Oceanic Carbon Dioxide Measurements from a 1989 North Atlantic Research Cruise

Measurements of oceanic carbon dioxide (TCO2) concentration were collected during the RRS Discovery 183 research cruise from June 11 to July 11, 1989. Peter Williams gathered the data as part of the Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS) in the North Atlantic. The dataset includes total inorganic carbon measurements per unit volume of the water column.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial distribution of total inorganic carbon (TCO2) concentration across the cruise track.
• Correlating TCO2 measurements with the specific latitude and longitude coordinates (+47N to +60N, +19W to +21W) to map carbon gradients.
• Using the time-series from June to July 1989 to study short-term temporal variability in surface ocean carbon during the summer period.
• Validating biogeochemical model outputs for the North Atlantic using in-situ TCO2 data from a defined historical cruise.

Strengths

• Data is precisely geolocated to a defined region (+47N to +60N latitude, +19W to +21W longitude).
• Temporal coverage is exact, spanning one month from June 11 to July 11, 1989.
• Specific measurement method (coulometry for TCO2) is documented, indicating a standardized analytical technique.

Limitations

• Dataset size, row count, and column details are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Data is from a single cruise in 1989, representing a very specific time and location, which limits generalizability.
• No information on data quality flags, detection limits, or measurement precision is provided in the metadata.

Provenance

Source

Peter Williams, collected as part of the Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS).

Collection Method

In-situ measurements via coulometry during the RRS Discovery 183 research cruise.

Time Range

1989-06-11 to 1989-07-11

Freshness

Data collection ended on 1989-07-11; it is a historical snapshot with no subsequent updates indicated.

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, bounded by +47N to +60N latitude and +19W to +21W longitude.