PACIFICA: North Pacific Ocean Interior Carbon and CFC Data

North Pacific Ocean data from the R/V Roger Revelle cruise in 2005 includes chemical, physical, and profile measurements. The dataset contains discrete sample and CTD profile observations of carbon system parameters, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and related oceanographic variables. It was collected as part of the international PACIFICA project for synthesizing Pacific Ocean interior carbon data.

Use Cases

• Calibrating ocean carbon models using measured dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) profiles.
• Studying the penetration and inventory of anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113) in the North Pacific.
• Analyzing ocean acidification trends based on concurrent pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and nutrient measurements.
• Investigating water mass properties and circulation using potential temperature (theta), salinity, and dissolved oxygen data.

Strengths

• Includes a specific suite of 17+ ocean carbon and tracer variables, explicitly listed.
• Data collected over a focused one-month time range from 2005-06-17 to 2005-07-17.
• Associated with a recognized international synthesis project (PACIFICA) and multiple cruise IDs (KESS, ZHNG08RR).

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts: last updated date differs between sources (2005-07-17 vs. 2026-03-05).
• Core structural metadata (row count, column names, file size, license) is missing from all platform entries.
• Documentation gaps exist regarding data processing levels and quality flags.

Provenance

Source

D. Randolph Watts of University of Rhode Island; Graduate School of Oceanography

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations collected using CTD and bottle instruments.

Time Range

2005-06-17 to 2005-07-17

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:15:51.360036

Geography

North Pacific Ocean