Current direction, chemical, zooplankton, and other data from moored current meter casts and other instruments in the Gulf of Mexico during the Brine Disposal project, 22 September 1978 - 22 January 1979 (NODC Accession 7900212)

Current direction, chemical, zooplankton, and other data were collected using moored current meter casts and other instruments in the Gulf of Mexico from September 22, 1978 to January 22, 1979. Data were submitted by Texas A&M University as part of the Brine Disposal project. Data has been been processed by NODC to the standard NODC F005- Current Meter Data, F004- Water Physics and Chemistry, and F124 Zooplankton formats. Full format descriptions are available from NODC homepage at http://www.noaa.nodc.gov.

The F004 format is used for data from measurements and analyses of physical and chemical characteristics of the water column. Among chemical parameters that may be recorded are salinity, PH, and concentration of oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, chlorophyll, and suspended solids. Physical parameters that may be recorded include temperature, density (sigma-t), transmissivity, and current velocity (east-west and north-south components). Cruise and station information, including environmental conditions of the study site at the time of observations, is also included.

The F005 format is used for time series measurements of ocean currents obtained using moored current-measuring instruments, principally Aanderaa current meters (manufactured by Aanderaa Instruments Inc.). These data represent the Eulerian method of current measurement, i.e., the meters are deployed at a fixed mooring point and measure flow past the sensor. Position, water depth, and sensor depth are reported for each station. The data record comprises values of current direction and speed at specified date and time. Data values may be subject to
averaging or filtering and are typically reported at 10-15 minute time intervals. Other environmental parameters may also be reported. These include: water temperature, salinity, conductivity, and transmissivity; wind direction and speed; and dominant wave direction, height, and period. A text field is available for optional comments.

The F124 format is used for data from sampling and analysis of marine zooplankton. Information on zooplankton abundance, distribution, and productivity derived from these data support studies of marine populations and ecosystems. Data reported may include: cruise information, position, date, and time of sampling; bottom depth, sampling depths, temperature, and salinity; gear type, volume of water filtered, total dry and wet weight, and other data for total haul; and data for subsamples by species. Data on zooplankton catch by species may include subsample size, zooplankton concentration, life history code, and numbers of adults, juveniles, eggs, and larvae. Estimated density of holoplankton and meroplankton and data on ichthyoplankton may also be reported. A text record is available for comments. Note: there are two options for reporting subsample counts of individuals at different life history stages. If life history codes are used, only number of adults should be reported on that record. Additional separate records should then be used to report number of juveniles and so on. Alternatively, life history codes may not be used and number of adults, juveniles, and so entered in the proper fields of a single record.

1978年9月22日至1979年1月22日期间，研究团队于墨西哥湾通过锚定海流计投放及其他配套仪器，采集了海流、化学、浮游动物及其他相关海洋数据。该数据集由得克萨斯农工大学（Texas A&M University）作为“盐水处置项目（Brine Disposal project）”的一部分提交。美国国家海洋数据中心（National Oceanographic Data Center, NODC）已将这批数据处理为标准格式：NODC F005-海流计数据、F004-水体物理与化学数据，以及F124浮游动物数据格式。完整的格式说明可从NODC官方网站http://www.noaa.nodc.gov获取。

F004格式用于水体柱体物理与化学特征的测量与分析数据。可记录的化学参数包括盐度、pH值、溶解氧、氨、硝酸盐、磷酸盐、叶绿素及悬浮固体浓度；物理参数则涵盖温度、密度（σ-t）、透射率以及海流速度（东西向与南北向分量）。此外，数据集还包含航次与测站信息，包括观测时刻研究区域的环境条件。

F005格式用于锚定海流测量仪器获取的海流时间序列数据，所用仪器主要为Aanderaa海流计（Aanderaa Instruments Inc.制造）。此类数据采用欧拉式海流测量方法，即仪器部署于固定锚泊点，测量流经传感器的水流流速与方向。每个测站均记录了站位坐标、水深及传感器布设深度。数据记录包含指定日期与时间下的海流方向与速度值，数据通常经过平均或滤波处理，以10至15分钟的时间间隔进行上报。此外还可上报其他环境参数，包括水温、盐度、电导率、透射率；风向与风速；以及主波向、波高与波周期。数据集还提供了文本字段用于添加可选备注。

F124格式用于海洋浮游动物采样与分析数据。通过此类数据获取的浮游动物丰度、分布及生产力信息，可为海洋种群与生态系统研究提供关键支撑。上报的数据可包括：航次信息、采样站位坐标、采样日期与时间；底床水深、采样深度、水温及盐度；采样装备类型、过滤水体体积、总湿重与干重及其他总拖网相关数据；以及按物种划分的子样本数据。按物种统计的浮游动物渔获数据可包括：子样本规模、浮游动物浓度、生活史代码、成体、幼体、卵及幼虫的数量。此外还可上报终生浮游生物（holoplankton）与阶段性浮游生物（meroplankton）的估算密度，以及鱼卵和仔鱼（ichthyoplankton）相关数据。数据集提供了文本记录用于添加备注。注意：针对不同生活史阶段个体的子样本计数，存在两种上报方式：若使用生活史代码，则仅需在该条记录中上报成体数量，随后需使用额外的独立记录分别上报幼体等类别的数量；若不使用生活史代码，则可将成体、幼体等类别的数量直接填入单条记录的对应字段中。