Plankton Imager (Pi-10) Metadata from RV Cefas Endeavour Surveys

Metadata collected from continuous Plankton Imager (Pi-10) deployments on the RV Cefas Endeavour, updated every 3 months. The data provides an overview of where, when, and how many plankton images were captured, with each row representing a 10-minute bin of images. It is provided by the Marine Environmental Data & Information Network.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial and temporal patterns of plankton abundance based on image counts per 10-minute bin.
• Training image classification models for plankton species using the raw images stored on Azure.
• Correcting plankton abundance estimates by accounting for missed images indicated in the MISSES column.
• Mapping plankton distribution based on GPS coordinates embedded in image EXIF metadata.

Strengths

• Data is updated on a regular schedule, with updates occurring every 3 months.
• Includes counts of both captured (HITS) and missed (MISSES) images, which is necessary for accurate abundance calculations.
• Each image file contains embedded GPS coordinates and datetime information in its EXIF metadata.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Marine Environmental Data & Information Network

Collection Method

Collected via a Plankton Imager (Pi-10) instrument during RV Cefas Endeavour surveys.

Freshness

Updated every 3 months; last metadata update was 2026-04-29.

Geography

Likely covers survey areas of the RV Cefas Endeavour; specific geography is not stated.