Sediment Organic Carbon in Marine Sediments around England and Wales 1996 - 2015

Sediment organic carbon (and nitrogen) data from marine samples collected between 1996-2015 around England and Wales. Measurements for <2mm sediment fraction or/and <63µm sediment fraction are given. Silt/clay(%) is also included (for either/both sieving and laser methodologies) as well as sample weight where available. These data have been collated from a variety of sources, including CSEMP monitoring, nephrops monitoring, fishing pressures research and the NERC shelf seas programme to support on-going investigations for the Cefas/Defra project ''Operational indicators of seafloor integrity'. Sediment organic carbon (and nitrogen) have been analysed using the following method. Sediment samples are freeze-dried. Any material >2mm is removed. The sediment is ground (for sediment fraction <2mm only). Inorganic carbon is removed using a sulphurous acid digest. Sediment OC is measured using an elemental analyser. Silt/clay(%) is either derived from sieving (weight of dried sediment <63µm divided by total weight of sediment as a percentage) and/or from laser diffraction. Station data included with the results include cruise code; station number; latitude; longitude; date sampled; relative depth of sample and grab type.