CARINA: Ocean Biogeochemical Profile Data from the Bay of Biscay, 1984

CARINA/29GD19840711 cruise data includes 12 variables such as CHLOROPHYLL A, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, NITRATE, TOTAL ALKALINITY, and pH, collected from the GARCIA DEL CID in the Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic Ocean between July 11 and August 8, 1984. This dataset is part of the CARINA synthesis project, an international effort to create an internally consistent dataset for carbon system and biogeochemical investigations across the Atlantic, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. Measurements were taken using CTD and bottle instruments by researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and the Institute of Marine Research Vigo.

Use Cases

• Calibrating ocean carbon models based on total alkalinity and pH measurements.
• Studying nutrient-phytoplankton dynamics using nitrate, phosphate, silicate, and chlorophyll a data.
• Analyzing water mass properties and structure using potential temperature, salinity, and hydrostatic pressure profiles.
• Investigating dissolved oxygen distributions for biogeochemical process studies.

Strengths

• Contains a specific suite of 12 key biogeochemical variables relevant for carbon cycle studies.
• Data is part of the curated, internationally consistent CARINA synthesis project.
• Covers a defined 29-day temporal range from July 11 to August 8, 1984.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: row count, file size, column names, and license are unknown across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (1984-08 08 vs. 2026-03-05), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.
• The dataset's scale is limited to a single cruise in a specific region over one month.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI (Accession 0143393), collected by F. Pérez (CSIRO), Aida F. Ríos and F. Fraga (Institute of Marine Research Vigo).

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations using CTD and bottle instruments.

Time Range

1984-07-11 to 1984-08-08

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:35:31.673551

Geography

Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic Ocean, from the GARCIA DEL CID research vessel.