Polarstern 2012 Cruise: Surface Ocean Carbon and Meteorological Data

From January 8 to October 6, 2012, the research vessel Polarstern collected surface underway measurements across multiple ocean basins. The dataset includes partial pressure of carbon dioxide in air and water, salinity, sea surface temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. Data were gathered by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Groningen University, and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on partial pressure measurements in air and water.
• Analyzing correlations between meteorological conditions (wind speed/direction) and ocean surface properties.
• Studying spatial variability of surface ocean carbon parameters across the Arctic, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans.
• Validating ocean carbon cycle models with in-situ, ship-based observations.

Strengths

• Covers a wide geographic area spanning ten distinct ocean regions, including the Arctic and Southern Oceans.
• Includes co-located chemical, physical, and meteorological variables enabling integrated analysis.
• Data collection is attributed to specific researchers from three recognized marine research institutions.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: exact row count, column names, file size, and license information are unknown.
• A conflict exists in the 'last updated' date between platforms (2012 vs. 2026), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• The dataset's structure and data granularity (e.g., temporal resolution) cannot be inferred from the available descriptions.

Provenance

Source

Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Groningen University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)

Collection Method

Surface underway observations collected from the research vessel Polarstern using a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments.

Time Range

2012-01-08 to 2012-10-06

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:10:41.246117 (from datagov, though this may reflect metadata update, not data collection)

Geography

Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, English Channel, Laptev Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, North Greenland Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, South Atlantic Ocean, Southern Oceans (> 60 degrees South)