Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

This alongtrack data set consists of individual .MET filed produced for each day of the NH1208 cruise, from 9 Aug. to 18 Sept. 2012. Data were obtained primarily by applying calibrations to raw data.  However, several fields are derived measurements from more than a single raw input. 

The New Horizon alongtrack data acquisition systems continuously log data from a suite of instruments throughout the cruise. 

For information about events and known problems with acquisition, see the Cruise Data Report. (add link)

Cruises often used "-99.0" or "-99.0000" to indicate missing or bad data. Those numbers were changed to 'nd'. Not all bad data were flagged in this way however.

BCO-DMO Processing Notes and Edits:  BCO-DMO obtained the data in ascii format and made the following edits: The '#' was removed from the header line.  Values originally used to indicate null, unusued, or unknown values (i.e.  "-99.0" or "-99.0000") were replaced with "nd".  Several columns were omitted from display (BT, LF, HF, SH, SM, SR, ZO, ZS, ZT, XX, AX, IP, IV, IA) .   "year", "month", "day" and "yrday" (all in GMT) were calculated and added to the display.

Modified version of the NSF award abstract:
The impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems represents a vital question facing both marine scientists and managers of ocean resources. Thecosome pteropods are a group of calcareous planktonic molluscs widely distributed in coastal and open ocean pelagic ecosystems of the world¡¦s oceans. These animals secrete an aragonite shell, and thus are highly sensitive to ocean acidification due to the water column's changing carbonate chemistry, and particularly the shoaling of the aragonite compensation depth at which seawater becomes corrosive to aragonite. In many regions, however, relatively little is known about the abundance, distribution, vertical migratory behavior, and ecological importance of pteropods. Assessing the likely ecosystem consequences of changes in pteropod dynamics resulting from ocean acidification will require a detailed understanding of pteropod distribution and abundance relative to changing aragonite saturation in the water column.

The primary objective of this project is to quantify the distribution, abundance, species composition, shell condition, and vertical migratory behavior of oceanic thecosome pteropods in the northwest Atlantic and northeast Pacific, and correlate these quantities to hydrography and concurrent measurements of carbonate chemistry, including vertical and horizontal distributions of aragonite saturation. In particular, the project will capitalize on present-day variability in the depth distribution of aragonite saturation levels within and between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as a "natural experiment" to address the hypotheses that pteropod vertical distribution, species composition, and abundance vary as the compensation depth becomes shallower. Secondary objectives are to develop acoustic protocols for the remote quantification of pteropod abundance for future integration into ocean acidification monitoring networks, and to characterize carbonate chemistry and nutrients along portions of two WOCE/CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography transects (A20 in the Atlantic and P17N in the Pacific) to identify decadal-scale changes in the carbonate system. These hypotheses and objectives will be addressed through two cruises along survey transects between 35 and 50 degrees North in the northwest Atlantic and northeast Pacific involving a combination of station-work and underway measurements, and a comprehensive array of instruments, including acoustic, optical, towed net, hydrographic, and carbonate chemistry sensors and sampling systems.

This highly inter-disciplinary project, combines expertise in zooplankton ecology, acoustics, and marine chemistry. The proposed work will result in a detailed baseline understanding of variability in the horizontal and vertical distribution, as well as species composition, of thecosome pteropods in the northwest Atlantic and northeast Pacific, making a key contribution to zooplankton ecology generally. In addition, by quantifying the response to current spatial variability within and between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the project will provide important information on the likely response of pteropod distribution to future changes in the vertical distribution of aragonite saturation levels, a necessary component in modeling the impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystem function, services, and resources.

Ocean acidification is increasingly appreciated as an urgent societal concern. Thecosome pteropods are key prey for a variety of commercially-exploited fish species, and the improved understanding the PIs seek of pteropod distribution and likely response to changing water column carbonate chemistry will have important implications for our understanding of potential effects of ocean acidification on marine resources.
 

The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) program focuses on the ocean's role as a component of the global Earth system, bringing together research in geochemistry, ocean physics, and ecology that inform on and advance our understanding of ocean biogeochemistry. The overall program goals are to promote, plan, and coordinate collaborative, multidisciplinary research opportunities within the U.S. research community and with international partners. Important OCB-related activities currently include: the Ocean Carbon and Climate Change (OCCC) and the North American Carbon Program (NACP); U.S. contributions to IMBER, SOLAS, CARBOOCEAN; and numerous U.S. single-investigator and medium-size research projects funded by U.S. federal agencies including NASA, NOAA, and NSF.

The scientific mission of OCB is to study the evolving role of the ocean in the global carbon cycle, in the face of environmental variability and change through studies of marine biogeochemical cycles and associated ecosystems.

The overarching OCB science themes include improved understanding and prediction of: 1) oceanic uptake and release of atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases and 2) environmental sensitivities of biogeochemical cycles, marine ecosystems, and interactions between the two.

The OCB Research Priorities (updated January 2012) include: ocean acidification; terrestrial/coastal carbon fluxes and exchanges; climate sensitivities of and change in ecosystem structure and associated impacts on biogeochemical cycles; mesopelagic ecological and biogeochemical interactions; benthic-pelagic feedbacks on biogeochemical cycles; ocean carbon uptake and storage; and expanding low-oxygen conditions in the coastal and open oceans.

NSF Climate Research Investment (CRI) activities that were initiated in 2010 are now included under Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability NSF-Wide Investment (SEES). SEES is a portfolio of activities that highlights NSF's unique role in helping society address the challenge(s) of achieving sustainability. Detailed information about the SEES program is available from NSF (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504707).

In recognition of the need for basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future, the goal of the SEES: OA program is to understand (a) the chemistry and physical chemistry of ocean acidification; (b) how ocean acidification interacts with processes at the organismal level; and (c) how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean.

Solicitations issued under this program:
NSF 10-530, FY 2010-FY2011
NSF 12-500, FY 2012
NSF 12-600, FY 2013
NSF 13-586, FY 2014
NSF 13-586 was the final solicitation that will be released for this program.

PI Meetings:
1st U.S. Ocean Acidification PI Meeting(March 22-24, 2011, Woods Hole, MA)
2nd U.S. Ocean Acidification PI Meeting(Sept. 18-20, 2013, Washington, DC)
3rd U.S. Ocean Acidification PI Meeting (June 9-11, 2015, Woods Hole, MA – Tentative)

NSF media releases for the Ocean Acidification Program:

Press Release 10-186 NSF Awards Grants to Study Effects of Ocean Acidification

Discovery Blue Mussels "Hang On" Along Rocky Shores: For How Long?

Discovery nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) Discoveries - Trouble in Paradise: Ocean Acidification This Way Comes - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 12-179 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Ocean Acidification: Finding New Answers Through National Science Foundation Research Grants - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 13-102 World Oceans Month Brings Mixed News for Oysters

Press Release 13-108 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Natural Underwater Springs Show How Coral Reefs Respond to Ocean Acidification - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 13-148 Ocean acidification: Making new discoveries through National Science Foundation research grants

Press Release 13-148 - Video nsf.gov - News - Video - NSF Ocean Sciences Division Director David Conover answers questions about ocean acidification. - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 14-010 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Palau's coral reefs surprisingly resistant to ocean acidification - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 14-116 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Ocean Acidification: NSF awards $11.4 million in new grants to study effects on marine ecosystems - US National Science Foundation (NSF)