Ocean Carbon Dioxide and Ammonium Measurements from Belgica 9815C Cruise

Measurements of oceanic carbon dioxide and ammonium were collected during the Belgica 9815C research cruise on the Iberian Slope in June-July 1998. The dataset contains 254 pCO2 and TCO2 measurements, plus 351 ammonium concentration measurements from manual and autoanalysis. Data were collected by researchers as part of the JGOFS and OMEX programs.

Use Cases

• Calibrate ocean carbon models using 254 pCO2 and TCO2 measurements from the Iberian Slope.
• Analyze spatial patterns of ammonium concentration from 351 data points collected via colorimetric analysis.
• Study coastal carbon-nutrient coupling by correlating TCO2 and NH4 measurements within the +42N to +43N, +9W to +10W region.
• Validate satellite-derived ocean carbon products with in-situ pCO2 data from the 1998 cruise time period.

Strengths

• Contains 254 concurrent measurements of pCO2 and TCO2 for direct correlation.
• Provides 351 ammonium concentration measurements from two distinct analytical methods.
• Precise geospatial bounding box defined from +42N to +43N latitude and +9W to +10W longitude.
• Clear temporal coverage from June 27 to July 7, 1998.

Limitations

• Limited to a single 11-day cruise, providing only a temporal snapshot.
• Geographic scope is restricted to a specific transect on the Iberian Slope.
• Sample sizes for ammonium autoanalysis (121) are smaller than for manual analysis (230).

Provenance

Source

Measurements by Michel Frankignoulle (pCO2) and Marc Elskens with Xose Salgado Alvarez (NH4) for the JGOFS and OMEX programs.

Collection Method

pCO2 and TCO2 computed from pH and alkalinity; NH4 measured by manual and colorimetric autoanalysis.

Time Range

June 27, 1998 to July 7, 1998.

Freshness

Data is from 1998; no updates are expected.

Geography

Iberian Slope, North-East Atlantic (+42N to +43N, +9W to +10W).