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A Window to a Coastal California Ecosystem: The Example of the
Spring 1995 CoOP Field Program
F. Chavez, G. Friederich, H. Jannisch, R. Michisaki, T. O'Reilly, J.T. Pennington,
T. Anderson
 Considerable effort has been directed toward development of the MBARI Ocean Observing
System (MOOS), consisting of a variety of sensors and platforms deployed in Monterey Bay,
communication links, and data management facilities.
Sensors include automated, rugged pCO2 measurement apparatus and osmotically pumped
chemical analyzers developed at MBARI.
Platforms include drifters, moorings, ships, and satellites.
Telemetry infrastructure includes microwave and packet radio links to provide ocean
data in near-realtime.
MOOS was recently utilized as part of the CoOP
Coastal Air-Sea Chemical Fluxes Project Spring 1995 Field Program. Objectives of MBARI
investigators include:
- Determine role of biology in exchange of CO2 between ocean and atmosphere in a coastal
upwelling environment
- Measure distribution of CO2, nitrate, oxygen, and silicate as well as horizontal
currents, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, irradiance, and primary production over
various spatial and temporal scales.
Platforms
The following tables summarize measurements made by us during the CoOP Spring '95 Field
Program.
The table below summarizes the measurements made from RV Point Sur:
| Sampling method |
Properties |
Frequency |
| CTD casts |
temperature, conductivity, pressure, fluorescence, beam-c, irradiance |
114 casts, 24 Hz during cast |
| Bottle samples |
nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate, oxygen, pCO2, total CO2, N2O, chlorophyll,
primary production, particulate absorption, alpha, Pmax, bacteria, pico-,
nano-,
micro-plankton |
3200 samples |
| Underway mapping |
location, temperature, conductivity, nitrate, silicate, fluorescence, absorption,
beam-c, irradiance |
every 30 seconds |
| pCO2 |
every minute |
| total CO2 |
every 3 minutes |
| ADCP |
Current velocity |
every 3 minutes |
The table below summarizes measurements made by unmanned platforms:
| Platform |
Properties |
Frequency |
| MBARI Drifter #4 |
location,
temperature, salinity |
every 15 minutes |
| NO3, backscatter, fluorescence |
every 5 minutes |
| MBARI moorings M1 and M2 |
location, wind, air temperature, relative humidity, temperature at 11 depths, beam-c,
fluorescence, irradiance/radiance, NO3, pCO2 |
every 10 minutes |
| NOAA buoys |
sea surface temperature, wind |
every hour |
| AVHRR (NOAA polar-orbiting satellites) |
sea surface temperature, albedo |
3-4 times daily |
Results
MBARI provides these data "as is", with no warranty, express or implied, of the data quality or consistency. Data are provided without support and without obligation on the part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to assist in its use, correction, modification, or enhancement.
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