Southern Ocean CTD Profile and Water Chemistry Data from 1998 Cruise

Aurora Australis cruise au97_9807 collected 97 CTD vertical profiles in the Southern Ocean during April and May 1998. The dataset includes physical and biogeochemical measurements from water samples, recovered and archived by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AADC). Measurements cover temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, carbon parameters, pigments, and species counts.

Use Cases

• Analyze relationships between temperature, salinity, and sigma-T to characterize Southern Ocean water masses.
• Model dissolved oxygen concentration as a function of depth (pressure) and location (start/bottom/finish position).
• Investigate correlations between fluorescence, photosynthetically active radiation, and pigment data for primary productivity studies.
• Examine nutrient (e.g., phosphate, silicate) gradients across stations and depths to understand biogeochemical cycles.
• Use date, time, and position fields to create time-series and spatial maps of oceanographic parameters.

Strengths

• 97 CTD vertical profiles provide detailed water column snapshots.
• Multiple biogeochemical parameters (over 20 analytes) measured per station.

Limitations

• Single cruise in 1998 limits temporal analysis and modern comparisons.
• Sample size of 97 profiles may be insufficient for robust regional sub-setting.
• Data recovery status ('generic metadata record') may indicate potential quality or completeness issues.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC), recovered from Aurora Australis cruise.

Collection Method

Oceanographic measurements from ship-based CTD casts and Niskin bottle water samples analyzed for multiple parameters.

Time Range

April to May 1998

Freshness

1998-05-22

Geography

Southern Ocean, specific stations defined by start, bottom, finish, and maximum position fields.