Oceanographic CTD and Bottle Data from R/V Investigator Cruises

Indian and South Pacific Ocean data includes pressure, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient measurements from 786 stations. The dataset was collected by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) aboard the R/V Investigator during fifteen research cruises. Measurements were taken between November 2014 and November 2017.

Use Cases

• Analyze temperature and salinity profiles from CTD casts to study water mass structure and ocean circulation.
• Correlate dissolved oxygen and nutrient concentrations from bottle samples to investigate biological productivity and hypoxia.
• Map the spatial distribution of measured variables across 786 stations to identify regional oceanographic features.
• Use pressure and temperature time-series data from the 2014-2017 period to examine seasonal or interannual variability.

Strengths

• Data collected from 786 distinct oceanographic stations, providing broad spatial coverage.
• Measurements span a three-year period from 2014 to 2017, offering a multi-year observational record.
• Includes multiple core oceanographic variables: pressure, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients.

Limitations

• Specific sample sizes (row counts) and measurement frequencies per station are not provided.
• Data collection ended in November 2017, limiting analysis of recent ocean conditions.
• Geographic coverage is focused on the Indian and South Pacific Oceans, with potential gaps in other regions.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 0169194), originally from CSIRO.

Collection Method

Collected via Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) profilers and water sample bottles aboard the R/V Investigator research vessel.

Time Range

2014-11 to 2017-11

Freshness

Data collection concluded on 2017-11-05; no ongoing updates indicated.

Geography

Indian Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and surrounding environs.