences
University of Liverpool, Department of Oceanography
University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Department of Physics
University of Plymouth, Institute of Marine Studies
University of Southampton Department of Oceanography
University of Wales, School of Ocean Sciences
Data web sitehttps://www.bodc.ac.uk/resources/products/data/bodc_products/lois_racs/
Availability 
OrganisationBritish Oceanographic Data Centre
AvailabilityLicence
ContactPolly Hadžiabdić (Head of the BODC Requests Team)
Address

British Oceanographic Data Centre
Joseph Proudman Building 6 Brownlow Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5DA
United Kingdom

Telephone+44 (0)782 512 0946
Emailenquiries@bodc.ac.uk
Administration 
Collating centreBritish Oceanographic Data Centre
Local identifier1048005
Global identifier150
Last revised2017-02-01