Optical Plankton Counter data, MOCNESS Tows from RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer cruises: NBP-96-4, NBP-96-4A, NBP-97-1, NBP-97-3 in the Southern Ocean in 1997 (U.S. JGOFS AESOPS project)

Website: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/2725
Version: February 27, 1999
Version Date: 1999-02-27

Project
» U.S. JGOFS Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Process Study (AESOPS)

Program
» U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (U.S. JGOFS)
ContributorsAffiliationRole
Huntley, MarkUniversity of California-San Diego (UCSD-SIO)Principal Investigator
Zhou, MengUniversity of Massachusetts Boston (UMB-SMS)Co-Principal Investigator
Chandler, Cynthia L.Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)BCO-DMO Data Manager


Dataset Description

Optical Plankton Counter data - MOCNESS Tows


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Parameters

ParameterDescriptionUnits
event

event number from event log

sta

station number from event log

depth_r

depth range sampled
lt_150 = zero to 150 meters gt_150 = greater than 150 meters

vol_filt

water volume filtered

m^3
counts_tot

total counts

opc_class

class number

opc_wt_mid

middle value of each weight class

ugC
opc_wt_biomass

normalized biomass spectra - weight classes

1/m^3
opc_wt_abund

normalized abundance spectra - weight classes

1/ugC*m^3
opc_size_mid

middle value of each ESD size class

mm
opc_size_abund

normalized abundance spectra - ESD size classes

1/mm*m^3
opc_size_biovol

normalized bio-volume spectra - ESD size classes

mm^3/mm*m^3
opc_vol_mid

middle value of each volume class

mm^3
opc_vol_biovol

normalized bio-volume spectra - volume classes

1/m^3


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Instruments

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
MOCNESS
Generic Instrument Name
MOCNESS
Dataset-specific Description
MOCNESS (Multiple Opening and Closing Nets Envionment Sampling System)
Generic Instrument Description
The Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System or MOCNESS is a family of net systems based on the Tucker Trawl principle. There are currently 8 different sizes of MOCNESS in existence which are designed for capture of different size ranges of zooplankton and micro-nekton Each system is designated according to the size of the net mouth opening and in two cases, the number of nets it carries. The original MOCNESS (Wiebe et al, 1976) was a redesigned and improved version of a system described by Frost and McCrone (1974).(from MOCNESS manual) This designation is used when the specific type of MOCNESS (number and size of nets) was not specified by the contributing investigator.

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
Optical Plankton Counter
Generic Instrument Name
Optical Plankton Counter
Generic Instrument Description
An OPC provides quantitative measurements of abundance and sizes of mesozooplankton ranging between approximately 0.25 and 14 mm in Equivalent Spherical Diameter (ESD), and has the capability to integrate measurements from other sensors such as a CTD, fluorometer and Global Positioning System (GPS). It can be deployed on a variety of instruments such as SeaSoar, Aries, Scanfish, MOCNESS, a bongo net or simple towing frame. The data from an OPC are typically transmitted to a data acquisition computer through two conducting wires in a towing cable at real time, but it can also be modified to have an internal memory. Large amounts of data are produced. The procedures employed by OPC users vary from; i) estimating integrated biomass by integrating the OPC size distributions, ii) comparing size distributions between OPC and net samples, and iii) simply isolating a size region in the OPC size distribution which correspond solely to specific taxa, eg. Calanus spp.. from: Zhou, M., Tande, K., 2002. Optical Plankton Counter Workshop. GLOBEC Report 17, University of Tromso, Tromso


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Deployments

NBP-96-4

Website
Platform
RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer
Report
Start Date
1996-08-30
End Date
1996-09-24
Description
Site Survey Cruise

Methods & Sampling
PI: Mark Huntley and Meng Zhou of: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Huntley) and University of Minnesota, Duluth (Zhou) dataset: Optical Plankton Counter data - MOCNESS Tows dates: September 08, 1996 to September 17, 1996 location: N: -56.9167 S: -61.9572 W: -170.1833 E: -169.9667 project/cruise: AESOPS/NBP-96-4 - Site Survey Cruise ship: R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer Sampling Methodology Note 1: The class will not show up if nothing were counted within that class. Note 2: OPC data is reported on a Log10 basis.

NBP-96-04A

Website
Platform
RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer
Report
Start Date
1996-10-02
End Date
1996-11-08
Description
Ross Sea Process Study 1

Methods & Sampling
PI: Mark Huntley and Meng Zhou of: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Huntley) and University of Minnesota, Duluth (Zhou) dataset: Optical Plankton Counter data - MOCNESS Tows dates: October 18, 1996 to November 05, 1996 location: N: -76.3635 S: -77.9553 W: 171.9613 E: -175.7857 project/cruise: AESOPS/NBP-96-4A - Ross Sea Process 1 Cruise ship: R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer Sampling Methodology Note 1: The class will not show up if nothing were counted within that class. Note 2: OPC data is reported on a Log10 basis.

NBP-97-01

Website
Platform
RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer
Report
Start Date
1997-01-13
End Date
1997-02-11
Description
Ross Sea Process Study 2

Methods & Sampling
PI: Mark Huntley and Meng Zhou of: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Huntley) and University of Minnesota, Duluth (Zhou) dataset: Optical Plankton Counter data - MOCNESS Tows dates: January 14, 1997 to February 09, 1997 location: N: -74.0265 S: -78.0207 W: 163.4075 E: -176.0478 project/cruise: AESOPS/NBP-97-1 - Ross Sea Process 2 Cruise ship: R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer Sampling Methodology Note 1: The class will not show up if nothing were counted within that class. Note 2: OPC data is reported on a Log10 basis.

NBP-97-03

Website
Platform
RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer
Report
Start Date
1997-04-04
End Date
1997-05-11
Description
Ross Sea Process Study 3

Methods & Sampling
PI: Mark Huntley and Meng Zhou of: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Huntley) and University of Minnesota, Duluth (Zhou) dataset: Optical Plankton Counter data - MOCNESS Tows dates: April 14, 1997 to April 29, 1997 location: N: -73.999 S: -77.9385 W: 168.9599 E: -176.1732 project/cruise: AESOPS/NBP-97-3 - Ross Sea Process 3 Cruise ship: R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer Sampling Methodology Note 1: The class will not show up if nothing were counted within that class. Note 2: OPC data is reported on a Log10 basis.


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Project Information

U.S. JGOFS Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Process Study (AESOPS)


Coverage: Southern Ocean, Ross Sea


The U.S. Southern Ocean JGOFS program, called Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Process Study (AESOPS), began in August 1996 and continued through March 1998. The U.S. JGOFS AESOPS program focused on two regions in the Southern Ocean: an east/west section of the Ross-Sea continental shelf along 76.5°S, and a second north/south section of the Southern Ocean spanning the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) at ~170°W (identified as the Polar Front). The science program, coordinated by Antarctic Support Associates (ASA), comprised eleven cruises using the R.V.I.B Nathaniel B. Palmer and R/V Roger Revelle as observational platforms and for deployment and recovery of instrumented moorings and sediment-trap arrays. The Ross-Sea region was occupied on six occasions and the Polar Front five times. Mapping data were obtained from SeaSoar, ADCP, and bathymetric systems. Satellite coverage was provided by the NASA SeaWiFS and the NOAA/NASA Pathfinder programs.



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Program Information

U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (U.S. JGOFS)


Coverage: Global


The United States Joint Global Ocean Flux Study was a national component of international JGOFS and an integral part of global climate change research.

The U.S. launched the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) in the late 1980s to study the ocean carbon cycle. An ambitious goal was set to understand the controls on the concentrations and fluxes of carbon and associated nutrients in the ocean. A new field of ocean biogeochemistry emerged with an emphasis on quality measurements of carbon system parameters and interdisciplinary field studies of the biological, chemical and physical process which control the ocean carbon cycle. As we studied ocean biogeochemistry, we learned that our simple views of carbon uptake and transport were severely limited, and a new "wave" of ocean science was born. U.S. JGOFS has been supported primarily by the U.S. National Science Foundation in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research. U.S. JGOFS, ended in 2005 with the conclusion of the Synthesis and Modeling Project (SMP).



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