WOCE A11 1992: South Atlantic Ocean Water Profile Measurements

South Atlantic Ocean data from the R/V DISCOVERY cruise WOCE_A11_1992, collected between December 22, 1992 and February 1, 1993. The dataset contains discrete sample and profile measurements of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11, CFC-12), dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate. It is part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), a major climate research program that collected data from approximately 23,000 stations across 94 cruises between 1990 and 1998.

Use Cases

• Tracing ocean circulation pathways based on chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11, CFC-12) concentrations.
• Studying marine biogeochemical cycles using nitrate, phosphate, and silicate measurements.
• Calibrating and validating ocean models with hydrographic profile data for salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen.
• Investigating water mass formation and mixing in the South Atlantic Ocean using the collected hydrographic variables.

Strengths

• Data is part of the authoritative, large-scale World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), which covered approximately 23,000 stations.
• Includes multiple co-located chemical and physical measurements (CFCs, nutrients, oxygen, salinity, temperature) from a single cruise, enabling multivariate analysis.
• Has a precise and well-documented collection period from 1992-12-22 to 1993-02-01.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row count for this specific accession are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist across platforms (1993-02-01 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• The dataset's license information is not specified.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS); University of Southampton, Department of Oceanography.

Collection Method

Discrete sample and profile observations collected using CTD and bottle instruments aboard the R/V DISCOVERY.

Time Range

1992-12-22 to 1993-02-01

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:40:47.502172

Geography

South Atlantic Ocean