WOCE Indian Ocean CTD and Bottle Data from RRS Discovery, 1995

NCEI Accession 0160543 contains 11 measured variables, including CHLOROFLUOROCARBON-11, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, NITRATE, and SALINITY, collected from the RRS Discovery in the Indian Ocean during a 47-day cruise from January to February 1995. The data were collected by R. Pollard of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, using CTD and bottle instruments as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). This dataset contributes to the larger WOCE Hydrographic Program, which ultimately covered approximately 23,000 stations from 94 cruises between 1990 and 1998 to study the ocean's role in climate.

Use Cases

• Tracing water mass age and circulation pathways based on CHLOROFLUOROCARBON-11 (CFC-11) concentrations.
• Assessing marine primary productivity and nutrient cycling using NITRATE, phosphate, silicate, CHLOROPHYLL A, and PHAEOPHYTIN measurements.
• Calculating ocean density and stratification from concurrent SALINITY, WATER TEMPERATURE, and HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE profiles.
• Calibrating and validating regional ocean biogeochemical models with discrete bottle sample data.

Strengths

• Contains a specific suite of 11 co-located physical, chemical, and biological variables from a single research cruise.
• Part of the authoritative, large-scale World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), which covered approximately 23,000 stations.
• Data collection methodology is explicitly stated, using standard oceanographic instruments (CTD and bottle).

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: the exact row/station count for this accession is unknown, and the last updated date conflicts between 1995-02-21 (nasa_earthdata) and 2026-03-05 (datagov).
• The complete column schema is not provided, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• Dataset scale is limited to one cruise over 47 days, representing a snapshot in time and space.

Provenance

Source

R. Pollard of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (formerly Southampton Oceanography Centre).

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations collected using CTD and bottle instruments from the RRS Discovery.

Time Range

1995-01-06 to 1995-02-21

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:58:33.921853

Geography

Indian Ocean