Chemical and physical oceanographic data collected from the THOMAS G. THOMPSON research vessel during a 1993 cruise across the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean. Christopher D. Winn and Frank J. Millero gathered measurements including dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, chlorofluorocarbons, and nutrients as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Hydrographic Program. The data contributes to a larger collection covering approximately 23,000 stations from 94 WOCE cruises between 1990 and 1998.
Use Cases
- Modeling ocean carbon uptake and storage based on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) measurements.
- Analyzing historical chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11, CFC-12) distributions to trace ocean ventilation and mixing.
- Studying nutrient cycles (nitrate, phosphate, silicate) in relation to primary productivity in the Pacific Ocean.
- Calibrating and validating contemporary ocean biogeochemical models using this historical benchmark dataset.
Strengths
- Data is part of the standardized World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) program, ensuring consistent collection methodologies.
- Includes multiple related chemical variables (DIC, TA, CFCs, nutrients) allowing for integrated analysis.
- Contributes to a larger, well-known collection of approximately 23,000 stations from 94 cruises.
Limitations
- Last updated 1993-09-02; freshness should be verified.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), via NASA Earthdata.
- Collection Method
- Discrete sample and profile observations using CTD and bottle instruments.
- Time Range
- 1993-07-05 to 1993-09-02
- Freshness
- 1993-09-02
- Geography
- Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean