CARINA Irminger Sea Time Series: Ocean Carbon and Hydrography

NCEI Accession 0100114 contains chemical and physical oceanographic data from the CARINA Irminger Sea Time Series project. Data were collected via CTD and bottle casts from the ARNI FRIDRIKSSON and BJARNI SAEMUNDSSON vessels in the North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset supports the Global CO2 Time-series and Moorings Project, coordinated by UNESCO's IOCCP, involving groups from 18 countries.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in ocean acidification based on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pCO2 measurements.
• Studying nutrient cycling and primary productivity using nitrate, phosphate, and silicate profiles.
• Calibrating ocean carbon cycle models with high-resolution time-series data from a key North Atlantic region.
• Investigating water mass properties and circulation using potential temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen data.

Strengths

• Provides a 15-year time series (1991-2006) for analyzing long-term trends.
• Includes a multi-parameter suite of core ocean carbon and hydrographic variables (DIC, pCO2, nutrients, temperature, salinity).
• Part of a major international coordination effort (UNESCO IOCCP) involving 18 countries, suggesting standardized collection protocols.

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, license, and specific column names are unknown across all sources.
• The most recent update date is inconsistent, with one source listing 2006-02-02 and others listing 2026-03-05, creating uncertainty about maintenance.
• Documentation appears sparse, with no detailed column schema or instrument calibration metadata provided in the available descriptions.

Provenance

Source

J. Olafsson of the Icelandic Marine Research Institute (MRI), collected for the CARINA project.

Collection Method

Discrete sample, profile, and time series profile observations using CTD and bottle instruments.

Time Range

1991-08-08 to 2006-02-02

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:05:42.069113

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, specifically the Irminger Sea.