SmartBuoy Observational Network: Hourly Nutrient and Phytoplankton Data from Noordwijk 2

From September 2001 to January 2002, the Noordwijk 2 SmartBuoy collected surface measurements of plant nutrients and phytoplankton biomass. The data, telemetered via satellite every two hours, includes hourly nitrate readings, daily nitrate and silicate samples, and twice-hourly chlorophyll fluorescence estimates. The buoy was operated by the Government Digital Service and located at coordinates 52.2528 N, 4.4037 E.

Use Cases

• Modeling phytoplankton bloom dynamics based on chlorophyll fluorescence measurements.
• Analyzing nutrient concentration trends (nitrate, silicate) over time from in-situ and lab analyses.
• Correlating biological activity with environmental conditions using concurrent conductivity, temperature, and light penetration data.

Strengths

• Provides high-frequency, twice-hourly estimates of phytoplankton biomass.
• Combines in-situ hourly nitrate measurements with daily lab-analyzed samples for silicate and nitrate.
• Includes supporting environmental variables (conductivity, temperature, sediment, light) to aid interpretation.

Limitations

• Row count and file format are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset covers a limited time range of approximately five months.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Measurements from in-situ sensors (NAS-3X, fluorometer, ESM2 logger) and laboratory analysis of preserved water samples, telemetered via ORBCOMM satellite.

Time Range

September 2001 to January 2002

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

North Sea, coordinates 52.2528 N, 4.4037 E (Noordwijk 2 location)