Northwest Atlantic Ocean Water Chemistry and Physics from 1981

Moored current meter and bottle casts collected water physics and chemistry data in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean during a one-week period from June 3 to June 9, 1981. The data were submitted by the National Ocean Service (NOS) for the North East Monitoring Program (NEMP) and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard F004 format. This dataset captures a snapshot of ocean conditions, including chemical concentrations and physical water properties.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between physical parameters like temperature, density (sigma-t), and chemical concentrations such as salinity, oxygen, and nitrate.
• Studying water column structure by examining profiles of recorded parameters like phosphate, ammonia, and chlorophyll from bottle casts.
• Investigating current patterns using the east-west and north-south velocity components from moored current meters.
• Assessing environmental conditions at the study site by combining cruise and station information with the measured physical and chemical data.

Strengths

• Data is structured according to a well-documented, standard NODC format (F004), ensuring consistency and interoperability.
• The collection method combines moored instruments for continuous current data with discrete bottle casts for detailed chemical profiles.
• The dataset provides a temporally precise snapshot of ocean conditions over a defined one-week period in June 1981.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details are missing, including the total number of rows, observations, stations, and specific column names.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata, with one source listing 1981-06-09 and another listing 2026-04-01, casting doubt on provenance timeliness.
• The dataset's utility is limited by its very short temporal coverage of only seven days.

Provenance

Source

National Ocean Service (NOS) / NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Collection Method

Collected via moored current meters and bottle casts, then processed into the NODC F004 format.

Time Range

1981-06-03 to 1981-06-09

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:16:08.543349

Geography

Northwest Atlantic Ocean