EXPORTS Ocean Carbon Flux Data from NASA and NSF Field Campaigns

EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) is a NASA-led and NSF co-funded project investigating the export and fate of upper ocean net primary production. The project conducted two major oceanographic expeditions: EXPORTS North Pacific at Ocean Station Papa in 2018 and EXPORTS North Atlantic at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain. It integrates satellite remote sensing, ship-based measurements, autonomous vehicles, and partnerships with sustained observatories.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite algorithms for net primary production using in-situ BGC stocks and optical property measurements.
• Analyzing spatial variability of ecological rates and abundances from survey ship data collected at 1-100 km scales.
• Investigating temporal trends in carbon export by linking ship-based observations to long-term data from BGC floats and time-series programs.
• Studying the relationship between ocean temperature, salinity, optics, and chemistry within defined biogeochemical provinces.

Strengths

• Data integrates multiple platforms: two dedicated research ships, a heterogeneous AUV array, and partnerships with sustained observatories like Line P and PAP-SO.
• Campaigns targeted climatically relevant oceanic regions: the North Pacific subarctic (Station P) and North Atlantic (Porcupine Abyssal Plain).
• Project employs a multi-faceted approach combining satellite remote sensing, state-of-the-art field measurements, and numerical modeling.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column names, and dataset size are not provided by any source, limiting granular assessment.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov, with no details on NASA Earthdata.
• Conflicting numbering in the deployment component list (item '4' appears twice) suggests potential descriptive errors in source metadata.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with co-funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Collection Method

Data gathered through two major field deployments using process ships, survey ships, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and biogeochemical (BGC) floats in a Lagrangian framework.

Time Range

Project includes a pre-EXPORTS phase, the 2018 North Pacific deployment, a subsequent North Atlantic deployment, and a final synthesis phase. Exact years for NA deployment not specified.

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:49:41.898646

Geography

North Pacific Ocean Station Papa (nominally 50°N, 145°W) and North Atlantic Porcupine Abyssal Plain.