Carbon dioxide, hydrographic, and chemical data obtained during the R/V Meteor Cruise 18/1 in the North Atlantic Ocean (WOCE Section A1E, September 1991)

Abstract

The North Atlantic Ocean is characterized by an intense meridional circulation cell carrying near-surface waters of tropical and subtropical origin northward and deep waters of arctic and subarctic origin southward. The related {open_quotes}overturning{close_quotes} is driven by the sinking of water masses at high latitudes. The overturning rate and thus the intensity of the meridional transports of mass, heat, and salt, is an important control parameter for the modeling of the ocean`s role in climate. The Research Vessel (R/V) Meteor Cruise 18/1 was one in a series of cruises in the North Atlantic that started in March 1991 and continued until 1995. This data documentation discusses the procedures and methods used to measure total carbon dioxide (TCO{sub 2}) and total alkalinity (TALK) at hydrographic stations, as well as underway partial pressure of CO{sub 2} (pCO{sub 2}) measured during the RIV Meteor Cruise 18/1 in the North Atlantic Ocean (Section A1E). Conducted as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and the German North Atlantic Overturning Rate Determination expedition, the cruise began in Reykjavik, Iceland, on September 2, 1991, and ended after 24 days at sea in Hamburg, Germany, on September 25, 1991. WOCE Zonal Section AlE began at 60{degrees}N and 42{degrees}30{prime} W (southeast of Greenland) and continued southeast with a closely spaced series of hydrocasts to 52{degrees}20{prime} N and 14{degrees}15{prime} W (Porcupine Shelves). Measurements made along WOCE Section AlE included pressure, temperature, salinity, and oxygen measured by a conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) sensor; bottle salinity; oxygen; phosphate; nitrate; nitrite; silicate; TCO{sub 2}; TALK; and underway pCO{sub 2}. A total of 61 CTD casts were made, including 59 bottle casts and 2 calibration stations.