General Information

CDIAC’s ocean carbon data collection includes discrete and underway measurements from a variety of platforms (e.g., research ships, commercial ships, buoys). The measurements come from deep and shallow waters from all oceans. Technological advances make it possible to deliver ocean carbon data real-time but questions about instrument reliability and data quality limit this practice at this moment. All ocean carbon data CDIAC receives come from individual investigators and groups following initial data review.

World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Database

The CDIAC Ocean Carbon Data Management Project started in 1993 when CDIAC became a member of the DOE/NOAA Ocean Carbon Science Team with data management and permanent archive responsibilities for the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) CO2 measurements. The resulting WOCE carbon database is available from the CDIAC Ocean web site (http://cdiac.ornl.gov/oceans/CDIACmap.html). WOCE was a major component of the World Climate Research Program with the overall goal of better understanding the oceans role in climate and climatic changes resulting from both natural and anthropogenic causes. The CO2 survey took advantage of the sampling opportunities provided by the WHP cruises during this period between 1990 and 1998. The final data set covers approximately 23,000 stations from 42 WOCE cruises.

GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Progect (GLODAP)

CDIAC provides data management support for the ongoing GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP). GLODAP is a cooperative effort of investigators funded for synthesis and modeling projects through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), DOE, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cruises conducted as part of the WOCE, JGOFS, and the NOAA Ocean-Atmosphere Carbon Exchange Study (OACES) over the decade of the 90s have generated oceanographic data of unparalleled quality and quantity. As of today, the GLODAP database consists of data from 122 WOCE, JGOFS, and other International and Historical Cruises. The GLODAP database will be periodically populated with the new high-quality discrete data from modern oceanographic projects and cruises. The data are available from the CDIAC GLODAP web site and from the WAVES Search engine.

CARbon IN the Atlantic Ocean (CARINA) Data Synthesis Project

CDIAC provides data management support for the CARINA International Project which emerged from a workshop on "CO2 in the North Atlantic Ocean," held in June 1999 in Delmenhorst, Germany and continued throughout of the EU CARBOOCEAN Project.

The CARINA objectives are:

  • to bring together research groups that measure CO2 in the Atlantic Ocean;
  • to bring together research groups that measure CO2 in the Atlantic Ocean;
  • to create an inventory of CO2 measurements carried out in the Atlantic Ocean;
  • to make available unpublished data to the data contributors (data access);
  • to form working groups that cooperate on various aspects of the CO2 system in the Atlantic; and
  • to exchange information concerning CO2 research in the Atlantic.

    • The data and metadata from the CARINA individual cruises is now available from the CDIAC CARINA web site. The CARINA synthesized database will be available from CDIAC by the end of 2009.

    International CLIVAR Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography Program

    CDIAC provides data management support for the International Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography Program. The Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography Program carries out a systematic and global re-occupation of select WOCE/JGOFS hydrographic sections to quantify changes in storage and transport of heat, fresh water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and related parameters. The high-quality discrete measurements of carbon-related parameters are available via CDIAC Repeat Hydrography web site, the WAVES Search engine, and the Mercury metadata search engine.

    Global Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS) Program

    CDIAC provides data management support for the Global Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS) Program. The VOS project is coordinated by the UNESCO International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP). The international groups from 14 countries have been outfitting research ships and commercial vessels with automated CO2 sampling equipment to analyze the carbon exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. The high-quality surface (underway) measurements of carbon-related parameters are available via CDIAC VOS web site, the WAVES Search engine, and the Mercury metadata search engine.

    Global CO2 Time-series and Moorings Project

    CDIAC provides data management support for the Global CO2 Time-series and Moorings Project. The international groups from 18 countries have mounted sensors on moored buoys to provide high resolution time-series measurements of atmospheric boundary layer and surface ocean CO2 partial pressure (pCO2). The CO2 Time-series and Moorings Project is also coordinated by UNESCO IOCCP. The high-quality measurements of carbon-related parameters from the Moorings are available via CDIAC Time-series and Moorings Project web site.

    Global Coastal Carbon Data Project

    CDIAC provides data management support for the Global Coastal Carbon Data Project. The coastal regions data are very important for the understanding of carbon cycle on the continental margins. The Coastal Project data include the bottle (discrete) and surface (underway) carbon-related measurements from coastal research cruises, the data from time series cruises and coastal moorings. The data from US East Coast, US West Coast, and European Coastal area are available from CDIAC Global Coastal Carbon Data Project web site.

    PICES Database

    The work on the Pacific Ocean data assembly, data analysis and data synthesis started in 2007 as a part of North Pacific marine Science Organization (PICES) Carbon & Climate Group (C&CG) project. We plan to work on the PICES database for at least 3 years, as this is completely volunteer work for all members of PICES C&CG. The final database will include all cruises in the Pacific Ocean that were not included in the GLODAP database. The PICES Database will be published at CDIAC and will be available to public via WAVES, Mercury, and LAS.

    CDIAC Ocean Data Systems & Interfaces

    In 2003, CDIAC implemented an instance of the Mercury metadata system to standardize and inventory CDIAC’s ocean data holdings. The Mercury metadata system was developed by staff in ORNL’s Computational Physics and Engineering Division. This catalog of CDIAC ocean holdings may be queried at http://mercury.ornl.gov/ocean/.

    In 2005, CDIAC implemented the Live Access Server (LAS), developed at NOAA PMEL, to facilitate queries on the GLODAP database. The CDIAC LAS interface is available at http://cdiac3.ornl.gov/las/servlets/dataset.

    In 2007, after two years of internal development, CDIAC implemented the Web-Accessible Visualization and Extraction System (WAVES). This data interface permits users to search all CDIAC discrete and underway ocean carbon data and couples all standardized metadata from the Mercury system to each individual data set. The interface is available at http://cdiac3.ornl.gov/waves/.

    For more information on CDIAC Ocean data products, please contact:

    Alex Kozyr
    Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
    Environmental Sciences Division
    Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    U.S. Department of Energy
    Building 1509, MS 6335
    Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6335 U.S.A.
    Tel: (865)576-8449
    Fax: (865)574-2232
    Electronic address: kozyra@ornl.gov

    Page is maintained by Alex Kozyr
     

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