GEOSECS Ocean Chemistry Profiles from Global Cruises, 1972-1978

Chemical, physical, and profile data collected from the R/V Melville across 14 ocean basins from 1972-07-18 to 1978 04-28 during the GEOSECS Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific cruises. The dataset includes measurements of dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, oxygen, nutrients, isotopes, temperature, and salinity. Data were collected by researchers from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Princeton University, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and the University of Washington using CTD and bottle instruments.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical ocean carbon uptake based on dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity measurements.
• Studying deep water circulation and ventilation timescales using tritium and helium-3 isotope data.
• Analyzing nutrient distributions (nitrate, phosphate, silicate) to assess historical marine productivity.
• Calibrating or validating ocean biogeochemical models with profile data for temperature, salinity, and oxygen.

Strengths

• Data spans a 6-year period from 1972 to 1978, providing a historical baseline.
• Covers 14 distinct ocean regions including the Arabian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Pacific Ocean.
• Includes multiple chemical and isotopic variables (e.g., DIC, alkalinity, Radium isotopes, Delta Carbon-14) measured on the same cruises.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the 1970s sampling period.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the R/V Melville.

Time Range

1972-07-18 to 1978-04-28

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-05 23:15:37.841686; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Bering Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea (Eastern and Western Basins), North Atlantic Ocean, North Greenland Sea, North Pacific Ocean, Norwegian Sea, Red Sea, South Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean