Continuous Plankton Recorder and Temperature Data, Gulf of Alaska, 2011-2016, Gulf Watch Alaska Environmental Drivers Component

These data are part of the Gulf Watch Alaska, Environmental Drivers component of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC), project numbers 12120114-A, 13120114-A, 14120114-A, 15120114-A, 16120114-A. Gulf Watch Alaska is the long-term ecosystem monitoring program of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council for the marine ecosystem affected by the 1989 oil spill. This dataset contains two types of comma-separated values (csv) files: CPR category files, describing abundances of phytoplankton and zooplankton taxa retained by a Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) during 2012 to 2016; and temperature files, which are water temperature measurement from a logger attached to the CPR. Data files are organized by year from 2011 to 2016. There are no 2011 plankton data in this collection but CPR data have been collected since 1997. Refer to Related Resource for cross reference to the longer timeseries plankton dataset. These data were collected to describe the plankton populations of the North Pacific and to monitor their distribution and abundance over multiple years. The CPR collected plankton samples as it was towed behind a merchant ship on a transect from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK, from 2012 to 2016, and water temperature data from a logger attached to the CPR. The CPR has sampled this transect monthly from spring through summer since 2004. There are also data from 2000-2003 from a previous transect. The current transect intersects with the outer part of the Seward Line and provides complementary large scale data to compare with the more local, finer scale plankton sampling on the shelf and in Prince William Sound (PWS). As part of the larger continuous dataset, several transects were occupied during 1997, and from 2000-2016. The samples each represent 18.5km of tow and have been processed according to routine CPR protocols as directed by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) which operates and maintains the CPR survey. The midpoint of each sample is allocated a position and time based on information on deployment and recovery times from the ship's log. Vemco temperature loggers were attached to the CPR and used to record temperature of the water that the plankton are living in. The logger is affixed to the CPR, towed in the wake of the ship, at the depth of the CPR, on each transect from Tacoma, WA to Anchorage, AK. Loggers are nominally at 6 m depth, but within well mixed surface water behind the ship. The logger records the temperature every 5 minutes. After sampling, each temperature record is given a position that is interpolated from ship's log data, according to the date/time stamp of the record. Positions may be off by some amount (likely less than 1km). The entire transect is included from Juan de Fuca strait north to Cook Inlet.