Over 60 years of discrete oceanic measurements include approximately 60,000 tritium and 63,000 helium isotope determinations. This database was compiled by numerous researchers and laboratories, with data collected from hydrographic cruises between October 1952 and January 2016. It provides key information on ocean circulation, ventilation, and deep-sea hydrothermal processes.
Use Cases
- Model ocean ventilation rates by analyzing the tritium-helium-3 age relationship across sample depth and geographic location.
- Map deep-ocean hydrothermal inputs using helium-3 anomaly data correlated with sample depth and geographic coordinates.
- Study water mass mixing by correlating dissolved helium and neon concentrations with water temperature and salinity measurements.
- Assess data quality and methodological consistency by reviewing data originator information and quality control flags for each measurement.
Strengths
- Contains over 60,000 validated tritium and 63,000 helium isotope measurements.
- Temporal coverage spans more than 60 years, from 1952 to 2016.
- Includes auxiliary data like water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen when available.
Limitations
- Data collection ended in January 2016, lacking recent observations.
- Potential for methodological inconsistencies across the many contributing researchers and laboratories over six decades.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
- Collection Method
- Discrete water sample measurements collected during global hydrographic cruises on various research vessels.
- Time Range
- 1952-10-21 to 2016-01-22
- Freshness
- Data collection concluded on 2016-01-22; no ongoing updates indicated.
- Geography
- Global oceans including Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea.