VOS Healy Lines: Arctic Ocean CO2 and Oceanographic Variables

Surface underway data from the USCGC Healy captures high-resolution measurements of carbon dioxide partial pressure, salinity, and sea surface temperature across the Arctic Ocean and North Pacific. Collected annually from 2011 to 2015, this time-series dataset was produced by researchers from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the University of Colorado's CIRES. Its primary use is for tracking ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange and monitoring the effects of climate change on sensitive polar and subpolar marine ecosystems.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere carbon flux based on partial pressure of carbon dioxide measurements.
• Tracking changes in sea surface temperature and salinity across Arctic and North Pacific regions.
• Calibrating satellite-derived oceanographic data with in-situ surface underway observations.
• Assessing seasonal and interannual variability in marine carbon parameters from multi-year cruises.

Strengths

• Data collection spans five consecutive years (2011-2015), providing a multi-year time series.
• Measurements are taken from a dedicated research vessel (USCGC Healy) using standardized instruments like CO2 gas analyzers and equilibrators.
• Geographic coverage is broad, including the Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and North Pacific Ocean.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row counts, file sizes, specific column names, and license information are missing from all platform entries.
• The dataset's freshness is unclear as the 'last updated' dates conflict, ranging from the collection end dates (e.g., 2015-10-28) to a future date (2026-03-05).
• Documentation gaps exist, as column details are listed as 'unknown' across all sources.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), with data collected by researchers from Columbia University; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and University of Colorado at Boulder; Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences.

Collection Method

Surface underway observations collected from the USCGC Healy using a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and Shower head chamber equilibrator.

Time Range

2011-05-27 to 2015-10-28

Freshness

The most recent update date cited is 2026-03-05, but this conflicts with collection end dates from 2015 and earlier.

Geography

Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea, Coastal Waters of SE Alaska, Gulf of Alaska, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, North Pacific Ocean, Northwest Passage, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.