PACIFICA: Ocean Interior Carbon and Related Parameters from the North Pacific, 2006

PACIFICA_49RY20061021 includes biological, chemical, and physical data from the Ryofu Maru II research cruise in the North Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea from October 21 to November 9, 2006. The dataset contains measurements for dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, nutrients, chlorophyll, and other parameters collected using CTD, Coulometer, and bottle instruments. Data were collected by researchers from the Japan Meteorological Agency and Meteorological Research Institute as part of the PACIFICA international collaborative project for Pacific Ocean interior carbon synthesis.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean acidification based on pH and dissolved inorganic carbon measurements.
• Studying marine biogeochemical cycles based on nutrient (nitrate, phosphate, silicate) and chlorophyll data.
• Analyzing water mass properties and circulation based on CTD-derived temperature, salinity, and pressure profiles.
• Investigating anthropogenic tracer distribution based on Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11, CFC-12) measurements.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific 20-day research cruise (2006-10 21 to 2006-11-09) with clear temporal bounds.
• Includes over 20 measured variables, such as dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, alkalinity, and multiple nutrients.
• Data collection involved multiple instruments (CTD, Coulometer, bottle) and was part of an international collaborative project (PACIFICA).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to a single cruise in the North Pacific.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Coulometer for DIC measurement, and bottle instruments.

Time Range

2006-10-21 to 2006-11-09

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-05 22:44:04.868869; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea