Global Surface Ocean Carbon Dioxide and Salinity Measurements (1968-2014)

Over 46 years of surface underway measurements from worldwide oceans include partial pressure of carbon dioxide, salinity, sea surface temperature, barometric pressure, and location. Data were collected by researchers from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, and University of Bergen as part of the SOCAT database. Observations span from November 16, 1968, to December 31, 2014.

Use Cases

• Modeling the relationship between SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE and the Partial pressure of carbon dioxide - water to study oceanic CO2 solubility.
• Analyzing spatial trends in SALINITY and carbon dioxide partial pressure using LATITUDE and LONGITUDE coordinates.
• Investigating the influence of BAROMETRIC PRESSURE on surface ocean carbon measurements across the time-series.
• Validating and calibrating global ocean carbon cycle models with in-situ measurements of carbon dioxide fugacity.

Strengths

• 46-year temporal coverage from 1968 to 2014 provides a long-term climate record.
• Global spatial coverage from worldwide oceans indicated by latitude and longitude fields.
• Includes multiple concurrent variables: carbon dioxide, salinity, temperature, and pressure for integrated analysis.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column details, and sample size are unknown, limiting reproducibility assessment.
• Data collection platforms are listed as 'unknown platforms', introducing potential metadata gaps.
• The dataset is temporally stale, with the last update occurring in December 2014.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 0161129), sourced from the SOCAT_Database_V4.

Collection Method

Surface underway observations collected using a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments on ships.

Time Range

1968-11-16 to 2014-12-31

Freshness

Data collection ended on 2014-12-31; no update frequency is specified.

Geography

World-wide oceans, as indicated by latitude and longitude data.