North Atlantic Ocean Carbon and Surface Variables from NOAA Cruises, 2004-2005

Underway surface observations of carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, and related chemical and physical variables collected from the NOAA vessel SKOGAFOSS. The data were gathered during nine cruises (SKO402 to SKO416) in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Greenland Sea, and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary between February 17, 2004, and January 6, 2005. Denis Pierrot, Kevin F. Sullivan, and Rik Wanninkhof of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) collected the data using barometric pressure sensors, carbon dioxide gas analyzers, equilibrators, and thermosalinographs.

Use Cases

• Modeling air-sea carbon dioxide flux based on partial pressure difference measurements.
• Analyzing ocean acidification trends based on alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon data.
• Studying nutrient dynamics in surface waters based on nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and silicate measurements.
• Correlating sea surface temperature and salinity with carbon system parameters.
• Calibrating and validating satellite-derived ocean carbon products using in-situ underway data.

Strengths

• Data collection spans nearly a full year, from February 2004 to January 2005.
• Includes multiple key variables for carbon cycle studies: partial pressure of CO2, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, and nutrients.
• Collected by authoritative NOAA AOML scientists across nine distinct research cruises.
• Geographic coverage includes multiple regions: North Atlantic Ocean, North Greenland Sea, and a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific cruise tracks and time period.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML).

Collection Method

Underway surface observations collected using barometric pressure sensors, carbon dioxide gas analyzers, shower head chamber equilibrators, bottles, and thermosalinographs.

Time Range

2004-02-17 to 2005-01-06

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 06 00:22:48.604781; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, North Greenland Sea, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary