Global Ocean Surface Carbon Dioxide Measurements from 1968 to 2011

Worldwide oceans surface underway data includes partial pressure of carbon dioxide in water, salinity, sea surface temperature, barometric pressure, and location coordinates. The dataset was collected by researchers from NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the University of Bergen, and the University of East Anglia as part of the SOCAT Database V2. Measurements span over four decades, from November 16, 1968, to December 31, 2011.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in surface seawater (pCO2_water) over time to quantify ocean carbon uptake.
• Model the relationship between sea surface temperature, salinity, and pCO2_water to understand regional drivers of carbon flux.
• Map global distributions of surface ocean carbon using latitude and longitude coordinates to identify carbon sink and source regions.
• Correlate barometric pressure measurements with pCO2_water readings to correct for atmospheric influences on gas exchange calculations.

Strengths

• Long-term temporal coverage spanning 43 years from 1968 to 2011.
• Global spatial coverage from measurements collected in the world-wide oceans.
• Includes key variables for carbon cycle analysis: pCO2 in water, salinity, temperature, and location.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column details, and sample size are unknown, limiting reproducibility assessments.
• Data collection platforms are listed as 'unknown', which may obscure metadata and sampling methodology.
• The dataset is temporally stale, with the last update recorded over a decade ago in 2011.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 0157631), contributed by researchers from NOAA PMEL, University of Bergen, and University of East Anglia.

Collection Method

Surface underway observations using a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and other instruments from ships of opportunity.

Time Range

1968-11-16 to 2011-12-31

Freshness

Data collection ended on 2011-12-31; no update frequency provided.

Geography

World-wide oceans