Global Phytoplankton and Marine Chemistry Data from 1,860 Stations, 1965-1992

Phytoplankton pigments, primary productivity, and associated marine chemistry data collected worldwide from 1,860 stations between January 1965 and December 1992. The data was submitted by Dr. William Balch of the University of Miami in association with the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). It contains 6,589 records across 52 files, with a format designed to archive phytoplankton pigment and productivity data.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean carbon flux based on primary productivity data.
• Analyzing long-term trends in phytoplankton biomass based on pigment concentrations.
• Studying marine biogeochemistry based on associated chemistry data.
• Calibrating satellite ocean color algorithms with in-situ pigment measurements.

Strengths

• Data spans 27 years from 1965 to 1992.
• Covers 1,860 stations worldwide.
• Contains 6,589 records across 52 files.
• Includes a README file with parameter and code descriptions.

Limitations

• Last updated 1992-12-31 00:00:00; 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

Dr. William Balch, Rosenstiel School of Marine Science, University of Miami / Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS).

Collection Method

Data collected from ship-based stations worldwide.

Time Range

1965-01-01 to 1992-12-31

Freshness

Historical dataset; last update was 1992-12-31.

Geography

Worldwide, with focus on the North American Coastline-South.