VOS Trans Future 5: Ship-Based Ocean and Atmospheric Measurements

Surface underway data from the vessel Trans Future 5 spans multiple years and regions, including the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, Coral Sea, and Tasman Sea. The dataset contains measurements of carbon dioxide partial pressure in air and water, sea surface temperature, salinity, wind speed, and solar radiation. It was collected by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) as part of the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on partial pressure differences.
• Analyzing sea surface temperature and salinity correlations across ocean basins.
• Studying seasonal and spatial variability of atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide.
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface temperature and salinity products with in-situ measurements.
• Modeling marine meteorological conditions using wind speed, humidity, and solar radiation data.

Strengths

• Data collection spans multiple years, with records from 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
• Instruments are explicitly listed, including carbon dioxide gas analyzers and thermosalinographs.
• Geographic coverage is broad, encompassing at least ten distinct sea regions.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row counts, file sizes, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' timestamps exist for the same dataset (e.g., 2012-12-07 vs. 2026-03-05).
• Documentation gaps prevent assessment of data resolution, quality flags, or processing levels.

Provenance

Source

Yukihiro Nojiri of the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)

Collection Method

Surface underway measurements collected from the ship Trans Future 5 using barometric pressure sensors, CO2 gas analyzers, and thermosalinographs.

Time Range

2007-01-20 to 2012-12-07

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:15:08.194531

Geography

Bass Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Inland Sea (Seto Naikai), North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, Solomon Sea, South China Sea, South Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea