Explorer of the Seas 2008: Surface Ocean CO2 Measurements

NODC Accession 0109928 contains underway surface observations of carbon dioxide and related variables from the cruise ship EXPLORER OF THE SEAS. The dataset includes measurements of carbon dioxide partial pressure, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, salinity, and sea surface temperature collected in the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean during three cruises in 2008. Data were collected by Rik Wanninkhof of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory using carbon dioxide gas analyzers and equilibrators.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on the partial pressure difference between air and water
• Studying ocean acidification trends using dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity measurements
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface temperature and salinity products with in-situ data
• Analyzing seasonal variability of surface ocean carbon chemistry across the Caribbean and North Atlantic

Strengths

• Data collection spans nearly a full year, from February to December 2008
• Includes measurements from three distinct research cruises (EX0801, EX0824, EX0839)
• Collected by a recognized expert (Rik Wanninkhof) and a major oceanographic institution (NOAA AOML)

Limitations

• Critical metadata like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable
• Platforms disagree on the 'last updated' date (2008-12-11 vs. 2026-03-05), suggesting potential metadata management issues
• Documentation of data processing steps and quality control flags is not provided in the available descriptions

Provenance

Source

Rik Wanninkhof of US DOC; NOAA; OAR; Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Collection Method

Underway - surface observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and Shower head chamber equilibrator

Time Range

2008-02-13 to 2008-12-11

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:34:30.866338

Geography

Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean