SOOP_Merian_06MM20110623: Carbon Dioxide and Ocean Surface Measurements

NCEI Accession 0160571 contains surface underway data from the R/V MARIA S. MERIAN cruise in the Atlantic Ocean from June to July 2011. The dataset includes measurements of atmospheric and aquatic carbon dioxide partial pressure, salinity, sea surface temperature, and barometric pressure, collected using a CO2 gas analyzer. It was compiled by researchers from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel as part of the Ship of Opportunity Program (SOOP).

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on partial pressure measurements in water and atmosphere.
• Analyzing correlations between sea surface temperature and carbon dioxide solubility.
• Validating regional ocean carbon cycle models with in-situ cruise data.
• Studying spatial variability of surface ocean properties across the North and South Atlantic.

Strengths

• Provides high-temporal-resolution surface underway measurements from a dedicated research cruise.
• Includes directly comparable paired measurements for atmospheric and aquatic carbon dioxide partial pressure.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and data license are not provided on any platform.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a single month-long cruise in 2011.
• Platforms disagree on the last updated date (2011-07-21 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

Tobias Steinhoff and Arne Körtzinger of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.

Collection Method

Surface underway observations collected from the R/V MARIA S. MERIAN using a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments.

Time Range

2011-06-23 to 2011-07-21

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 2011-07-21 (nasa_earthdata) and 2026-03-05 (datagov).

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean