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Subantarctic zone oceanography - SAZ Project 1997-1998 - Oceanography Data

The circumpolar Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) is a globally significant region of water mass formation and carbon dioxide uptake from the atmosphere.

Here we synthesise the results of nine voyages over 8 years to describe the seasonal variation in mixed layer properties in the SAZ south of Australia for comparison with biogeochemical process studies carried out in late summer (March 1998) as part of the SAZ Project. Winter mixing extends to depths greater than 400 m, resulting in the formation of Subantarctic Mode Water. In summer the mixed layer shoals to 75-100 m, depths which are still sufficiently deep that phytoplankton growth may be light limited. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations are reduced in summer( e.g., nitrate decreases from greater than 15 to less than 5/ micro mol kg- 1) but remain well above limiting levels.

Silicate in contrast, is low throughout the year (4/micro mol kg- 1 in winter and less than 2 / micro mol kg- 1 in summer). Water mass properties along a north-south hydrographic section in March 1998 suggest that near-surface waters spread from south to north across the Subantarctic Front (SAF), supplying cool, fresh, nutrient-rich water to the SAZ. As a consequence, the properties of the southern SAZ differ from those farther north: the mixed layer in the south is cooler, fresher, deeper, higher in nutrients, and bounded below by a halocline (rather than by a seasonal thermocline, as in the northern SAZ). The contrast between the northern and southern SAZ persists throughout the year, suggesting the cross-front exchange occurs year-round and likely contributes to the differences in seasonal thermal amplitude and algal biomass accumulation seen in satellite images. Density-compensated horizontal gradients of temperature and salinity are common in the mixed layer of the SAZ and the northern SAF, consistent with the hypothesis that the vigour of lateral mixing in the mixed layer is a strong function of the magnitude of the lateral density gradient.


CTD Data are available for access via the provided URL. Data from the following voyages of the Aurora Australis were used:


1991-1992 Voyage 1

1992-1993 Voyage 9

1994-1995 Voyage 4

1994-1995 Voyage 7

1995-1996 Voyage 1

1996-1997 Voyage 1

1997-1998 Voyage 6

Simple

Identification info

Alternate title
Subantarctic zone oceanography - SAZ Project 1997-1998 - Oceanography Data
Date (Publication)
2012-01-18
Edition
1

Originator

Rintoul, S. and Trull, T.W.

Publisher

Australian Antarctic Data Centre

Principal investigator

RINTOUL, STEVE
CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
GPO BOX 1538
Hobart
Tasmania
7001
Australia
+61 3 6232 5393
+61 3 6232 5123 (facsimile)

Principal investigator

TRULL, THOMAS WILLIAM
Antarctic CRC University of Tasmania
GPO BOX 252-80
Hobart
Tasmania
7001
Australia
+61 3 6226 2988
+61 3 6226 2973 (facsimile)

Collaborator

TRULL, THOMAS WILLIAM
Antarctic CRC University of Tasmania
GPO BOX 252-80
Hobart
Tasmania
7001
Australia
+61 3 6226 2988
+61 3 6226 2973 (facsimile)
Name
CAASM Metadata
Other citation details
Restricted access
Website
https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_2256_Oceanography

Status
Completed

Custodian

AU/AADC > Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia - AADC, DATA OFFICER (DATA CENTER CONTACT)
Australian Antarctic Division
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania
7050
Australia
+61 3 6232 3244
+61 3 6232 3351 (facsimile)
Topic category
  • Oceans

Extent

N
S
E
W


Extent

Description
Temporal Coverage

Temporal extent

TimePeriod
1997-09-01 1998-03-31

Extent

Description
Vertical Extent - Depth

Vertical element

Minimum value
800
Maximum value
4000
Identifier
urn:x-ogc:def:cs:EPSG:6498
Name
Vertical CS. Axis: depth (D). Orientation: down. UoM: m.
Identifier
urn:x-ogc:def:axis:EPSG:113
Name
depth
Title
Seasonal evolution of the mixed layer in the Subantarctic Zone south of Australia
Date (Publication)
2001
Citation identifier
106

Author

Rintoul S. R., Trull T. W.
Name
Journal of Geophysical Research
Issue identification
C12
Page
31,447- 31,462
NASA/GCMD Earth Science Keywords
  • EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CIRCULATION > OCEAN MIXED LAYER
  • EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CIRCULATION > WATER MASSES
  • EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > OCEAN MIXED LAYER
Keywords
  • SAZ
NASA/GCMD Earth Science Keywords
  • SHIPS
  • R/V AA > R/V Aurora Australis
NASA/GCMD Earth Science Keywords
  • AMD/AU
  • CEOS
  • AMD
  • ACE/CRC
NASA/GCMD Earth Science Keywords
  • OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN
  • GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

Resource constraints

Use limitation
This metadata record is publicly available.

Resource constraints

Access constraints
licence
Other constraints
Copies of the referenced publications are available for download from the provided URL to AAD staff only. A large amount of data are available in the referenced publications. CTD data are publicly available for download via the provided URL.

Resource constraints

File type
Portable Network Graphic
Linkage
Creative Commons by Attribution logo

Title
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Website
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Legal code for Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 International license

Use constraints
licence
Other constraints
This data set conforms to the CCBY Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=ASAC_2256_Oceanography when using these data.
Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8

Distribution Information

Distributor

Distributor

AU/AADC > Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia - AADC, DATA OFFICER (DATA CENTER CONTACT)
Australian Antarctic Division
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania
7050
Australia
+61 3 6232 3244
+61 3 6232 3351 (facsimile)

Distributor

Fees
free
Units of distribution
MB
Transfer size
1.1
Distribution format
  • pdf

OnLine resource
GET DATA

Access CTD data used as part of this project. See Summary for details on which voyages to look at.

OnLine resource
PROJECT HOME PAGE

Public information for ASAC project 2256

OnLine resource
VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

Download point for the referenced publication

OnLine resource
VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

Citation reference for this metadata record and dataset

Resource lineage

Statement
See the referenced papers for more information.
Hierarchy level
Dataset
Maintenance and update frequency
As needed
Maintenance note
2012-01-18 - record created by Dave Connell. 2012-03-20 - record updated by Dave Connell to link to the CTD database. 2016-03-18 - record updated by Dave Connell - basic updates.

Metadata

Metadata identifier
string/ASAC_2256_Oceanography

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8

Author

CONNELL, DAVE J.
Australian Antarctic Division
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania
7050
Australia
+61 3 6232 3244
+61 3 6232 3351 (facsimile)

Sponsor

Australian Antarctic Division

Owner

AADC
Title
Parent Metadata Record
Citation identifier
ASAC_2256

Type of resource

Resource scope
Dataset

Alternative metadata reference

Title
gov.nasa.gsfc.gcmd
Citation identifier
5240e73e-9253-46b1-b5a5-9662b5bc783b

Alternative metadata reference

Title
gov.nasa.gsfc.gcmd
Date (Last Revision)
2015-11-30T04:51:37

Identifier

Description
metadata.extraction_date

Alternative metadata reference

Title
gov.nasa.gsfc.gcmd
Citation identifier
8.6

Metadata linkage
http://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_2256_Oceanography

Point of truth for the metadata record

Date info (Creation)
2012-01-18T00:00:00
Date info (Last Update)
2017-04-26

Metadata standard

Title
ISO 19115-3
Edition
2014
Other citation details
Version 1
Title
DIF to ISO 19115-1 Profile
 
 

Overviews

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W


Keywords


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