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Development of improved space sampling strategies for ocean chemical properties: Total carbon dioxide and dissolved nitrate
Author(s) -
Goyet Catherine,
Davis Daniel,
Peltzer Edward T.,
Brewer Peter G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/94gl02438
Subject(s) - sampling (signal processing) , environmental science , ocean current , ocean chemistry , oceanography , deep sea , interpolation (computer graphics) , climatology , seawater , computer science , geology , filter (signal processing) , computer vision , animation , computer graphics (images)
Large‐scale ocean observing programs such as the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) today, must face the problem of designing an adequate sampling strategy. For ocean chemical variables, the goals and observing technologies are quite different from ocean physical variables (temperature, salinity, pressure). We have recently acquired data on the ocean CO 2 properties on WOCE cruises P16c and P17c that are sufficiently dense to test for sampling redundancy. We use linear and quadratic interpolation methods on the sampled field to investigate what is the minimum number of samples required to define the deep ocean total inorganic carbon (TCO 2 ) field within the limits of experimental accuracy (±4 µmol/kg). Within the limits of current measurements, these lines were oversampled in the deep ocean. Should the precision of the measurement be improved, then a denser sampling pattern may be desirable in the future. This approach rationalizes the efficient use of resources for field work and for estimating gridded TCO 2 fields needed to constrain geochemical models.