This dataset contains Autosub3 measurements (position, ice draft, sea bed depth, water temperature, salinity, depth and pressure) collected under the frame of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Ice Sheet Stability Programme. The data were collected in the Amundsen Sea region of the Antarctic, more specifically in the Pine Island Glacier, during a series of missions from RRS James Clark Ross in February 2014. Radar measurements provided information about the bottom of the glacier, which then allowed for the definition of Autosub3 tracks for the different missions. Autosub3 was equipped with a CTD, oxygen sensor, transmissometer, GPS and ADCP. The Autosub missions were conducted as part of the ‘Ocean under ice: Ocean circulation and melting beneath the ice shelves of the south-eastern Amundsen Sea (iSTAR B)’ Project. This was one of four projects delivering the NERC Ice Sheet Stability Programme, aiming to better understand the physical processes governing the rate of ice melt in the West Antarctic ice sheet. The principal investigator for iSTAR B was Dr Adrian Jenkins from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

This dataset comprises metocean (current, wave,wind, meteorology and water level) data collected by oil companies Shell, BP and Total at their offshore oil and gas fields worldwide. It does not included the hindcast modelling simulations which were run on behalf of these oil companies; just the metocean measurements. Additionally, some data on the effect of water motion on platform stability, corrosion (dissolved oxygen concentration), ice thickness and movement and hydrography (vertical profiles of salinity, temperature and density and occasionally sound velocity) are included. The vast majority of the data were measured by instruments, although some human observations of wind speed and wave height and direction are also included. Geographic coverage is worldwide, according to the location of offshore oil and gas fields: NE and NW Atlantic, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Caspian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Guinea, South Atlantic, Magellan Straits, Sea of Okhotsk, Indian Ocean, South China Sea, Seram Sea, Malacca Straits, Makassar Strait. The earliest dataset was collected in 1961 and the most recent in 2010. Collection is ongoing. At present, there are over 2550 datsets covering more than 2000 years of observations of winds, waves, currents and sealevels.

The Autosub Under Ice (AUI) data set comprises hydrographic measurements including temperature, salinity, fluorescence, attenuance, dissolved oxygen concentrations and current velocities. Water samples were also collected for salinity and geochemical analysis, and the data set also includes bathymetric and sediment data. The measurements were collected near Greenland and Antarctica in the respective summer seasons for each hemisphere during 2003, 2004 and 2005. The programme consisted of four cruises onboard the ice-capable research vessel RRS James Clark Ross (JCR106, JCR106B, JCR84, JCR97). Data were collected by both shipboard sensors and those attached to the Autosub (an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) package. Shipboard data collection included deployment of a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) package with attached auxiliary sensors. Lowered acoustic Dopper current profilers (LADCPs) were also attached to the CTD frame, while discrete water samples were collected from the CTD stations. Oceanographic, bathymetric and sediment data were collected along the ship's track, while further current data were collected from two mooring deployments. Autosub measurements included standard environmental parameters and acoustic instruments were used to measure ice shelf, sea ice and ocean bottom relief at high resolution. A camera was also attached to the vehicle, permitting the collection of detailed photographs of the seabed. Autosub had been upgraded to achieve 1000 km range and 2500 m water depth, which provided unprecedented access to ice covered regions. The AUI programme was established to investigate the marine environment of floating ice shelves with a view to advancing our understanding of their role in the climate system. It brought together researchers and engineers from a number of UK institutions, with the project being coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

This data set comprises hydrographic measurements including temperature, salinity, fluorescence, attenuance, dissolved oxygen concentrations and current velocities. Water samples were also collected for salinity and geochemical analysis, and the data set also includes bathymetric, sediment and upper ocean turbulence measurements. The data were collected over six Science Missions at the Strait of Sicily, West Coast of Scotland (Loch Etive and Loch Fyne), North-East Scotland and Shetland Islands, North Weddell Sea, Isles of Scilly, Southern North Sea (Norfolk Bank) over the period 19 April 1999 – 25 May 2001. The data were collected by both shipboard sensors and those attached to the Autosub (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) package. Shipboard data collection included deployment of a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) package with attached auxiliary sensors. Lowered acoustic Dopper current profilers (LADCPs) were also attached to the CTD frame, while discrete water samples were collected from the CTD stations. Oceanographic, bathymetric and sediment data were collected along the ship’s track. Autosub measurements included standard environmental parameters and acoustic instruments were used to measure ocean bottom relief at high resolution. A camera was also attached to the vehicle, permitting the collection of detailed photographs of the seabed. The broad aims of the Autosub Programme are the collection of interdisciplinary data sets that cannot be obtained by research ships, and demonstration to the scientific and wider user community of the usefulness of an AUV. Investigators: David A Smeed, Kate Stansfield, Julian Overnell, Kenny D Black, Peter Statham, Chris German, Andrew S. Brierley, Paul G. Fernandes, Mark A. Brandon, Alex Cunningham, Peter Burkill, Glen Tarran, Prof. Mike Collins, Dr George Voulgaris, Dr John Trowbridge, Dr Eugene Terray, Steve A Thorpe and Thomas Osborn. The British Oceanographic Data Centre holds the Autosub navigation files, CTD and ADCP data for each of the missions listed above. The data are contained as high resolution time series. The data are presently being processed and have not been fully quality controlled. The Autosub science missions brought together researchers and engineers from a number of UK institutions, with the project being coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.