Antarctic Peninsula Environmental Measurements From Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer

Environmental and navigational data collected at one-minute intervals along the track of the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer during the NBP 10-02 cruise to the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Measurements include water and air temperature, salinity, relative humidity, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), wind direction and speed, barometric pressure, fluorometry, and short- and long-wave radiation. The data were collected and processed by Raytheon Polar Services for the departing Chief Scientist, with the dataset last updated in April 2010.

Use Cases

• Analyze correlations between water temperature, salinity, and fluorometry to study phytoplankton dynamics in polar waters.
• Model air-sea heat flux using short-wave radiation, air temperature, and wind speed measurements.
• Track ship navigation and derive ocean currents by examining calculated fields like Course Made Good (cmg) and Speed Over Ground (sog).
• Study atmospheric conditions in the Antarctic Peninsula region using time-series of barometric pressure, relative humidity, and wind direction.
• Calibrate remote sensing data by comparing in-situ PAR and long-wave radiation measurements with satellite observations.

Strengths

• High temporal resolution with data collected at one-minute intervals.
• Includes multiple derived measurements (e.g., cmg, sog) calculated from raw sensor inputs.

Limitations

• Data uses non-standard missing value indicators like '9.99' or '9999', requiring careful cleaning.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single research cruise (NBP 10 02).
• Dataset is over a decade old, last updated in 2010.

Provenance

Source

Raytheon Polar Services, ship operators of the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer, distributed to the Chief Scientist.

Collection Method

Data obtained by applying calibrations to raw ship monitoring system data and decimating to whole-minute intervals.

Time Range

Coverage corresponds to the NBP 10-02 cruise; specific dates unknown.

Freshness

null

Geography

Collected along the ship's track to the Western Antarctic Peninsula.