NOAA RB1301/RB1302: Surface Ocean CO2 Fugacity and Sea State

From January 8 to March 4, 2013, this dataset contains surface underway measurements from NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown cruises RB1301 and RB1302 in the North Atlantic Ocean. It includes mole fraction of CO2 in air and seawater, sea surface temperature, salinity, barometric pressure, and derived fugacity of CO2. The data were collected using a carbon dioxide gas analyzer and shower head equilibrator by researchers from NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on the difference between sea water fCO2 and interpolated air fCO2.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal variability of surface ocean carbon parameters along the cruise track.
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface temperature and salinity products with in-situ measurements.
• Studying the relationship between fugacity of CO2 in seawater and concurrent meteorological conditions.

Strengths

• Data originates from two dedicated NOAA research cruises (RB1301, RB1302) with precise temporal coverage.
• Includes directly measured and derived variables critical for carbon flux calculation, such as fCO2 and delta fCO2.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals importance and validation.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' timestamps (2013-03-04 vs. 2026-03-05) create uncertainty about data currency.
• Documentation gaps exist regarding data processing levels, quality flags, and measurement uncertainties.

Provenance

Source

Rik Wanninkhof and Denis Pierrot of NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Collection Method

Surface underway observations using carbon dioxide gas analyzer and shower head equilibrator.

Time Range

2013-01-08 to 2013-03-04

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:52:00.476340

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean along the tracks of NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown cruises RB1301 and RB1302.