Global Ocean Carbon Chemistry Measurements from 1972 to 1983

Over a decade of oceanographic data collected across 15 major ocean basins from 1972-07-27 to 1983-02-17. These chemical, physical, and profile data include partial pressure of carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, and various isotopes. The data were collected by researchers from Columbia University and NOAA using CTD and bottle instruments as part of major programs like GEOSECS and TTO.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical ocean carbon uptake based on partial pressure of carbon dioxide measurements.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of ocean acidification using alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon data.
• Calibrating modern carbon cycle models with historical radiocarbon (Delta Carbon-14) and tritium isotope records.
• Studying biogeochemical nutrient cycles using nitrate, phosphate, and silicate measurements across ocean basins.

Strengths

• Data spans 15 distinct ocean basins, providing broad geographic coverage.
• Includes over 10 measured variables, such as carbon isotopes, nutrients, and physical seawater properties.
• Collected over a 10+ year period from 1972 to 1983, enabling temporal analysis.

Limitations

• Last updated 1983-02-17; freshness should be verified for contemporary applications.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI via nasa_earthdata platform

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations using CTD and bottle instruments.

Time Range

1972-07-27 to 1983-02-17

Freshness

Last updated 1983-02-17 00:00:00

Geography

Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin, North Atlantic Ocean, North Greenland Sea, North Pacific Ocean, Norwegian Sea, Red Sea, South Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, Southern Oceans (> 60 degrees South)