Monthly North Sea Seawater Properties from 12 Cruises in 1976

Twelve monthly cruises by Cefas in 1976 aboard the RV Corella and RV Clione resampled a fixed grid of stations in the North Sea. The dataset includes date, station, position, depth, tide, wind, and environmental measurements like temperature, salinity, nutrients, and chlorophyll. Additional biological data from the survey, such as fish stomach contents and plankton counts, remain in paper format and have not been digitized.

Use Cases

• Modeling seasonal nutrient cycles based on monthly nitrate and phosphate concentrations.
• Analyzing spatial-temporal patterns of seawater temperature and salinity across the North Sea.
• Correlating chlorophyll-a levels with physical conditions like wind speed and tide direction.
• Studying historical baseline environmental conditions for climate change comparison.

Strengths

• Data originates from a systematic, monthly sampling program over a full year (1976).
• Includes a range of physical, chemical, and biological variables measured at fixed stations.
• The description specifies the vessels (RV Corella, RV Clione) and lead organization (Cefas).

Limitations

• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• A significant portion of related biological data from the same survey remains undigitized in paper records.

Provenance

Source

Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science), collected via Government Digital Service.

Collection Method

Series of 12 research cruises resampling a fixed station grid monthly.

Time Range

1976

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

North Sea