Southern and Northern North Sea

Horizontal spatial co-ordinates; Ammonium and ammonia concentration parameters in water bodies; Air pressure; Air temperature; Atmospheric humidity; Variable fluorescence parameters; Particulate total and organic carbon concentrations in the water column; Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in sediment; Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies; Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Wind strength and direction; Other wave statistics; Vertical velocity of the water column (currents); Suspended particulate material setting velocity parameters; Particulate total and organic nitrogen concentrations in the water column; Nitrate concentration parameters in the water column; Optical backscatter; Phosphate concentration parameters in the water column; Phaeopigment concentrations in sediment; Light absorption 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; Seabed photography; Secchi disk depth; Other fluxes between the bed and the water column; Zooplankton taxonomy-related abundance per unit volume of the water column; Phaeopigment concentrations in the water column; Concentration of suspended particulate material in the water column; Nitrite concentration parameters in the water column; Sea level; Suspended particulate material grain size parameters; Solar Radiation; Turbulence in the water column; 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; Sediment water content, porosity and surface area; Transmittance and attenuance of the water column; Date and time; Silicate concentration parameters in the water column; Bathymetry and Elevation; Carotenoid and flavenoid pigment concentrations in water bodies; Carotenoid pigment concentrations in sediment; Dissolved total or organic phosphorus concentration in the water column; Temperature of the water column; Oxygen production and respiration in the water column

Anemometers; meteorological packages; sea level recorders; fluorometers; current meters; radiometers; optical backscatter sensors; single-beam echosounders; underwater cameras; nutrient analysers; plankton nets; discrete water samplers; continuous water samplers; unconsolidated sediment corers; Differential Global Positioning System receivers; microstructure sensors; CTD undulators; transmissometers; CTD; water body temperature sensor; current profilers; thermistor chains; in-situ particle sizers; benthic incubation chambers; dissolved gas sensors; pH sensors; sediment settling tubes

The dataset includes a wide range of physical, chemical and biological oceanographic parameters. Physical hydrographic measurements include temperature, salinity, optical backscatter, current velocities and turbulence, while biogeochemical measurements in the water column include dissolved oxygen, organic carbon and nitrogen, and nutrients. Biogeochemical parameters were also measured in sediment cores, while phytoplankton and zooplankton data were also collected. The marine data were supplemented by meteorological measurements including temperature, pressure, irradiance and wind. The experimental phase of the project was undertaken in the North Sea between 1998 and 1999, and data were collected at two contrasting sites: Northern North Sea (NNS, 59° 20.0E, 1° 00.0E) and Southern North Sea (SNS, 52° 15.0N, 4° 17.0E). At both locations measurements were concentrated at a central position with additional measurements being made to estimate horizontal gradients. Moored instruments were deployed at NNS from September - November 1998 and at SNS from March - May 1999. Each experiment was supported by intensive measurement series made from oceanographic ships and involving turbulence dissipation profiler, conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers, particle size profilers, optical profilers, benthic sampling and water bottle sampling. PROVESS is an interdisciplinary study of the vertical fluxes of properties through the water column and the surface and bottom boundary layers with the aim of improving understanding and quantification of vertical exchange processes in the water column. Scientists from 18 institutions distributed in 8 European countries participated in the fieldwork and modelling parts of the programme and was co-ordinated by John Howarth of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is responsible for assembling the data collected during the project into a comprehensive data set. The data has been organised onto a CD-ROM product available through BODC.

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