Bering Sea Chlorophyll and Nutrient Measurements from 1985-1995

39 files contain chlorophyll and nutrient data from the Bering Sea's Inner Shelf Transfer and Recycling program. Measurements were collected from multiple ship platforms over a decade by Dr. C.P. McRoy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The dataset includes Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) profiles alongside biological and chemical samples.

Use Cases

• Analyze chlorophyll concentration trends from the 'chl.dat' files to model phytoplankton biomass changes over the 10-year period.
• Correlate nutrient data from the 'nut.dat' files with CTD-derived temperature and salinity to study biogeochemical processes.
• Use cruise-specific data prefixes to compare spatial and temporal patterns of marine productivity across different ISHTAR expeditions.

Strengths

• Data spans a 10-year period from 1985 to 1995, providing a decadal view.
• Contains 39 distinct data files (20 chlorophyll, 19 nutrient) with documented format information.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 39 files; the underlying row/observation count is unknown.
• Data is temporally stale, with the last update in 1995, limiting contemporary analysis.
• Geographic coverage is restricted to the Bering Sea, which may not be generalizable.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from the ISHTAR program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Collection Method

Ship-based collection of Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) casts, chlorophyll samples, and nutrient water samples.

Time Range

1985-01-01 to 1995-01-06

Freshness

1995-01-06

Geography

Bering Sea