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Surface Water and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide Observations by Shipboard Automated Gas Chromatography: Results from Expeditions Between 1977 and 1990 (1992)
This NDP presents the results of surface water and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) measurements carried out on shipboard by gas chromatography from 1977 to 1990. These data include results from 41 legs of 11 ocean surveys conducted in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans, as well as the Mediterranean and Red seas.
The measurements were made by an automated high-precision shipboard gas chromatographic system that measures CO2 by flame ionization after quantitative reduction to methane in a stream of hydrogen. Nitrous oxide is measured by a separate electron-capture detector. The chromatographic system measures 196 dry-gas samples a day, divided equally among the atmosphere, gas equilibrated with surface water, a low-range gas standard, and a high-range gas standard.
These data constitute one of the most extensive records available of CO2 and, particularly, N2O in marine air and surface seawater. The data will be valuable in modeling the ocean's role in the global cycles of carbon and nitrogen, in studies of ocean atmosphere dynamics, and in evaluations of other methods for determining pCO2. The records include the names of the expedition and research vessel, sample date and time, latitude and longitude, sample type (i.e., marine air or surface seawater), barometric pressure, surface water temperature, and dry-gas mole fractions of CO2 and N2O. The data are in 82 files totaling 7.1 MB.
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