Dataset: PRISM Video Plankton Recorder raw data

Name: VPR data from RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer NBP1201 in the Ross Sea from Dec. 2011 - Feb. 2012 (PRISM-RS project)
Published: 2015-10-09
Keywords: biota, oceans

Cite This Dataset

Project:

Processes Regulating Iron Supply at the Mesoscale - Ross Sea (PRISM-RS)

Program:

Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB)

Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research -US (IMBER-US)

Principal Investigator:

Dennis J. McGillicuddy (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI)

Co-Principal Investigator:

Thomas Bibby (University of Southampton)

Blair Greenan (Bedford Institute of Oceanography, BIO)

Eileen E. Hofmann (Old Dominion University, ODU)

John M. Klinck (Old Dominion University, ODU)

Peter N. Sedwick (Old Dominion University, ODU)

Walker O. Smith (Virginia Institute of Marine Science, VIMS)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Nancy Copley (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Version:

Version Date:

2015-10-09

Restricted:

Validated:

Yes

Current State:

Final no updates expected

VPR data from RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer NBP1201 in the Ross Sea from Dec. 2011 - Feb. 2012 (PRISM-RS project)

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Description

The raw VPR data file collection organized by cruise. You may access the files at: http://science.whoi.edu/users/mcgillic2/nbp1201_vpr/. The /rois directory is set up with a subdirectory for each cast, subdirectories for year-days and further subdirectories for hours.

Tip: To work with the raw files files, make a separate subdirectory for the cruise and download the files to that cruise subdirectory. It will require about 1.5 TB of disk space, and you should have a collection of subdirectories similar to those at http://science.whoi.edu/users/mcgillic2/nbp1201_vpr/.

Contact:

Anyone trying to use these raw VPR files is encouraged to contact either Dennis McGillicuddy with any questions.

Dennis McGillicuddy
Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
MS #11, Bigelow 209A
Woods Hole, Ma. 02543

mcgillic@whoi.edu
Office Phone: +1 508 289 2683
http://www.whoi.edu/profile.do?id=dmcgillicuddy

Methods & Sampling

Each VPR tow (vpr1, vpr2, vpr3, etc.) has subdirectories called d### (day), then h## (hour), then the roi tifs collected during that hour and the ctd.dat file of corresponding physical data.

Data Processing Description

The images (.TIFF files) were extracted from video using Matlab-based software. The data are raw; no processing has been applied.

Data Files

File
vpr_NBP1201.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 118 bytes) MD5:52db1b31db9024ca3319005c992b134b Primary data file for dataset ID 542461

More Information about this dataset

Funding Sources

Funding Source	Award Number
NSF Antarctic Sciences	ANT-0944165

Deployments

Deployment	Synonyms	Start Date	Platform	Investigator
NBP1201		2011-12-24	RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer	Dennis J. McGillicuddy (Chief Scientist)	data info

Instruments

Video Plankton Recorder

Supplied Name: VPR

Supplied Description:

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Video Plankton Recorder

Acronym: VPR

Generic Description:

The Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) is a video-microscope system used for imaging plankton and other particulate matter in the size range from a few micrometers to several centimeters. The VPR is essentially an underwater microscope. It consists of four video cameras (with magnifying optics) synchronized at 60 fields per second (fps) to a red-filtered 80 W xenon strobe (pulse duration = 1 microsecond). The current lens on each camera can be adjusted to provide a field of view between 5 mm and 10 cm. Use of higher magnification lenses is currently being explored for viewing protozoans (less than 1 micrometer resolution). The four cameras are set for concentric viewing fields so that a range of up to four magnifications can be viewed simultaneously, allowing a wide size range of plankton to be sampled. Depth of field is adjusted by the lens aperture setting, and the volume sampled in each video field ranges from about 1 ml to 1 liter, depending on lens settings. The cameras have been configured for stereoscopic viewing as well.A strobe on the other arm illuminates the imaged volume and flashes 60 times per second, producing 60 images per second of the particles and plankton in the water. The images are then saved internally on a computer hard disk and later plotted.

Deployment: Most commonly, the VPR is mounted in a frame and lowered into the water from the stern of the ship. Sometimes, a CTD also is mounted next to the VPR to collect depth, temperature, and salinity information at the same time as each video image. The instrument is lowered down through the water to a maximum depth of 350 meters to generate a profile of plankton/particle abundance and taxon group along with temperature and salinity. In addition to the towed configuration for mapping plankton distributions, it is possible to deploy the VPR in a fixed position (on a mooring) for viewing plankton swimming behaviors in two or three dimensions. The VPR instrument system has been used in both configurations, and deployment on ROVs has been proposed.

This definition was taken from the WHOI Ocean Instruments Web site and from a US GLOBEC Newsletter.

Parameters

Date and time formats are described in python strftime() syntax.

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
description	description of the data available for download.	unitless	brief_desc
data_link	link to external data location (FTP)	unitless	external_link

Status message

Database

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Dataset: PRISM Video Plankton Recorder raw data