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NERC North Sea Project Data Set (1988-1990)

Entry ID: BODC_NERC_NorthSeaProj

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Summary

Abstract: The North Sea Project evolved from a review by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) of shelf seas research, which identified the need for a concerted multidisciplinary study of circulation, transport and production. The Project was adopted by NERC as their first Community Research Project to run from 1987 to 1992. The ultimate aim of the North Sea Project was the development of a suite ... of prognostic water quality models to aid management of the North Sea. Data management for the Project was carried out by BODC. To ensure sufficient resolution of the seasonal cycle 15 cruises each lasting 12 days and following the same 1800 nautical mile track, were repeated monthly by RRS Challenger.

The CTD profiles from the stations and underway sampling at 30 second intervals (a total of 500,000 data cycles) provided three dimensional distributions of conductivity (for salinity), temperature, depth, dissolved oxygen, transmittance (for suspended sediment concentration), fluorescence (for chlorophyll) and irradiance. Water bottle samples were collected on almost all CTD casts, usually with bottles being fired at the bottom, middle and top of a cast. Many different parameters were measured from these water samples. In order to calibrate the CTD sensors, temperatures were obtained from reversing thermometers and salinity determinations and dissolved oxygen measurements were made. Spectrophotometric chlorophyll and phaeopigment determinations were carried out, the chlorophyll values for a cruise were used to calibrate the CTD fluorometer. Sediment content was determined and the values used to calibrate the transmissometer.

Nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, silicate, phosphate and ammonium) were determined from water bottle samples using an autoanalyser. On eight of the survey cruises (between February and October 1989) measurements were made of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and its cellular precursor, dimethyl sulphoniopropionate (DMSP). These determinations were carried out using gas chromatography. In addition to the DMS measurements, low molecular weight halocarbons have been determined. Dissolved and particulate trace metals (Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Co, Ni, Fe, Hg, As, Al) were measured on survey cruises during May 1988, August 1988, January 1989 and May 1989.

Primary productivity was investigated on each survey cruise, the uptake of Carbon-14 being measured in an on-deck incubator. Water bottle samples from a pre-dawn CTD cast were taken from six depths (usually 1, 3, 7, 15, 20 and 30m) instead of the more usual top, middle and bottom samples. Triplicate samples were then incubated at six simulated depths for a 24 hour period.

During the survey cruises a water sample was collected for microscopic analysis of phytoplankton numbers and species composition at every other CTD station. The area covered by the survey cruises was split into fifteen representative regions and one or two samples falling within each area analyzed for each survey cruise.

Zooplankton samples were taken at half the stations on all but one of the survey cruises by the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. The air-sea interaction components of the North Sea survey comprised four experiments measuring organic particles, inorganic (trace metal) particles, large airborne particles and rainfall.

Benthic processes were investigated with sediment cores taken on eight survey cruises at six sites of varied character, three being in the area of summer stratification. Oxygen uptake and sulphate reduction rates were measured to investigate aerobic and anaerobic microbial activity; also fluxes and profiles of nutrients, sedimentary characteristics, organic matter, water content, particle size and temperature. The oxygen content in the overlying water was also measured.

Current profiles were recorded at 10 minute intervals (with 4m bin size) underway by the shipborne ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) on all survey cruises.

Six current meter stations were maintained over the fifteen month survey period. Instruments were recovered and redeployed on each of the survey cruises. Three of the moorings (B, E and F) were made up of Aanderaa and S4 current meters, while the other three (A, C and D) were bottom mounted ADCPs. In addition, at four sites (A, B, C and D), moored thermistor chains were deployed during the stratification season. Recording fluorometers were also deployed at sites A and E between February and May 1989. Data recovery from the moorings was about 80 per cent.

Alternating with the survey cruises were process study cruises which investigated some particular aspect of the science of the North Sea. The process cruises fell into six main categories although there was some overlap between the data collected and the processes studied. The process studies were as follows: fronts (nearshore, circulation and mixing), sandwaves and sandbanks, plume (Humber, Wash, Thames and Rhine), resuspension, air-sea exchange, productivity and blooms. For most process study cruises surface underway data, CTD casts and water bottle samples were taken, in the same way as on the survey cruises. However, although all the sensors for the survey cruises were available, not all were calibrated for the process study cruises. In addition, other more specialized data were collected relevant to the process being studied.

After the main data collection period (August 1988 - October 1989), a series of cruises took place between October 1989 and October 1990 which followed up the intensive data collection work. Process studies relating to blooms, plumes (Humber, Wash, Rhine), sandwaves and the flux of contaminants through the Dover Strait were carried out as well as two 'survey' cruises.

AVAILABILITY: Complete data set for 38 cruises published on CD-ROM (340 Mbytes), supporting software on floppy disk.

[This description was derived from the BODC WWW pages.]

Related URL

Link: VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE

Description: North Sea Project information page

Geographic Coverage

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Spatial coordinates

N: 56.0

S: 51.0

E: 8.0

W: 0.0

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1988-04-01

Stop Date: 1990-10-31

Location Keywords

OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH SEA

Science Keywords

ATMOSPHERE > AEROSOLS > SULFATE PARTICLES

ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE > ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS

ISO Topic Category

CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

ENVIRONMENT

Platform

FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS

OBSERVATORIES

Instrument

Telescopes

Quality Values provided in temporal coverage are approximate only.

Access Constraints The data are available at the url below.

Use Constraints This data set conforms to the PICCCBY Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=ASAC_121... when using these data..

Ancillary Keywords

AASTO

MASS

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

Australian Antarctic Division

Data Center

Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia

Data Center URL: http://data.aad.gov.au

Data Center Personnel
Name: DATA OFFICER AADC Phone: +61 3 6232 3244 Fax: +61 3 6232 3351 Email: metadata at aad.gov.au Contact Address: Australian Antarctic Division 203 Channel Highway City: Kingston Province or State: Tasmania Postal Code: 7050 Country: Australia

Distribution

Distribution Media: HTTP

Distribution Size: 30 MB

Distribution Format: text, binary

Fees: Free

Personnel

MICHAEL BURTON

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Role: DIF AUTHOR

Phone: +61 2 9385 5618

Fax: +61 2 9385 6060

Email: M.Burton at unsw.edu.au

Contact Address:

School of Physics

University of New South Wales

City: Sydney

Province or State: NSW

Postal Code: 2052

Country: Australia

PAOLO CALISSE

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Phone: +61 2 9385 5003

Fax: +61 2 9385 6060

Email: pcalisse at phys.unsw.edu.au

Contact Address:

School of Physics

University of New South Wales

City: Sydney

Province or State: New South Wales

Postal Code: 2052

Country: Australia

Publications/References

Calisse, P.G., Ashley, M.C.B., Burton, M.G., Phillips, M.A, Storey, J.W.V., Radford, S.J.E. and Peterson, J.B. (2004), Submillimeter site testing at Dome C, Antarctica, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 21, 256-263

Calisse, P.G. (2004), The effect of a radome on submillimetre site testing measurements, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 21, 252-255

Extended Metadata Properties

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Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2004-06-09

Last DIF Revision Date: 2013-03-25

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