FR 04/97: Hydrology from the TROPICS97 Coral Sea Cruise

From 8-23 May 1997, this dataset contains processed hydrology measurements from the RV Franklin's FR 04/97 voyage, part of the TROPICS97 program. It covers the Coral Sea, Gulf of Papua, Solomon, and Bismarck Seas. Data were collected from water samples at various depths during CTD casts and are archived by the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Data Centre.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, silicate, nitrite) to study marine biogeochemistry.
• Investigating water mass properties and ocean circulation using temperature and salinity measurements.
• Assessing dissolved oxygen levels to understand ocean health and hypoxic zones.
• Calibrating or validating satellite-derived ocean color or sea surface temperature data with in-situ measurements.

Strengths

• Data is processed and archived by a recognized research institution (CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Data Centre).
• Covers a specific, well-documented research cruise (TROPICS97) with a precise time range (May 1997).
• Includes multiple core oceanographic parameters measured from physical water samples.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: row count, file size, specific column names, and license information are not provided.
• The dataset's age (1997) may limit its use for studying contemporary oceanographic changes.
• Documentation (cruise/data processing reports) is referenced but its accessibility is not guaranteed.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN), data collected by CSIRO on RV Franklin voyage FR 04/97.

Collection Method

Water samples collected in Niskin bottles at various depths during CTD casts, subsequently processed in a laboratory.

Time Range

1997-05-08 to 1997-05-23

Freshness

Metadata was last updated on 2026-04-10 according to one source, though this likely refers to catalog entry maintenance, not data collection.

Geography

Coral Sea, Gulf of Papua, Solomon Sea, Bismarck Sea