Laurence M. Gould: Ocean Carbon and Sea Surface Measurements

NODC Accession 0083196 provides a decade-long time series of surface ocean carbon dioxide measurements from the R/V Laurence M. Gould. Data collected between 2002 and 2012 across the Caribbean Sea, North Pacific, South Atlantic, and South Pacific Oceans include partial pressure of CO2, salinity, and sea surface temperature. The dataset was produced by researchers from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the University of Colorado's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

Use Cases

• Tracking ocean carbon sink variability based on partial pressure of CO2 measurements.
• Analyzing correlations between sea surface temperature and carbon dioxide fugacity.
• Calibrating or validating ocean carbon cycle models using underway surface observations.
• Studying regional differences in ocean chemistry across multiple ocean basins.

Strengths

• Covers a substantial time range of over ten years (2002-03-07 to 2012-11-24).
• Provides data from four distinct ocean regions, enabling comparative analysis.
• Collected by a recognized research vessel using specialized instruments like CO2 gas analyzers and equilibrators.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in any source.
• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between platforms (2012-11-24 vs. 2026-03-05).
• License information is absent, which may restrict reuse.

Provenance

Source

Taro Takahashi and S. Sutherland (Columbia University; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory); Colm Sweeney (University of Colorado At Boulder; Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences)

Collection Method

Underway - surface observations from the R/V Laurence M. Gould using Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer and Shower head chamber equilibrator.

Time Range

2002-03-07 to 2012-11-24

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:34:56.460118

Geography

Caribbean Sea, North Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean