Nathaniel B. Palmer: Multi-Decadal Southern Ocean Surface Carbon and Meteorology

Twenty-one annual datasets from the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer document surface ocean carbon dioxide fugacity, salinity, temperature, and barometric pressure across the Southern Ocean and other basins from 1994 to 2015. Each dataset represents a specific research cruise, with consistent measurements collected using carbon dioxide gas analyzers and equilibrators. The time series likely contains high-resolution underway observations for tracking ocean carbon uptake and air-sea gas exchange.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on partial pressure measurements and meteorological data.
• Analyzing long-term trends in ocean acidification drivers using fugacity of carbon dioxide and sea surface temperature.
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface salinity and temperature products with in-situ underway observations.
• Studying the seasonal and interannual variability of carbon parameters in polar and sub-polar ocean regions.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent, multi-decadal time series from 1994 to 2015, enabling long-term trend analysis.
• Data collection follows a standardized protocol using specific instruments (CO2 gas analyzer, shower head equilibrator) across all cruises.
• Geographic coverage is extensive, spanning the Southern Ocean, South Pacific, South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and parts of the North Pacific and Arctic.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing from all sources, including column names, row counts, file sizes, and specific data licenses.
• The dataset is fragmented across 21 separate annual accessions, requiring users to locate and merge files for a continuous record.
• The most recent update date for the overarching collection is unclear, as individual accession dates range from 1994 to 2026.

Provenance

Source

Data were collected by researchers Taro Takahashi and Stewart Sutherland (Columbia University; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) and Colm Sweeney (University of Colorado at Boulder; CIRES/NOAA ESRL).

Collection Method

Surface underway measurements collected autonomously from the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer using carbon dioxide gas analyzers and shower head chamber equilibrators.

Time Range

1994-11-04 to 2015-10-18

Freshness

The most recent platform update recorded was 2026-03-05 for one accession, though the underlying data collection ended in 2015.

Geography

Southern Oceans (>60°S), South Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Tasman Sea, North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean, Beaufort Sea, and coastal waters of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia.