FRA Near-Japan pCO2 Cruises: Surface Underway Carbon and Ocean Data

NCEI Accession 0186069 contains surface underway measurements from the R/V Wakataka-Maru during the Fisheries Research Agency (FRA) near-Japan pCO2 cruises project. The dataset includes partial pressure of carbon dioxide in both the atmosphere and seawater, alongside sea surface salinity, temperature, and barometric pressure, collected in the North Pacific Ocean and Japan Sea. Data were gathered from 2017-08-28 to 2017-09-05 using a CO2 gas analyzer and a shower head chamber equilibrator.

Use Cases

• Calculating air-sea CO2 flux based on partial pressure measurements.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of ocean acidification using pCO2-water data.
• Correlating sea surface temperature with carbon dioxide concentrations.
• Validating regional ocean carbon cycle models with in-situ underway data.

Strengths

• Data originates from a defined research cruise project (FRA near-Japan pCO2 cruises) aboard a named vessel (R/V Wakataka-Maru).
• Covers a specific, documented time range from August 28 to September 5, 2017.
• Instruments used for collection are explicitly listed (CO2 gas analyzer, shower head chamber equilibrator).

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and file size are not provided on any platform.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2017-09-05 vs. 2026-03-06), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Documentation appears sparse, with no detailed data dictionary or processing notes described.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Surface underway measurements collected via shipboard instruments.

Time Range

2017-08-28 to 2017-09-05

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:13:23.301573

Geography

North Pacific Ocean and Japan Sea