Salinity, temperature, and other data collected aboard NOAA Ship FERREL and other platforms from 1996-01-30 to 1999-01-26 (NCEI Accession 9900157)

This dataset is a collection of cruise data collected by the Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) Program at the NOAA Coastal Services Center (CSC). The data include CTD profiles, light attenuation profiles, water quality, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), meteorological, chlorophyll a, nutrients, and other data. Cruise reports for some of the cruises are also included. The data was collected on the following cruises:

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise APR96BF: R/V BlueFin Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASDA OCTSP satellite and the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). Estimating chlorophyll biomass in coastal waters is especially difficult since there are other substances in the water such as colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and suspended sediments that interfere with the optical signature of chlorophyll. River runoff in the Spring along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts introduces a lot of CDOM onto the Continental shelf. We undertook a transect out of Savannah, Georgia and across the continental shelf measuring the in situ light field (downwelling irradiance, upwelling radiance, and irradiance). In addition we measured chlorophyll a, total suspended solids (TSS), and CDOM concentrations. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time, in this case, the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise APR96FER: Gray's Reef Cruise: The Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) is one of the most popular recreational fishing and diving areas off the Georgia coast. Thus, primary production - the production rate of phytoplankton, the bottom of the food chain - and the water quality of this region are of great interest to sanctuary managers. These parameters impact fish populations and recreational diving. Ocean color satellites provide daily synoptic data of the region and could be a useful tool to sanctuary managers. However, for this tool to be truly useful, algorithms that relate satellite data to chlorophyll biomass, primary production, and water column visibility need to be developed and validated. Measurements of surface chlorophyll pigment biomass, particulate absorption, dissolved organic material absorption, and spectral fluorescence were made during a cruise from April 22 to 25, 1996 in the vicinity of GRNMS. Water column profiles of temperature, conductivity, salinity, chlorophyll fluorescence, scattering, beam transmittance, upwelling radiance, and downwelling irradiance were made at 16 stations.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise APR98SAB: South Atlantic Bight Cruise: The algorithms for the calculation of chlorophyll a concentrations in the coastal waters of the U.S. need to be verified for the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) on board the SeaStar spacecraft. This requires precise optical measurements below the sea surface in coastal waters from which remote sensing reflectance, downwelling irradiance and upwelling radiance can be calculated. Scientists from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center at NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service undertook twenty-five-day cruise from Beaufort, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida, the South-Atlantic Bight. A total of 30 stations were occupied between April 3, 1998 and April 27, 1998. In-situ measurements of temperature, spectral downwelling irradiance, and spectral upwelling radiance were made along with above surface spectral downwelling irradiance. Surface chlorophyll a concentration, phytoplankton pigment, and total suspended sediments were also measured.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise AUG96GL: Lake Erie Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved in efforts to evaluate and validate ocean color satellite algorithms for the US Coast and the Great Lakes. CRS is particularly interested in evaluating algorithms for the Japanese Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor (OCTS) on board the ADEOS satellite and NASA's SeaWiFS sensor on board the SenStar satellite. The CRS team worked in partnership with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the Ohio State University to investigate the applicability of the SeaWiFS OC2 algorithm to the Great Lakes. The cruise was timed to coincide with blooms of the Cyanophyte Microcystis to develop algorithms for the speicific identification of this organism.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise AUG97PAM: Pamlico Sound Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise FEB96LIT: Georgia Coast Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS CalCOFI Cruise JAN96CAL: Southern California Bight Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team worked with the SCRIPPS Institute of Oceanography and the CalCOFI team who provided complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise JAN99FLA: Florida Red Tide Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise JUL98NAN: Nantucket Shoals Cruise: Satellite ocean color imagery from the OCTS and SeaWiFS sensors show extremely high chlorophyll concentrations within Massachusetts Bay, and relatively high chlorophyll concentrations over Nantucket Shoals. It is uncertain how much of this chlorophyll signal detected by the satellite sensors was actually due to phytoplankton biomass and how much was due to other substances in the water such as colored dissolved organic matter and suspended sediments. We need to know the validity of the satellite data in these regions so we can better understand the true productivity of the Nantucket Shoals region and the impact of the highly urbanized coast around Boston on the water quality in Massachusetts Bay. The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color satellite sensor. This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The JUL98NAN cruise was a cooperative effort of NOAA/CSC/CRS, the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the SeaWiFS Project Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Seventeen stations were occupied over five days in Massachusetts Bay, Buzzard's Bay, Nantucket Sound, and Nantucket Shoals. The OC2 algorithm (O'Reilley et al. 1998) consistently overestimates the chlorophyll concentration in Massachusetts Bay by at least a factor of 3, while it appears to be reasonably accurate in the Nantucket Shoals region. There is no relationship between the chlorophyll concentration and the extent of overestimation unlike in the South Atlantic Bight.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise JUN97ME: Gulf of Maine Cruise: Complete optical closure for irradiance attenuation and reflectance of the ocean requires measurements of both the inherent and apparent optical properties. In the last few years, new instrumentation has become available to measure the spectral backscattering coefficient. A suite of optical, physical, and biological data was collected to address issues of optical closure and to serve as ground-truth data for the OCTS ocean color sensor. The measurements included spectral irradiance, radiance, beam attenuation, absorption, and backscattering coefficients in the Gulf of Maine. In this paper we show preliminary results examining and comparing the optical data. Spectrophotometer measurements of spectral absorption are compared to in-situ measurements. The wavelength dependency of the in-situ measured backscattering coefficient is examined as a function of depth and compared with a modelled spectral shape. Apparent optical properties measured by a radiometer are compared with the absorption and scattering coefficients as a function of depth for one station.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise MAR96OMP: Mid Atlantic Bight Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise MAR97GB: Georgia Bight Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise MAR97OCC: OCTS Calibration Cruise: The calibration of the Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor (OCTS) on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) needs to be verified. This requires precise measurements of radiance just below the sea surface in reasonably clear waters from which water leaving radiance can be calculated. Scientists from the Coastal Remote Sensing Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center at NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service undertook a cruise out of Beaufort, North Carolina. One station, located at 34° 25.98'N, 76° 39.14'W, was occupied at 11:05 a.m., March 13, 1997, contemporaneous with an ADEOS overpass. In-situ measurements of temperature, spectral downwelling irradiance, and spectral upwelling radiance to a depth of 15 meters were made along with above surface spectral downwelling irradiance. Surface chlorophyll concentration was also measured.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise MAY96ME: Gulf of Maine Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise MAY96NY: New York Bight Apex Cruise: The Hudson River is a major source of freshwater to the coastal ocean of the northeastern United States. It flows through the New York metropolitan area, one of the most populated regions in the country. The average freshwater discharge at the Battery for the Hudson River in 1991 was 27,000 cubic feet per second, of which 5,300 cubic feet per second was municipal waste water. Thus, water quality in the New York Harbor and in the bight apex are of concern to coastal resource managers. Ocean color satellites provide daily synoptic data of the region and could be of significant value to both scientists and resource managers. In order to be able to use satellite ocean color data in these urban estuaries, robust algorithms that work in case II waters are required. To construct such algorithms, there is a need to understand the spatial and temporal variability in the optical properties of the local waters. Measurements of surface spectral absorption, attenuation, chlorophyll pigment biomass, particulate absorption, and dissolved organic material absorption were made during a cruise on May 14 and 15, 1996, in the New York Bight Apex. Water column profiles of temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, scattering, beam transmittance, upwelling radiance, and downwelling irradiance were made at 10 stations around the Ambrose Light Tower and across the Hudson River plume. The measurements revealed that coastal waters influenced by rivers have complex optical properties. The Hudson River plume could be identified by higher attenuation and absorption of light. The plume could be seen in reflectance difference images constructed using bands 1 and 2 of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer.

