The cross-disciplinary themes will result in a diverse data catalogue. The ship collected data will be in the form of sea surface meteorology (2-D wind speed and direction, total irradiance, Photosynthetically Active Radiation/PAR, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity); atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2); biological, chemical and physical properties and processes in the marine photic zone (carbonate chemistry - pCO2, total alkalinity, pH, DIC; dissolved gases - oxygen; nutrient concentrations, ammonium regeneration, nitrification, nitrogen fixation, zooplankon ecology, chlorophyll concentration, photosynthetic pigment composition, bacterial production, phytoplankton and bacterial speciation, concentrations of biogenic trace compounds such as dimethyl sulphide/DMS and dimthylsulphoniopropionate/DMSP, salinity, temperature, zooplankon ecology) and bioassays of these same parameters under different future IPCC CO2 and temperature scenarios. The long-term (18 month) laboratory based mesocosm experiments will include data on individual organism response (growth, immune response, reproductive fitness) under different future IPCC CO2 and temperature scenarios in rocky intertidal, soft sediment and calcareous biogenic habitats, as well as the effects on commercially important species of fish and shellfish. The analysis of sediment cores will provide greater resolution of the paleo record during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Data will be used to aid the parameterisation of coastal and continental shelf seas (Northern Europe and the Arctic) model runs as well as larger scale global models. The shipboard fieldwork will take place around the UK, in the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. The mesocosms will look at temperate marine species common to UK shelf seas. Sediment cores have been collected from Tanzania. The models will look from the coastal seas of Northern Europe to the whole globe. Data to be generated will include data collected at sea, short-term (2-3 day) ship-board bioassays, from long-term (18 month) laboratory based mesocosm experiments and reconstructed paleo records from sediment cores. The 5 year UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme is the UK’s response to growing concerns over ocean acidification. Aims: 1 - to reduce uncertainties in predictions of carbonate chemistry changes and their effects on marine biogeochemistry, ecosystems and other components of the Earth System; 2 - to understand the responses to ocean acidification, and other climate change related stressors, by marine organisms, biodiversity and ecosystems and to improve understanding of their resistance or susceptibility to acidification; 3 - to provide data and effective advice to policy makers and managers of marine bioresources on the potential size and timescale of risks, to allow for development of appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies. The study unites over 100 marine scientists from 27 institutions across the UK. It is jointly funded by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The dataset contains a variety of atmospheric measurements including time series of air temperature, wind speed and direction, precipitation, irradiance and humidity. A comprehensive atmospheric sampling programme provided measurements of atmospheric particulates, aerosols and gases, including hydrocarbons, nitrogen, oxygen, ozone and sulphur species, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous and hydrochloric acids. Additional measurements of photolysis rates and ion and radical concentrations were also collected. The data were collected from the vicinity of the north Norfolk coast between 1994 and 1997. The bulk of the data were collected during two field campaigns in the winter (October/November) of 1994 and the summer (May/June) of 1995. During these campaigns data were collected continuously from the University of East Anglia (UEA) Atmospheric Observatory at Weybourne on the north Norfolk coast. The widest range of parameters is available for this station. An instrumented vessel (MV Guardian) was stationed offshore to provide a second sampling site to allow changes in a given air mass to be monitored. The Imperial College London Jetstream Research aircraft made one flight during each campaign to provide a link between the two surface stations and four additional flights in 1996 and 1997. The River-Atmosphere-Coast Study (RACS) was the component of the LOIS programme looking at processes from the river catchment into the coastal sea. Professor John Plane from the Environmental Sciences Department at UEA was the scientific co-ordinator of this sub-project of LOIS. The data are held by BODC as a series of ASCII data files conforming to the NASA AMES 1001 format together with a PDF document that describes the data set.

