Underwater Optical Data from the Southern Ocean, 2007-2008 Austral Summer

Spectral radiation, absorption coefficients, and phytoplankton pigment concentrations measured in the Southern Ocean during the 2007/2008 Austral summer. The data were collected by the TR/V Umitaka-Maru research vessel using Niskin bottles on a CTD system at several depths. It was last updated on NASA's Earthdata platform in January 2008.

Use Cases

• Modeling phytoplankton biomass distribution based on chlorophyll a concentration.
• Analyzing light attenuation in seawater based on spectral radiation and absorption coefficients.
• Studying the relationship between phytoplankton community structure and optical properties based on HPLC pigment data.
• Calibrating satellite ocean color algorithms based on in-situ optical measurements.

Strengths

• Includes multiple optical and biological variables like spectral radiation, absorption, and HPLC pigment concentrations.
• Data is spatially specific to the Southern Ocean and temporally specific to the 2007/2008 Austral summer.
• Samples were collected using standardized oceanographic methods with a CTD system and Niskin bottles.

Limitations

• Last updated 2008-01-16 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

SCIOPS, via nasa_earthdata.

Collection Method

Seawater samples obtained from several depths using Niskin bottles on a CTD system during a research cruise.

Time Range

2007/2008 Austral summer.

Freshness

Data from 2007-2008, last updated in 2008.

Geography

Southern Ocean.