MN Colibri: Surface pCO2 Measurements in the Atlantic Ocean (2018)

Surface underway data from the MN Colibri vessel captured a two-week snapshot of ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange in the North Atlantic and English Channel during spring 2018. Measurements include the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in both air and water, alongside sea surface salinity, temperature, and barometric pressure. This dataset is part of the Ocean Carbon and Acidification Data System (OCADS) and the Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) program.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux gradients based on simultaneous atmospheric and aquatic pCO2 measurements.
• Analyzing correlations between sea surface temperature (SST) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in water (pCO2_water).
• Validating regional ocean carbon models for the North Atlantic using in-situ surface underway data.
• Studying short-term variability in ocean carbon parameters along a ship's transit route.

Strengths

• Provides simultaneous, co-located measurements of pCO2 in both the atmosphere and ocean surface, which is critical for flux calculations.
• Data collection follows a standardized Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) protocol, suggesting consistent methodology.
• Dataset is archived and distributed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA NCEI).

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown across all sources.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a short, 13-day period in April-May 2018.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' date, with one source showing 2018-05-12 and another showing 2026-03-05.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Surface underway measurements collected via a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer aboard the MN Colibri vessel.

Time Range

2018-04-30 to 2018-05-12

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:50:02.755165

Geography

English Channel and North Atlantic Ocean