NOAA NMFS Cruise MAY97OB: Onslow Bay and Pamlico Sound Cruise: The algorithms for the calculation of chlorophyll a concentrations in the coastal waters of the U.S. need to be verified for the Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor (OCTS) on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS). This requires precise optical measurements below the sea surface in coastal waters from which remote sensing reflectance, downwelling irradiance and upwelling radiance can be calculated. Scientists from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center at NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service undertook two one-day cruises out of Beaufort, North Carolina. Five stations were occupied on May 5, 1997 in Onslow Bay and four stations were occupied on May 8, 1997 in Pamlico Sound respectively. In-situ measurements of temperature, spectral downwelling irradiance, and spectral upwelling radiance were made along with above surface spectral downwelling irradiance. Surface chlorophyll a concentration, phytoplankton pigment, and total suspended sediments were also measured.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise NOV97SAR: Sargasso Sea Cruise: The South Atlantic Bight consists of a variety of environments including near-coastal and continental shelf regimes, the Gulf Stream, and the Sargasso Sea. The variability in the biological and optical characteristics of these regimes complicates any temporal or spatial analyses of changes in, for example, phytoplankton species composition, primary production rates, colored dissolved organic matter concentration, suspended sediments, or temperature. Measurements of surface chlorophyll fluorescence, temperature, and salinity were made during a cruise on November 3 - 5, 1997. Water column profiles of temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, scattering, beam transmittance, upwelling radiance, and downwelling irradiance were made at 8 stations on a transect from Charleston, SC, southeast across the Gulf Stream, into the Sargasso Sea. The measurements were compared with ocean color imagery from the Sea Wide Field of view Sensor (SeaWiFS) to provide a means to extrapolate point measurements to a large horizontal scale. A smooth transition from low temperature waters with high pigment concentrations and attenuation coefficients, that are typical of nearshore environments, to the higher temperature waters with low pigment concentrations and attenuation coefficients, that are typical of offshore environments, was disrupted by a warm Gulf Stream eddy that was present on the continental shelf. The eddy was characterized by high pigment concentrations and a more diverse phytoplankton community than the other environments sampled. The regimes were evident in satellite imagery.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise NOV98SAB: South Atlantic Bight Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise SEP96COP: Coastal Ocean Program Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The development and validation of satellite algorithms requires ground truthing to ensure accuracy. For some satellite products, such as the sea surface temperature (SST), the ground truthing may be conducted using instruments affixed to oceanographic buoys. For other potential products, buoys may not be suitable for ground truthing, either because there are no available instruments to place on a buoy that will return adequate ground truth information (for example, for primary productivity) or because costs would be prohibitive. For optically derived products, such as turbidity or chlorophyll concentration, bio-fouling problems would require an expensive maintenance program. For these reasons, a ship-based program is often the most sensible method to develop new satellite based ocean products. In addition to information provided by CSC's instruments, the CRS team often works with other partners who provide complementary data and ship time.

NOAA CSC/CRS Cruise SEP97SAB: South Atlantic Bight Cruise: The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). This program is funded in part through a NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract awarded to CRS and the Ocean Color Program at the NOAA NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. The verification of the algorithms for the calculation of chlorophyll a concentrations in the coastal waters of the U.S. requires precise optical measurements below the sea surface in coastal waters from which remote sensing reflectance, downwelling irradiance and upwelling radiance can be calculated. Scientists from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center at NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service undertook nineteen day cruise in the South-Atlantic Bight from Beaufort, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. In-situ measurements of temperature, spectral downwelling irradiance, and spectral upwelling radiance were made along with above surface spectral downwelling irradiance. Surface chlorophyll a concentration, phytoplankton pigment, and total suspended sediments were also measured.