This dataset consists of measurements of wave height, direction and frequency, bubble size distribution, Autoflux measurements of air-sea fluxes CO2, and WAVEX measurements of directional wave radar. Data were collected onboard the RRS James Clark Ross in the Weddell Sea during cruises in the 2010/2011, 2011/12 and 2012/13 field seasons. Meteorology data were collected using an aspirated psychrometer and temperature and humidity sensors mounted above the bridge of the ship. Wavex and Autoflux systems were run for the duration of each cruise. Bubble size distributions were measured with two acoustic resonators. These cruises formed the field component of NERC Discovery Science project "Waves, Aerosol and Gas Exchange Study (WAGES)”. The data were collected to measure the amount of aerosol at different sizes generated near the surface and transported upwards into the atmosphere, along with the wind speed, wave size and white-capping under a wide range of different conditions. The aim was to improve understanding of aerosol generation and ultimately the way in which clouds are represented within climate models. The Discovery Science project was composed of three Standard Grants. The lead grant, NE/G00353X/1, was held by the University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, with Professor Ian M. Brooks as principal investigator. The funding period for this grant was 01 August 2009 to 31 March 2014. Child grant NE/G003696/1 was held by the National Oceanography Centre, Department of Science and Technology and was led by Professor Meric Srokosz. The funding period for this grant was 01 September 2009 to 31 March 2014. The third grant was held under the title “pCO2 data collection on James Clark Ross in support of Autoflux” at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. It was led by Professor Phillip D. Nightingale and was funded for the period covering 01 April 2010 to 31 March 2013. All data described have been received by BODC from the RRS James Clark Ross and will be processed and made available online in the future. Raw data are available on request.

The CARBON-OPS data set comprises partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and ancilliary parameters, measured aboard selected UK research vessels between 2007 and 2008. The parameter suite includes geographical position; partial pressure and fugacity of CO2; sea surface temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentration; air pressure, temperature and humidity; occasionally the parameter suite also includes fluorescence, transmittance, wind speed and direction. CARBON-OPS, led by Nick Hardman-Mountford at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council under the Knowledge Transfer initiative (2007-2009). The aim of the project was to develop an automated supply chain of ocean surface and atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements from research ships to operational end-users. The data were first provided in near real-time following an initial level of automated quality control and processing. Following a secondary level of manual quality control and processing (delayed mode) the data are integrated into the BODC National Oceanographic Database. Measurements were taken aboard five UK research vessels: RRS Discovery, RRS James Clark Ross; RRS James Cook; RV Plymouth Quest; and RV Prince Madog.

The dataset includes physical and biogeochemical measurements of water properties, meteorological data and biogeochemical measurements of sediment parameters. Temperature, salinity, turbidity, oxygen, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon/total dissolved nitrogen (DOC/TDN), particulate organic carbon/particulate organic nitrogen (POC/PON), contaminants and pH were measured at most of the data collection sites, with additional biogeochemical measurements collected at various locations. Temperature, salinity and nutrients are available for virtually all data collection campaigns. The data were collected in a number of estuaries around the UK between 1993 and 1997. The Humber estuarine data set was collected during a series of 33 campaigns on the EA vessels Sea Vigil and Water Guardian in the Humber, Trent and Ouse systems at approximately monthly intervals between June 1993 and December 1996. The measurements were taken over two or three one-day cruises that covered the estuary from the tidal limits of both Trent and Ouse to Spurn Point. Instrumental and sample data are available from a series of fixed stations that were sampled during every campaign. The Tweed estuarine data set was collected during a series of 13 campaigns using RV Tamaris and a rigid inflatable vessel at approximately monthly intervals between July 1996 and July 1997. Data were collected throughout the tidal reaches of the River Tweed. The dataset forms part of the NERC Land Ocean Interaction Study project. Key investigators for this LOIS sub-project included Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The data are held in the British Oceanographic Data Centre project database.

