MRI Kaiyo: Surface Ocean Carbon and Meteorological Measurements, 1994-1999

NCEI Accession 0080984 contains surface underway data from the research vessel Kaiyo, collected across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from 1994 to 1999. The dataset includes measurements of carbon dioxide fugacity in air and water, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, salinity, sea surface temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, and wind. Data were collected by researchers from Hokkaido University and the Meteorological Research Institute using autonomous carbon system sensors.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on partial pressure measurements in the atmosphere and surface water.
• Assessing ocean acidification trends by analyzing dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity over time.
• Correlating sea surface temperature and salinity with carbon system parameters to understand physical drivers.
• Validating regional ocean carbon cycle models using in-situ surface underway observations.
• Studying meteorological influences on surface ocean chemistry using concurrent wind, air temperature, and pressure data.

Strengths

• Covers a multi-year time series from 1994-01-06 to 1999-11-21, enabling temporal trend analysis.
• Includes direct measurements of key carbon cycle variables (fCO2, DIC, TA) using specialized autonomous sensors.
• Geographic coverage spans multiple major ocean basins, including the North Pacific, South Pacific, Philippine Sea, and South Atlantic.
• Data is associated with ten specific research cruise identifiers (e.g., KY9406, KY9909), providing clear provenance.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column schema are not provided by any source platform.
• Conflicting 'last updated' timestamps (1999-11-21 vs. 2026-03-05) create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• License information is absent from all source descriptions, restricting clarity on reuse permissions.

Provenance

Source

Hisayuki Y. Inoue (Hokkaido University) and Masao Ishii (Meteorological Research Institute)

Collection Method

Surface underway observations from the R/V Kaiyo using autonomous DIC sensors, CO2 gas analyzers, and shower head chamber equilibrators.

Time Range

1994-01-06 to 1999-11-21

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:13:08.440536

Geography

Bismarck Sea, Celebes Sea (Sulawesi Sea and Mindanao Sea), Molucca Sea, North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, South Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean