Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The presented pilot for the Synthesis Product for Ocean Time Series (SPOTS) includes data from 12 fixed ship-based time-series programs. The related stations represent unique open-ocean and coastal marine environments within the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Nordic Seas, and Caribbean Sea. The focus of the pilot has been placed on biogeochemical essential ocean variables: dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic nutrients, inorganic carbon (pH, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, and partial pressure of CO 2 ), particulate matter, and dissolved organic carbon. The time series used include a variety of temporal resolutions (monthly, seasonal, or irregular), time ranges (10–36 years), and bottom depths (80–6000 m), with the oldest samples dating back to 1983 and the most recent one corresponding to 2021. Besides having been harmonized into the same format (semantics, ancillary data, units), the data were subjected to a qualitative assessment in which the applied methods were evaluated and categorized. The most recently applied methods of the time-series programs usually follow the recommendations outlined by the Bermuda Time Series Workshop report (Lorenzoni and Benway, 2013), which is used as the main reference for “method recommendations by prevalent initiatives in the field”. However, measurements of dissolved oxygen and pH, in particular, still show room for improvement. Additional data quality descriptors include precision and accuracy estimates, indicators for data variability, and offsets compared to a reference and widely recognized data product for the global ocean: the GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP). Generally, these descriptors indicate a high level of continuity in measurement quality within time-series programs and a good consistency with the GLODAP data product, even though robust comparisons to the latter are limited. The data are available as (i) a merged comma-separated file that is compliant with the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) exchange format and (ii) a format dependent on user queries via the Environmental Research Division's Data Access Program (ERDDAP) server of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). The pilot increases the data utility, findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability following the FAIR philosophy, enhancing the readiness of biogeochemical time series. It facilitates a variety of applications that benefit from the collective value of biogeochemical time-series observations and forms the basis for a sustained time-series living data product, SPOTS, complementing relevant products for the global interior ocean carbon data (GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project), global surface ocean carbon data (Surface Ocean CO 2 Atlas; SOCAT), and global interior and surface methane and nitrous oxide data (MarinE MethanE and NiTrous Oxide product). Aside from the actual data compilation, the pilot project produced suggestions for reporting metadata, implementing quality control measures, and making estimations about uncertainty. These recommendations aim to encourage the community to adopt more consistent and uniform practices for analysis and reporting and to update these practices regularly. The detailed recommendations, links to the original time-series programs, the original data, their documentation, and related efforts are available on the SPOTS website. This site also provides access to the data product (DOI: https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.896862.2, Lange et al., 2024) and ancillary data.
Source: Earth system science data
Authors: Nico Lange, Björn Fiedler, Marta Álvarez, Alice Benoit-Cattin, Heather Benway, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Laurent Coppola, Kim Currie, Susana Flecha, Dana S. Gerlach, Makio Honda, I. Emma Huertas, Siv K. Lauvset, Frank Muller-Karger, Arne Körtzinger, Kevin M. O'Brien, Sólveig R. Ólafsdóttir, Fernando C. Pacheco, Digna Rueda-Roa, Ingunn Skjelvan, Masahide Wakita, Angelicque White, Toste Tanhua
Institutions: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, NORCE Research AS, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of Washington, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Hawaii System
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,509
Funders: National Science Foundation, Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, European Commission, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Miljødirektoratet, Junta de Andalucía, West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Horizon 2020, Instituto Español de Oceanografía
Awards: Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time, G1385343195, G1706974080, The Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT): Sustaining ocean ecosystem and climate observations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, G2622251226, Our common future ocean in the Earth system – quantifying coupled cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nutrients for determining and achieving safe operating spaces with respect to tipping points, Collaborative Research: The Cariaco Basin Oceanographic Time Series Program, G3256580375, Acceleration of ocean acidification due to shutdown of winter CO2 efflux in the subarctic western North Pacific Ocean, Improving and Integrating European Ocean Observing and Forecasting Systems for Sustainable use of the Oceans, Einzelprojekt: Master Research Programme 'Climate Change and Marine Sciences' (MRP-CCMS), G434337789, G4568341009, EarthCube RCN for Marine Ecological Time Series (METS), G5739307799, G6119072491, G648177422, Basic studies on physical mapping, transcript mapping, and functional analysis of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) genome, G7861514756, G7959203599, Support for International Ocean Science Activities Through SCOR, G8378799369, G8382499373
OpenAlex ID: W4394843877