NERC Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS) data in the Southern Ocean (1992)

The aim of the Sterna 92 project was to measure the magnitude and
variability of carbon and nitrogen fluxes during early summer in the
Southern Ocean, with particular emphasis on rates and processes in the
marginal ice zone.

Data were collected at sites in the Bellingshausen Sea as part of a
2-ship Eulerian experiment; RRS James Clark Ross held her geographic
position while the ice retreated past her whilst RRS Discovery
undertook more extensive survey work in the ice-free areas to the
north.

The data are split into: (i) underway sampling (SeaSoar, UOR,
lightfish, ADCP, meteorology and parameters measured from the ship's
pumped seawater supply) of which there are 121179 records at 1 minute
intervals and (ii) discrete sampling (CTD and XBT casts, bottle
stations, net hauls, productivity incubations) of which there are over
1000 deployments.

Underway data (20 Mbytes) are stored as 1 minute interval time series
for each cruise with all parameters merged on date/time. The data are
fully quality controlled; checks were made for instrument malfunction,
fouling, constancy, spikes, spurious values, calibration errors,
baseline and salt-water corrections.

The discrete data (40 Mbytes) are stored in a relational database
(Oracle RDBMS), chiefly as vertical profiles and are uniquely
identified by a combination of deployment number and depth.

The data were collected and supplied by UK participants in JGOFS. BODC
are responsible for calibrating, processing, quality controlling and
documenting the data and assembling the final data set.

AVAILABILITY: Presently restricted to BOFS participants. Contact BODC
for details. More information can be found on the BODC WWW page:
"http://www.bodc.ac.uk/"

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