This dataset contains data collected during the integration and demonstration of the newly developed SenseOCEAN multifunctional sensor package. The data were collected from field tests in Kiel Fjord (Germany), the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in September 2016 and May 2017. New marine chemical sensors (such as optode sensors (O2, CO2, NH3, pH), lab on chip (LOC) sensors (NO3-, NO2-, PO43-, Fe2+, pH) and electrochemical sensors (silicate, N2O)), an integrated multifunctional sensor, plug and play Modbus module and data assembly centre were developed by the EU consortia, SenseOCEAN. The consortia consisted of TU Graz, Pyro Science GmbH, Chelsea Technology Group, Aarhus University, Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), CNRS-LEGOS, Max Planck Institute, nke Instrumentation, TE Laboratories, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Unisense A/S and the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). The sensors and Modbus module were deployed for demonstrations on various platforms including CTD Rosettes, fixed-position pontoons and NKE PROVOR profiling (ARGO) floats. The data were collected as part of the SenseOCEAN Collaborative Project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement No. 614141. The main aim of the SenseOCEAN project was to develop new chemical sensors for in situ measurements of the marine environment and to combine these to produce an integrated multifunctional biogeochemical sensor package. The coordinator was Professor Douglas Connelly at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK. 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.

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 contains a diverse range of environmental data ranging from estuary properties including geomorphology, water depth and habitat characterisation to detailed time series of parameters such as salinity and chemical and nutrient concentrations. The data are stored in a database containing a directory of existing data sources for estuaries; data for the broad properties of 79 UK estuaries; and detailed hydrodynamic, bathymetric, and sedimentary information for six estuaries: Blackwater, Humber, Mersey, Ribble, Southampton Water and Tamar. The data range from 1965 to 2002 and include both historic datasets and those collected during a recent effort (1997-2002) to enhance our knowledge of estuaries. Data collection employed a variety of instrumentation and techniques, including water, biota and sediment sample collection and analysis and the deployment of hydrographic instruments such as sea level, temperature, salinity and optical backscatter recorders. The Estuaries Research Programme (ERP) began in 1997 with the EMPHASYS project, which aimed to improve our understanding of processes operating in estuaries and use this knowledge to enhance broad scale modelling techniques that can be applied to estuarine processes. This work was funded by the Environment Agency/Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Flood and Coastal Defence Research and Development Programme. The data are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) and are available on CD-ROM.

The Marine Environment Monitoring and Assessment National database (MERMAN) is a national database which holds and provides access to data collected under the Clean Safe Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme (CSEMP) formerly the National Marine Monitoring Programme (NMMP). The data collected are the responsibility of the Competent Monitoring Authorities (CMAs) who collect the samples from stations in UK waters using water sampling techniques, trawls, nets or grabs. The CMAs then send the collected samples to accredited laboratories where they are analysed. A weighting is calculated, based on the quality of the analysis. The weighting score incorporates the laboratory accreditation, reference material, inter-laboratory comparisons, detection limits, uncertainties and standard deviations. Where data do not meet a threshold score they are given a status of ‘FAIL’ and although they are stored they are not made available to external users. The MERMAN dataset starts in 1987 with greater use of the database occurring from 1997 onwards. Data are submitted by the CMAs annually and an annual submission may include updates to legacy data to provide additional data or improve data/metadata. The data held in MERMAN fulfils the UK's mandatory monitoring requirements under the Oslo and Paris Convention (OSPAR) Joint Assessments and Monitoring Programme (JAMP). These data are used in support of European Commission (EC) directives and national assessments, such as Charting Progress 2 and are also supplied to the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODNET).