CARINA Project: Ocean Carbon and Hydrographic Measurements in the North Atlantic, 1996

CARINA/74JC19960720 provides chemical and physical profile data from the North Greenland and Norwegian Seas during a 1996 research cruise. The dataset includes 15 measured variables such as dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, CFCs, and nutrients, collected using CTD and bottle instruments. Data were contributed by researchers from the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and the University of Bergen.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean carbon sequestration based on dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity measurements.
• Studying ocean ventilation and water mass age using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer data.
• Analyzing marine nutrient cycles and primary productivity based on nitrate, phosphate, and silicate concentrations.
• Investigating ocean hydrography and water column structure using CTD-derived salinity, temperature, and pressure profiles.

Strengths

• Includes 15 distinct chemical and physical variables relevant to carbon cycle studies.
• Data is part of the CARINA synthesis project, an international effort to produce an internally consistent dataset for biogeochemical investigations.
• Specific collection period from 1996-07-20 to 1996-08-22 during cruise CARINA/74JC19960720.
• Data provenance is clearly stated, naming three contributing scientists and their institutions.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to a single 1996 cruise in the North Atlantic.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations using CTD and bottle instruments from the R/V James Clark Ross.

Time Range

1996-07-20 to 1996-08-22

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-06 00:19:27.555853; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North Greenland Sea and Norwegian Sea