S. Rubin, J. G. Goddard, D. W. Chipman, T. Takahashi, S. C. Sutherland, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, and J. L. Reid, J. H. Swift, L. D. Talley, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
Prepared by: Alex Kozyr, CDIAC

NDP-065 (1998)

The World Ocean plays a dynamic role in the Earth's climate: it captures heat from the sun, transports it, and releases it thousands of miles away. These oceanic-solar-atmospheric interactions affect winds, rainfall patterns, and temperatures on a global scale. The oceans also play a major role in global carbon-cycle processes. Carbon is unevenly distributed in the oceans because of complex circulation patterns and biogeochemical cycles that include the biological processes of photosynthesis in upper layers and respiration in deep oceans. The oceans are estimated to hold 38,000 gigatons of carbon, 50 times more than the amount in the atmosphere and 20 times more than the amount held by plants, animals, and the soil. If only 2% of the carbon stored in the oceans were released, the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) would double. Every year, the amount of CO₂ exchanged across the sea surface is 15 times greater than the amount produced by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human activities.

The largest oceanographic experiment ever attempted is the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). The goals of the DOE funded CO₂ survey include estimation of the meridional transport of inorganic carbon in the Pacific Ocean in a manner analogous to the oceanic heat transport estimates, evaluation of the exchange of CO₂ between the atmosphere and the ocean, and preparation of a database suitable for carbon-cycle modeling and the subsequent assessment of the anthropogenic CO₂ increase in the oceans. The final data set is expected to cover approximately 23,000 stations.

This numeric data package presents the procedures and methods used in the CO₂-related measurements obtained during the 152-day expedition of the Research Vessel (R/V) Knorr along the WOCE Sections P16A/P17A, P17E/P19S, and P19C, located in the South Pacific Ocean. Measurements included total carbon dioxide concentration (TCO₂), partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) measured at 4° and 20°C, salinity, oxygen, nutrients, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Pressure, temperature, salinity, and oxygen were measured continuously with water depth on each station by using an in situ sensor. WDC-A database

Station locations during RV Knorr expeditions in the South Pacific Ocean.

---

kng 01/99