The dataset comprises 34 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, from across the South Atlantic Ocean area specifically the Drake Passage, during November and December of 2001. A complete list of all data parameters are described by the SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary (PDV) keywords assigned in this metadata record. The data were collected by the Southampton Oceanography Centre.

This dataset consists of measurements of conductivity, temperature, depth, fluorescence, optical backscatter, oxygen, turbulence microstructure collected from gliders, as well as temperature depth measurements from moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and turbulence microstructure measurements from microstructure profilers. The ADCP was moored to a depth of 476m in Ryder Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula, between 01 March 2016 and 12 December 2016. The mooring was deployed on R/V Lawrence M Gould cruise LMG16-01 and recovered on RRS James Clark Ross cruise JR16003. NOC and BAS Gliders were deployed during the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 Antarctic field seasons and MSS Microstructure profilers were deployed between February and August 2016 from Rothera, within the Ryder Bay area. This cruise formed the field component of NERC Discovery Science project ‘What controls the influx and mixing of warm waters onto the polar ocean shelves?’ The main objectives of the project are: 1. To quantify, describe and understand the spatial and time-varying patterns of lateral and vertical mixing on the West Antarctic Peninsula shelf. 2. To resolve the dominant mechanisms driving lateral and vertical heat fluxes, with a specific focus on understanding how and where heat from the deep ocean waters is transferred to the upper ocean. 3. To understand the role of key shelf-edge processes in controlling these phenomena, in particular by understanding and quantifying the importance of these processes in causing intrusions of warm, saline deep-ocean waters onto polar shelves. To deliver on these objectives, the project used data from both traditional and novel oceanographic platforms, with the aim of describing how warm waters move from shelf edges to coasts, where land-based melting of ice can occur. Discovery Science Research Fellowship grant NE/L011166/1 was led by Dr James Alexander Brearley at the National Environmental Research Council (NERC), British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Science Programmes. Funding runs from 09 June 2014 to 08 June 2019. Glider, moored ADCP and MSS microstructure profiler data have been received by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC).

This dataset comprises hydrographic and meteorological data transmitted in near real time from unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). Also included are hydrographic profiles through the water column obtained from submarine Slocum gliders, upon recovery. Data from these platforms have been converted into the international 'Everyone's Gliding Observatories (EGO)' exchange format. The dataset is supported by barotrophic tidal current imagery. Hydrographic data were obtained from two geographical regions. Firstly, from a transect extending from the Isles of Scilly out to the moored Carbon And Nutrient Dynamics and Fluxes Over Shelf Systems ('Candyfloss') Array in the Celtic Sea. Subsequently, a more localised survey was carried out in the English Channel, south of Plymouth. The tidal image data span the period 1st October to 21st November 2014 (15 minute intervals). Autonomous platforms were deployed between 1st and 26th October 2014 (Phase One, Celtic Sea), subsequently between 4th and 7th November 2014 (Phase Two, English Channel). Data were collected as part of Marine Autonomous Systems in Support of Marine Observations ('MASSMO'), contributing to the Exploring Ocean Fronts project. Tidal images are a product of Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modelling System (POLCOMS) simulation runs. MASSMO was carried out as a trial of new autonomous technologies and to collect scientific data, including observation of marine life. The dataset acquired provides valuable oceanographic and meteorological measurements including a traverse of an ocean front. MASSMO was a collaborative effort involving various UK laboratories and commercial organisations, coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). This data archive consists of measurements made by wavegliders operated by NOC and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the MOST Autonaut and Slocum glider units 398 and 400, operated by NOC.

The Ocean Surface Mixing, Ocean Sub-mesoscale Interaction Study (OSMOSIS) data set contains a variety of oceanographic measurements including a year long time series of the properties of the ocean surface boundary layer and its controlling 3D physical processes. The core observations include measurements of temperature, salinity, nutrients, currents and shear harvested from a suite of instrumentation including CTDs, ocean gliders, drifter buoys and moored sensors. OSMOSIS data were collected during three cruises. The first cruise undertook preliminary exploratory work in the Clyde Sea (September 2011) to hone techniques and strategies. The following cruises carried out mooring deployments and recovery in the vicinity of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) observatory (in late Summer 2012 and 2013 respectively). Additional opportunist ship time being factored in to support the ambitious glider operations associated with OSMOSIS. This multiple year study will combine traditional observational techniques, such as moorings and CTDs, with the latest autonomous sampling technologies (including ocean gliders), capable of delivering near real-time scientific measurements through the water column. The OSMOSIS data set will contain high-resolution vertical measurements, which will shed light on the complex turbulent processes that drive the deepening of the OSBL and similarly the sub-mesoscale processes promoting OSBL re-stratification. Continuous mooring and glider measurements over a complete annual cycle will also provide invaluable insight into how the OSBL evolves over time. The NERC OSMOSIS Consortium brings together scientists from various UK research centres including the University of Southampton School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Reading, Bangor and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