The dataset comprises a wide range of physical and biogeochemical oceanographic and atmospheric parameters, plus additional biological measurements and observations. Hydrographic parameters include temperature, salinity, current velocities, fluorescence and attenuance, while biogeochemical and biological analyses of water samples provided measurements of dissolved gases, hydrocarbons, sulphur species, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), halocarbons, nutrients, pigments, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Bird identification and cetacean abundance studies were also undertaken, as were tracer release experiments using both inert chemical (sulphur hexafluoride, SF6) and bacterial (Bacillus globigii) tracers. Meteorological data were also collected, including concentrations of various chemicals, supplemented by standard measurements of air temperature, pressure, irradiance, humidity and wind velocities. The data were collected in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea between 1996 and 1998, as follows: Eastern Atlantic off the coast of Ireland (June-July 1996 and May 1997); southern North Sea (October-November 1996); and North Eastern Atlantic between the UK and Iceland (June-July 1998). The data were collected during four cruises (RRS Challenger CH127, CH129, CH133 and RRS Discovery D234) using a variety of equipment, including instrumentation deployed at sampling stations (e.g. conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers) and underway sensors that ran throughout each cruise, yielding continuous measurements of both hydrographic and meteorological parameters. Discrete air and water samplers were also used to measure atmospheric and hydrographic parameters throughout each cruise. The data collection periods were associated with individual ACOSE air-sea exchange experiments: two Eastern Atlantic Experiments (EAE96 and EAE97); ASGAMAGE in the southern North Sea; and the North Atlantic Experiment, NAE. ACSOE was a 5-year UK NERC Thematic Research Programme investigating the chemistry of the lower atmosphere (0 - 12 km) over the oceans. The Marine Aerosol and Gas Exchange (MAGE) study group was the only component of the ACSOE Project that included measurements in the marine environment. ACSOE data management was a shared responsibility between the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) and the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). BODC handled the management of ship data as well as all other data collected in the water column during the ACSOE/MAGE cruises. BODC assisted in the onboard collection and subsequent working up of ship data, and assembled all marine data in BODC's relational database carrying out quality control and data processing as required. ACSOE was led by Prof. Stuart Penkett of the University of East Anglia and cruise principle scientists included representatives of the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and the University of East Anglia.

The data set comprises a diverse collection of physical, chemical and biological measurements, encompassing well over 1000 parameters. There are data from over 1000 conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)/rosette stations, over 440 core profiles, over 180 sediment trap samples, over 140 net hauls and much, much more. The primary study area was a box extending to the base of the slope from Vigo to Cap Finistere. However, data are included from both further offshore (filament tracking) and from the Portuguese Margin. Measurements were taken from November 1996 to October 1999 during 33 cruise legs, involving research vessels from seven nations. Data were collected using a variety of equipment and techniques, including expendable bathythermographs (XBTs), turbulence probes, CTDs and oceanographic undulators with auxiliary sensors. These hydrographic profiles were accompanied by net hauls, plankton recorder deployments, sediment cores and a comprehensive water sampling programmes during which a wide variety of chemical and biological parameters were measured. The station data were supplemented by underway measurements of oceanographic and meteorological properties. Results from production and phosphate uptake experiments are also included in the dataset, as are bathymetric data from multibeam (swath) surveys, coastal upwelling measurements and data from moored instruments and benthic landers. The dataset also includes imagery from satellites, seabed photography and X-ray photographs of core samples. The aim of the project was study biogeochemical processes at the shelf break and to quantify the fluxes of material between the shelf and the open ocean. The project brought together over 100 scientists from 40 research centres and universities throughout Europe. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is assembling the data sets collected during OMEX II into its project database system and the data set is also available on CD-ROM.

The UK Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (UK SOLAS) marine fieldwork data set comprises all data, marine or otherwise, collected during sea-going activities. The fieldwork included eight dedicated research cruises in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, spanning the period 2006-2008. These cross-disciplinary missions resulted in a diverse data catalogue. This includes meteorology (3-D wind speed and direction, total irradiance, Photosynthetically Active Radiation/PAR, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, aerosol optical thickness); atmospheric composition (carbon dioxide concentration, aerosol particle counts and size spectra, chemical analyses of aerosol particle composition, cloud condensation nuclei/CCN, concentrations of pollutants such as black carbon, concentrations of free radical species such as iodine monoxide and nitrate radicals); chemical and energy-fluxes across the air-sea boundary (dust deposition rates, oxygen and nitrogen fluxes, carbon dioxide fluxes, sensible heat fluxes, latent heat fluxes, momentum fluxes); biological, chemical and physical properties and processes in the sea surface micro-layer (chlorophyll concentration, bacterial production, phytoplankton and bacterial speciation, concentrations of biogenic trace compounds such as halocarbons, nitrous oxide, dimethyl sulphide/DMS and alcohols, surfactant concentrations, halogen concentrations such as iodine, iodide and iodate); biological, chemical and photochemical properties and processes in the ocean subsurface (primary productivity, trace gas production, plankton community composition, nutrient concentration, concentrations of trace metals such as iron, aluminium, manganese, magnesium and cobalt, ligand and complex metal chemistry parameters such as heme, dust dissolution, salinity, temperature, amino acids and urea, carbonate system chemistry including alkalinity); and sea-state physics (breaking waves, wave slope, whitecaps, bubble size spectra, aerosol formation, subsurface acoustics). Additionally, time series of air-sea fluxes were measured from the Norwegian weather ship, Polarfront, between 2006 and 2009. UK SOLAS scientists also participated in the Bergen Mesocosm experiment during 2008. This simulated gas exchanges and biological, chemical and photochemical properties and processes in the sea surface micro-layer under controlled conditions. The study united atmospheric and marine scientists from institutions across the UK and international collaborators. The UK SOLAS data set was intended to advance understanding of the mutual interactions between the atmosphere and the oceans, especially the chemical exchanges that affect ocean productivity, atmospheric composition and climate. It was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, as the UK's contribution to the international Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS). The data are held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) and have been incorporated into the National Oceanographic Database (NODB). Data collected from non-ship based activities, for example land-based atmospheric data and data resulting from campaigns using the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) aircraft are held at the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC).

The data set comprises a diverse collection of physical, chemical and biological measurements, encompassing over 1000 parameters. There are data from over 1650 conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)/rosette stations, over 300 core profiles, over 370 sediment trap samples and much, much more. Most of this effort was directed at the region of the east Atlantic margin between La Chapelle Bank and the Goban Spur (between France and Ireland). In addition, there were two secondary areas of interest: the Norwegian Shelf Break just off Tromso and the Iberian Margin, either off Vigo or in the vicinity of the Tagus estuary. Measurements were collected from April 1993 until the end of December 1995 during 55 research cruise legs. Data were collected using a variety of equipment and techniques, including expendable bathythermography (XBTs), CTDs and oceanographic undulators with auxiliary sensors. These hydrographic profiles were accompanied by net hauls, plankton recorder deployments, sediment cores and comprehensive water and air sampling programmes during which a wide variety of chemical and biological parameters were measured. The station data were supplemented by underway measurements of oceanographic and meteorological properties. Results from production and trace metal experiments are also included in the dataset, as are bathymetric data from the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) GEBCO digital Atlas, air-sea flux measurements and data from moored instruments and benthic landers that were deployed for periods from a few weeks to a year. The dataset also includes imagery from satellites, water column and seabed photography, scanning electron micrographs and X-ray photographs. FORTRAN source code for biogeochemical models developed during OMEX I is also included. The aim of the project was to study biogeochemical processes at the shelf break and to quantify the fluxes of material between the shelf and the open ocean. OMEX I involved scientists from 30 institutions in 10 countries. BODC is assembling the data sets collected during OMEX I into its database system and the data are also available on CD-ROM.