MRI Natsushima: Surface Ocean CO2 Fugacity and Meteorology

NCEI Accession 0080987 contains surface underway measurements from the research vessel NATSUSHIMA across the Pacific Ocean from 1987 to 1991. The dataset includes simultaneous measurements of atmospheric and aquatic carbon dioxide fugacity, salinity, sea surface temperature, and wind conditions. Data were collected by researchers from Hokkaido University and the Meteorological Research Institute using specialized CO2 gas analyzers and equilibrators.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux gradients based on simultaneous atmospheric and water fugacity measurements.
• Analyzing correlations between sea surface temperature, salinity, and oceanic pCO2 across Pacific regions.
• Validating regional climate models with in-situ meteorological data (wind speed/direction, air pressure, temperature).
• Studying temporal variability of surface ocean carbon parameters from four distinct research cruises (Na8701, Na8901, Na9001, Na9101).

Strengths

• Provides a multi-year time series from 1987-01-24 to 1991-03-10 across major Pacific Ocean regions.
• Includes directly measured, co-located chemical (CO2 fugacity), physical (SST, salinity), and meteorological (wind, pressure) variables.
• Data provenance is clearly documented, citing principal investigators and specific instrument types (CO2 gas analyzer, shower head chamber equilibrator).

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts: one source lists a last update of 1991-03-10, while another lists 2026-03-05, creating uncertainty about curation status.
• The exact column names, row count, and data size are unknown across all platforms, limiting immediate usability.
• License information is not provided, restricting clarity on redistribution and commercial use.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Surface underway observations collected from the RV NATSUSHIMA using carbon dioxide gas analyzers and equilibrators.

Time Range

1987-01-24 to 1991-03-10

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:52:47.521037

Geography

Inland Sea (Seto Naikai), North Pacific Ocean, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Philippine Sea, South Pacific Ocean