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 Fluxes Across Sloping Topography of the North East Atlantic (FASTNEt) data set comprises a diverse collection of oceanographic (largely physical and chemical) observations, together with model simulation output. FASTNEt data were collected from three principal localities in close proximity to the UK’s Shelf Edge – the Celtic Sea, the Malin Shelf and the North Scotland Shelf. Each of these were chosen for contrasting bathymetric properties and associated slope current characteristics. There were two main research cruises associated with FASTNEt. These took place in the summers of 2012 and 2013. The core observations include measurements of temperature, salinity, nutrients, currents and shear harvested from a suite of instrumentation including CTDs, ocean gliders (as well as other Autonomous Underwater Vehicles), drifter buoys and moored sensors. The FASTNEt data set aims to develop new parameterisations of shelf edge exchange processes, which will benefit future ocean modelling and forecasting exercises. Additional observations were made from moored instrumentation and autonomous platforms (including ocean gliders, AUVs and drifter buoys) adding to the temporal and spatial coverage of the core cruise data sets. The FASTNEt data set was compiled in order to improve understanding of the processes of physical and biogeochemical exchange at shelf edge margins. These margins are important gateways for the supply of nutrients to our shallow shelf seas, with implications for biodiversity and fishery resources. The NERC FASTNEt Consortium brings together scientists from various UK research centres including the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the Universities of Bangor, Liverpool and Plymouth.

The Changing Arctic Ocean (CAO) oceanographic dataset comprises data collected in the Arctic Ocean, including the Barents Sea and Fram Strait, as part of the Changing Arctic Ocean programme. The data were collected over multiple research cruises starting in June 2017. The majority of these cruises were conducted during the Arctic summer on board the RRS James Clark Ross, with further winter cruises completed in collaboration with the Nansen Legacy project on board the RV Helmer Hanssen. Shipboard data collection included the deployment of conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) packages, ocean seagliders, mulitcorers, grabs, nets, trawls, and a shelf underwater camera system. The CAO programme aims to understand the changes in Arctic marine ecosystem in a quantifiable way, enabling computer models to help predict the consequences of these changes on, for example; surface ocean productivity; species distributions; food webs; and ecosystems, and the services they provide (ecosystem services). It was initially a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded programme comprising four projects: Arctic PRIZE (Arctic productivity in the seasonal ice zone), led by Finlo Cottier (Scottish Association for Marine Science - SAMS); ARISE (Can we detect changes in Arctic ecosystems?), led by Claire Mahaffey (University of Liverpool); ChAOS (The Changing Arctic Ocean Seafloor), led by Christian Maerz (University of Leeds) and DIAPOD (Mechanistic understanding of the role of diatoms in the success of the Arctic Calanus complex and implications for a warmer Arctic), led by David Pond (University of Stirling). Additional projects were added to the programme in July 2018 through funding provided by NERC and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The majority of data are held by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) but a proportion of the data, primarily biological, are stored at the British Antarctic Survey Polar Data Centre (polardatacentre@bas.ac.uk) and any BMBF funded data are held by Pangaea (https://www.pangaea.de/).

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 dataset comprises hydrographic profiles (temperature, salinity, oxygen, fluorometer, transmissometer, irradiance) and along track measurements (bathymetry, surface meteorology, sea surface hydrography), with discrete measurements including water chemistry (organic and inorganic nutrients, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, dissolved gases, trace metals), biology (phytoplankton, zooplankton, primary production, community respiration, chlorophyll, pigments) and atmospheric particulates (major ions, organics and trace metals). Data have been collected from meridional transects of the Atlantic Ocean (between the UK and the Falkland Islands, South Africa or South America) from 1995 to the present day. The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme aims to study the factors determining the ecological and biogeochemical variability of planktonic ecosystems in the tropical and temperate Atlantic Ocean, and their links to atmospheric processes. The majority of the data are available to academia for re-use and re-purpose but data from recent cruises may be subject to a moratorium which allows first use for data originators. The AMT is coordinated by Andy Rees (AMT Principal Investigator) and Miss Dawn Ashby (AMT Project Officer) at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) in conjunction with the National Oceanography Centre. Since its inception the programme has involved researchers from several different countries and has acted as a platform for national and international collaboration. Data are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre.