Table of Contents

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

Primary particle flux data (500, 1500 and 3200m depths) of the OFP sediment trap time-series in the northern Sargasso Sea.

Access restrictions: Note that though these data are freely accessible, the PI requests that users contact PI regarding usage so the OFP can keep an accurate record of how OFP data has been used to discuss possible synergies/overlaps among other data users and also to ensure any questions about details of sampling, data quality, etc. are clear. Proper acknowledgement of the OFP time series is requested. See the "OFP Agreement" file (PDF) for Fair Use Policy.

Sampling and analytical methodology are described in detail in the "2019_OFP_methodologies" Supplemental File. Please note that samples collected pre-2000 that have isotopic data were analyzed using mass spectrometry.

Conte et al. (2001) provides a description of methods employed prior to 2001.

Processing information is described in detail in the "2019_OFP_methodologies" document (see Supplemental Files).

BCO-DMO Processing
Version 1 (date 2017-06-13):
- modified parameter names: replaced % with "pcnt", > with "gt", < with "lt", and hyphens with underscores;
- replaced missing data with "nd" (no data);
- replaced commas with semi-colons in the comments.

Version 2 (date 2019-12-13):
- updated dataset with version submitted to BCO-DMO on 2019-11-22; same processing steps as above.

Version 3 (date 2022-10-24):
- updated dataset with version submitted to BCO-DMO on 2022-08-30 and 2022-10-21; processing steps:
- Concatenated 3 data sheets (one per depth) into a single dataset;
- Added the "depth" column;
- Added Start_Date column (using the separate year, month, day fields as input);
- Sorted by Depth, then Start_Date, then SeqDay;
- Replaced commas w/ semi-colons in comments column.

NSF Award Abstract:
This award continues, for another three years, the Ocean Flux Program (OFP) that has been in continuous operation near Bermuda since 1978. The OFP time-series of particle fluxes in the deep Sargasso Sea has produced a unique record of the "biological pump," a term used to describe the sinking of biological material from the surface to the deep ocean. The OFP provided the first direct evidence for seasonal changes in the deep ocean and tight links between deep ocean and upper ocean processes. The OFP provides clear evidence for the intensity of biological activity throughout the ocean's interior and the roles of key processes in biogeochemical and elemental cycling. The time-series is becoming long enough to study flux variability in terms of ocean basin-scale forcing, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation. The OFP sample archives are an unparalleled resource for study of temporal trends and the biogeochemical consequences of changing ocean chemistry. Education provided by the OFP broadens the experiences and science directions of many students (high school to PhD levels) and early investigators at critical career junctures.

The OFP time-series is the longest of its kind and unique in its focus on the deep ocean. As the record lengthens, investigators are better able to put into perspective the observed flux patterns in terms of the interplay between climate and ocean functioning. Colocation of complementary time-series -- Hydrostation S, the Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series (BATS), the Bermuda Testbed Mooring (BTM, 1994-2007), the Tudor Hill atmospheric tower and other sampling conducted near the Bermuda Time-Series Site -- and continuing advances in instrumentation on the OFP mooring present unparalleled opportunities to study coupling among ocean physics, biology and chemistry and material fluxes, and flux linkages with atmospheric and climatic forcing. As ever more sophisticated analytical tools are used to probe the recovered flux materials, new data continue to reveal novel information about ocean processes.

(Adapted from the NSF Project Summary)

Since 1978, the Oceanic Flux Program (OFP), originally founded and managed by at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and now managed by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science (BIOS), has continuously measured particle fluxes in the deep Sargasso Sea. The 35+ year OFP time-series is, by far, the longest of its kind and unique in its focus on the deep ocean. OFP has produced a unique, albeit "edited", record of temporal variability in the "biological pump", a term loosely applied here to material transfer from the surface to the deep ocean. The OFP provided the first direct evidence for seasonality in the deep ocean and the tight coupling between deep fluxes and upper ocean processes. It has provided clear evidence of the intensity of biological reprocessing of flux and scavenging of suspended material in mesopelagic waters. The record has documented interannual and longer variations in deep fluxes and shorter term fluctuations driven by the interactions between mesoscale physical variability, meteorological forcing and ecosystem responses.