KAIYO-MARU Cruise 1987: Surface Ocean and Atmospheric Measurements

NCEI Accession 0080985 contains surface underway measurements from the research vessel KAIYO-MARU during a 1987 cruise across the Pacific Ocean. The dataset includes chemical, meteorological, and physical variables such as air and sea surface temperature, salinity, wind speed, and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in both air and water. Data were collected using a carbon dioxide gas analyzer and a shower head chamber equilibrator by researchers from Hokkaido University and the Meteorological Research Institute.

Use Cases

• Analyzing air-sea CO2 flux gradients based on partial pressure measurements in air and water.
• Studying correlations between meteorological conditions (wind speed, air temperature) and ocean surface properties (SST, salinity).
• Validating regional ocean carbon cycle models with in-situ surface underway data.
• Investigating spatial variability of ocean parameters across protected marine monuments and sanctuaries.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific, well-documented research cruise (Ki87) with a clear time range from 1987-10-28 to 1987-12-05.
• Includes directly measured, co-located chemical (pCO2), physical (SST, salinity), and meteorological (wind, air pressure) variables.
• Dataset is hosted by NOAA and appears on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata), indicating curation and persistence.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and license are missing from all provided sources.
• The most recent update date (2026-03-05) conflicts with the collection end date (1987-12-05), suggesting metadata updates without new data.
• Documentation appears sparse, with no details on data processing, quality flags, or measurement precision.

Provenance

Source

Hisayuki Y. Inoue (Hokkaido University) and Masao Ishii (Meteorological Research Institute)

Collection Method

Surface underway observations using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and Shower head chamber equilibrator.

Time Range

1987-10-28 to 1987-12-05

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:00:48.727899 (Data.gov metadata update)

Geography

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, North Pacific Ocean, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, South Pacific Ocean