MN Colibri SOOP: Surface pCO2 in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic (2020)

Surface underway measurements from the MN Colibri ship track provide a continuous record of air-sea carbon dioxide exchange across two major ocean basins. Data from November to December 2020 includes partial pressure of CO2 in both the atmosphere and water, alongside sea surface temperature and salinity. This time-series is collected via a CO2 gas analyzer on a Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) line, contributing to ocean carbon cycle monitoring.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on the difference between atmospheric and water pCO2 measurements.
• Analyzing correlations between sea surface temperature (SST) and partial pressure of CO2 in surface water.
• Validating regional ocean carbon cycle models using in-situ pCO2, salinity, and temperature data.
• Assessing seasonal carbon dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean during the late autumn period.

Strengths

• Provides continuous, underway surface measurements, offering high spatial resolution along the ship's track.
• Includes simultaneous chemical (pCO2), physical (SST, salinity), and meteorological (barometric pressure) variables for integrated analysis.
• Data is managed and distributed by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), indicating formal archival and quality control.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and license are not provided by any source.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a single month (4 November to 5 December 2020).
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one showing 2026 and another showing 2020, creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Surface underway data collected via a Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer on the MN Colibri vessel as part of the Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) program.

Time Range

2020-11-04 to 2020-12-05

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:54:15.347471

Geography

Mediterranean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean along the MN Colibri SOOP lines.