L'Astrolabe Underway Surface Ocean and Atmospheric Measurements

NODC Accession data from the research vessel L'Astrolabe contains surface underway measurements of carbon dioxide partial pressure, salinity, temperature, and wind. The data were collected in the Indian Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and Tasman Sea across multiple cruises from 2008 to 2013. Measurements were taken using a carbon dioxide gas analyzer and a shower head chamber equilibrator.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea carbon dioxide flux based on partial pressure measurements in water and air.
• Analyzing correlations between sea surface temperature, salinity, and carbon dioxide concentrations.
• Validating regional ocean carbon cycle models with in-situ underway surface data.
• Studying seasonal or interannual variability of surface ocean pCO2 along vessel transects.

Strengths

• Data collection spans multiple years, with the widest time range from 2008-10-21 to 2013-03-04.
• Measurements are from specific, documented research cruises (e.g., 353L20120107, 353L20130110).
• Instrumentation is explicitly named (Carbon dioxide gas analyzer, Shower head chamber equilibrator).

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are not provided in any source description.
• Row counts, file sizes, and specific license terms are uniformly listed as unknown or null.
• The dataset is fragmented across multiple NODC accessions (e.g., 0115257, 0115182, 0117499), requiring consolidation.

Provenance

Source

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), collected by Bronte Tilbrook.

Collection Method

Surface underway observations collected from the vessel L'Astrolabe during designated research cruises.

Time Range

2008-10-21 to 2013-03-04

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:35:41.410839 (from datagov, but this appears to be a metadata update date, not a data collection date)

Geography

Indian Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea