Marine Phytoplankton Pigment and Productivity Profiles

Release 3.0 of the Marine Pigments, Productivity, and Associated Chemistry Data Dictionary archives standardized data from the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). The collection contains 18,357 phytoplankton profiles across 192 files, compiled by researchers at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School. It supersedes previous releases and includes global measurements of pigments, nutrients, and related parameters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global phytoplankton pigment concentrations (e.g., chlorophyll, phaeophytin) to assess primary productivity.
• Correlating nutrient levels (nitrate, phosphate) with phytoplankton biomass across different ocean regions.
• Studying long-term changes in marine chemistry and productivity using standardized, multi-study profile data.
• Validating satellite-derived ocean color algorithms with in-situ pigment and fluorescence measurements.

Strengths

• Contains a large volume of 18,357 standardized phytoplankton profiles.
• Represents a definitive, version 3.0 release that supersedes earlier collections.
• Covers a multi-decade time range from 1956 to 1992, enabling temporal analysis.
• Data is associated with the major international Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS).

Limitations

• Specific column names and data formats are not detailed in the available metadata.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' date between platforms (1992 vs. 2026), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• The dataset's age means it may not reflect recent oceanographic conditions.

Provenance

Source

Dr. William Balch and Mr. Charles Byrne, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, FL; data received from NODC's Ocean Climate Laboratory.

Collection Method

Collected during multiple worldwide oceanographic studies and archived according to a standardized JGOFS data dictionary format.

Time Range

1956-09-11 to 1992-04-30

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:11:40.689047

Geography

Global, from multiple worldwide studies.