CLIVAR A20 2012: North Atlantic Ocean Carbon and Tracer Hydrography

NCEI Accession 0108160 contains 28 discrete chemical and physical oceanographic parameters collected during the CLIVAR A20 cruise in April-May 2012. Data include carbon system variables like dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity, alongside transient tracers such as CFCs, SF6, and helium isotopes. This dataset supports the International CLIVAR program's goal of quantifying changes in ocean heat, freshwater, and carbon dioxide storage.

Use Cases

• Quantifying ocean carbon uptake and storage based on dissolved inorganic carbon and pCO2 measurements.
• Tracing water mass age and circulation using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11, CFC-12) and sulfur hexafluoride concentrations.
• Assessing changes in ocean acidification state by analyzing pH, total alkalinity, and carbonate system parameters.
• Studying nutrient cycling and biological productivity through nitrate, phosphate, silicate, and dissolved organic carbon data.

Strengths

• Includes a wide range of 28 co-located parameters, enabling multivariate analysis of the ocean carbon system and hydrography.
• Data collection follows a systematic, international repeat hydrography program (CLIVAR), ensuring methodological consistency for time-series comparison.
• Specific instrument types are documented, including alkalinity titrator, CTD, and coulometer, clarifying measurement provenance.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, column names, and license are not provided on any platform.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2012-05-15 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about versioning.
• The dataset's spatial coverage is limited to a single cruise track in the North Atlantic Ocean over 27 days.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce; Collected by researchers from Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, NOAA AOML, NOAA PMEL, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations collected from the R/V ATLANTIS using alkalinity titrator, CTD, coulometer, bottle, and spectrophotometer.

Time Range

2012-04-19 to 2012-05-15

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:57:28.107647

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean