2017 Microbial Ecology of the Surface Ocean - SCOPE, Downcast CTD Data

This dataset consists of measurements taken at various depths in the water column from CTD sensors attached to a CTD rosette on the MESO-SCOPE cruise in 2017. Mesoscale eddies affect the variability of ocean ecosystems through different dynamics, but an exhaustive description of their influence on the plankton community is still missing, partly due to the complex physical-biological interaction taking place inside the eddies. One of the most well known effects of mesoscale eddies is the vertical displacement of water in their interior due to the geostrophic balance with the eddy circular motion. Since eddies of different polarity displace water in opposite directions, their impact on pelagic ecosystems is postulated to be very different. Based on this information, one of the objectives of the MESO-SCOPE expedition was to study a mesoscale dipole, i.e. a system composed of adjacent cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies. The MESO-SCOPE (Microbial Ecology of the Surface Ocean - Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology) expedition collected oceanographic observations in the region north of the Hawaiian Islands with the aim of identifying the impact of mesoscale eddies on the ecosystem of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The expedition was funded by the Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE) and hosted on the research vessel Kilo Moana between June 26 and July 15 2017, leaving from and returning to the port of Honolulu.  Scientists from eight countries, representing eleven SCOPE laboratories, participated in the MESO-SCOPE expedition and contributed their expertise in research areas as ocean biogeochemistry, molecular biology, bio-optics, plankton taxonomy, microbiology, and ecology.

本数据集包含2017年MESO-SCOPE航次中，搭载于CTD采水架（CTD rosette）的CTD传感器（CTD sensor）在水柱不同深度获取的实测数据。中尺度涡旋（mesoscale eddy）通过多种动力过程影响海洋生态系统的变异性，但目前仍缺乏对其在浮游生物群落中影响的详尽无遗的阐述，部分原因在于涡旋内部复杂的物理-生物相互作用。中尺度涡旋最广为人知的效应之一，是其内部水体因与涡旋圆周运动满足地转平衡（geostrophic balance）而产生的垂向位移。由于不同极性的涡旋会向相反方向位移水体，因此其对远洋生态系统（pelagic ecosystem）的影响被认为存在显著差异。基于上述研究背景，MESO-SCOPE航次（表层海洋微生物生态学——西蒙斯海洋过程与生态合作项目，Microbial Ecology of the Surface Ocean - Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology）的核心目标之一，便是研究中尺度偶极子（mesoscale dipole）——即由相邻气旋式涡旋与反气旋式涡旋组成的系统。该航次在夏威夷群岛以北海域开展了海洋学观测，旨在探明中尺度涡旋对北太平洋副热带环流生态系统的影响。本航次由西蒙斯海洋过程与生态合作项目（Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology, 简称SCOPE）资助，于2017年6月26日至7月15日期间在研究船基洛莫阿纳号（Kilo Moana）上开展，从火奴鲁鲁港出发并返回该港。来自8个国家的科学家，代表11个SCOPE合作实验室，参与了本次MESO-SCOPE航次，其研究领域涵盖海洋生物地球化学、分子生物学、生物光学、浮游生物分类学、微生物学与生态学等，并贡献了各自的专业知识。