Coastal Carbon Dioxide Measurements from NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in 2019

Surface underway observations capture the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, temperature, and salinity from the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic Ocean. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information compiled measurements from a carbon dioxide gas analyzer and equilibrator during cruises from May to November 2019. The dataset documents mole fraction of CO2 in water and air, sea surface temperature, and derived fugacity values.

Use Cases

• Calculate air-sea CO2 flux using the difference between sea water fCO2 and interpolated air fCO2 alongside sea surface temperature.
• Analyze spatial gradients in ocean acidification drivers using sea surface salinity and fugacity of CO2 in sea water measurements.
• Calibrate or validate satellite-derived sea surface temperature products with in-situ water temperature in equilibrator data.
• Study seasonal carbon cycle variability in the Gulf of Mexico using time-series of mole fraction of CO2 from May to November 2019.

Strengths

• Data collection spans a 6-month period from 2019-05-08 to 2019-11-12, capturing seasonal variation.
• Includes derived, scientifically relevant variables like fugacity of CO2 and the difference between sea water and air fCO2.

Limitations

• The sample size (number of rows/observations) is unknown, preventing assessment of statistical power.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the specific cruise tracks of the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in 2019.
• Data is from a single year (2019), limiting long-term trend analysis.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 0198947).

Collection Method

Surface underway measurements collected via carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and shower head chamber equilibrator onboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter.

Time Range

2019-05-08 to 2019-11-12

Freshness

Data collection ended on 2019-11-12; no update frequency is specified.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic Ocean along the vessel's cruise tracks.