Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data Obtained During the R/V Thomas G. Thompson Cruise in the Pacific Ocean (WOCE Section P10, October 5-November 10, 1993)

Sabine, Christopher L., and Robert M. Key, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey; Melinda Hall, Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Prepared by Alexander Kozyr, CDIAC

NDP-071 (1999) (http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/oceans/ndp_071/ndp071.html)

The oceans play a major role in the global carbon-cycle processes and are estimated to hold 38,000 gigatons of carbon, 50 times more than that in the atmosphere and 20 times more than that in plants, animals, and soil. If only 2% of the carbon stored in the oceans were released, the level of atmospheric CO₂ would double. Several large experiments have been conducted, and others are under way, to help us better understand the impact of the ocean in climate and climatic changes.

The R/V Thomas G. Thompson oceanographic expedition in the Pacific Ocean (Section P10), which began in Suva, Fiji, on October 5, 1993, and ended in Yokohama, Japan, on November 10, 1993, was conducted as part of the largest oceanographic experiment ever attempted, the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). This database discusses the procedures and methods used during the R/V Thomas G. Thompson expedition to measure total carbon dioxide (TCO₂), total alkalinity (TALK), and radiocarbon (D¹⁴C), at hydrographic stations, as well as the underway partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂), including measurements of pressure, temperature, salinity [measured by conductivity, temperature, and depth sensor (CTD)], bottle salinity, bottle oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate, and the chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11, CFC-12).

Section P10 is the westernmost section of the WOCE survey in the North Pacific Ocean. It is important for understanding the dynamics of the far western equatorial Pacific. The results from this cruise can be used to infer the relative magnitude of various tracers to the North Pacific from the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan. WOCE Section P10 also provides a transect across the Kuroshio Current which can be used to better understand the northward transport of heat, salt, and other important ocean tracers.