An Alternative Framework to Assess Marine Ecosystem Functioning in Shelf Seas (AlterEco) will utilise a small fleet of submarine and surface autonomous vehicles combined with ongoing observational programmes to capture a seasonal cycle of physical, chemical and biological measurements on repeat transects over ~150km in the North Sea between November 2017 and January 2019. This dataset contains near real-time hydrographic measurements through the water column obtained from submarine Slocum gliders and Seagliders. The submarine vehicles have also been equipped with auxiliary sensors such as turbulence probes, nutrient sensors and acoustic sensors. Data from these platforms will be converted into the international 'Everyone's Gliding Observatories (EGO)' exchange format. This dataset will also contain measurements taken from CTDs deployed on eight cruises to provide calibration data for the autonomous vehicles. AlterEco involves collaboration between scientists at a number of organisations (National Oceanography Centre (NOC, lead), University of East Anglia (UEA), University of Liverpool (UoL), Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). In addition, there are a number of UK and international project partners.

The data set includes the classical oceanographic parameters of temperature, salinity, nutrients, oxygen, pH, alkalinity, and chlorophyll-a. This data set comprises more than 100,000 profiles collected by UK research and naval vessels in the shelf seas around the UK, the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the South Atlantic, the Southern Oceans, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the East Indian Archipelago (Indonesia) and the Pacific Ocean since the beginning of the twentieth century. In recent years, conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data have been collected in a higher resolution form than water bottle data; these have been included in this data set in a reduced resolution/water bottle form and merged with any available chemical parameters. This data set is one of the most complete of its kind in the world; the majority of the data known to have been collected prior to 1970 have been 'rescued' and work will continue to rescue the remainder. All of the profiles in this data set have been quality checked, cross-checked against original documentation, and all duplications removed. This data set has been compiled by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Oceanographic Data Centre and is available from the ICES website.

The data set comprises measurements of temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll and nutrients from two locations near Port Erin, Isle of Man. Sea surface temperature has been measured at Port Erin breakwater (54 05.113N, 04 46.083W) on a twice-daily basis from 1904 to the present day, accompanied by twice-daily sea surface salinity measurements since 1965. Since 1954, further measurements have been taken at the Cypris station in Port Erin Bay, 5km west of Port Erin (54 05.5N, 004 50.0W). The Cypris data have been collected at frequencies ranging from weekly to monthly depending on season, boat availability and weather, and comprise measurements of temperature at 0, 5, 10, 20 and 37m since 1954; salinity, dissolved oxygen and phosphate at 0 and 37m since 1954; silicate at 0 and 37m since 1958; nitrate and nitrite and 0 and 37 m since 1960; chlorophyll a at 0 m since 1966; ammonia at 0 and 37m since 1992; total dissolved nitrogen at 0 and 37m from 1996-2005; and total dissolved phosphorus at 0 and 37m from 1996-June 2002. At Port Erin temperatures were recorded using a Meteorological Office issue thermometer from the mid-1900s to October 2006. Since then Vemco temperature autologgers and Star-Oddi DST CTD loggers have been deployed from the Port Erin lifeboat slip and are exchanged on an approximately monthly basis. Until November 1961 temperature was recorded in degrees Fahrenheit; these data have since been converted to degrees Celsius. At the Cypris station water samples were collected with either a Nansen-Pettersen or an NIO bottle from 1954-2005. The Nansen-Pettersen bottle was used in conjunction with an insulated thermometer, while the NIO bottle was used in conjunction with a mercury reversing thermometer. From 2006 onwards an RTM 4002 X digital deep sea reversing thermometer has been used with an NIO bottle. Salinity was determined by titration against silver nitrate until 1965, thereafter using inductively coupled salinometers (Plessey 6230N until June 1998; Guildline Portasal from July 1998). Nutrients are estimated colorimetrically and dissolved oxygen is determined by the Winkler technique. Until 2006 chlorophyll-a was estimated using the trichromatic methods recommended by SCOR-UNESCO Working Group 17. Since that year the spectroscopic methods of Aminot & Rey (2000) have been used. Dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus were measured using the persulphate digestion method adapted from Valderama (1981). The Cypris station data are frequently split into the Cypris I (D. John Slinn) data set comprising data from 1954-1992 and the Cypris II data set from 1992-present. Data from the Port Erin and Cypris stations are sometimes known collectively as the ‘Port Erin Bay’ data set. Data from Port Erin Bay form part of the Isle of Man GAL Coastal Monitoring Sites network, which is described in a separate EDMED entry. The data were collected by the Port Erin Marine Laboratory (part of the University of Liverpool) until its closure in 2006. Sampling has since been taken over by the Isle of Man Government Laboratory. The data are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre.

The data set comprises measurements of temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll and nutrients from six locations near Port Erin, Isle of Man. The data collected at Port Erin breakwater (54 05.113N, 04 46.083W) and the Cypris station in Port Erin Bay (54 05.5N, 004 50.0W) are described separately in the "Port Erin (Isle of Man, Irish Sea) Temperature, Salinity and Nutrient Data Set (1904-)". The remaining four stations are described here. Data have been collected at the Resa (also known as Bayrnagh), approximately 5km east of Santon Head, Isle of Man (54 05.00N, 04 30.00W) at least once per month since 1994, with a hiatus from 2003-2006. The data comprise measurements of temperature at 0, 5, 10, 20 and 37m; salinity, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate and ammonia at 0 and 37m; and chlorophyll-a at the surface. Total dissolved nitrogen was also measured at 0 and 37m between 1996 and 2003, while total dissolved phosphorus was measured at 0 and 37m between 1996 and June 2002. Corresponding data have been collected at Laxey Bay (54 12.00N, 04 23.00W), Ramsey Bay (54 20.47N, 04 17.47W) and Jurby Head Targets area (54 21.50N, 04 38.00W) at least once a month since 2006. Laxey Bay data comprise temperature at 0, 5, 10, 20 and 24m; salinity, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate and ammonia at 0 and 24m; and chlorophyll-a at the surface. Ramsey Bay data comprise temperature at 0, 5, 10 and 19m; salinity, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate and ammonia at 0 and 19m; and chlorophyll-a at the surface. Targets data comprise temperature at 0, 5, 10, 20 and 43m; salinity, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate and ammonia at 0 and 24m; and chlorophyll-a at the surface. Prior to 2006 water samples and temperature measurements were collected using either a Nansen-Pettersen bottle with an insulated thermometer or an NIO bottle with a mercury reversing thermometer. Since 2006 an NIO bottle and a Sensoren Instrumente Systeme (SIS) RTM 4002 X digital deep sea reversing thermometer have been used. Salinity was determined by titration against silver nitrate until 1965, thereafter using inductively coupled salinometers (Plessey 6230N until June 1998; Guildline Portasal from July 1998). Nutrients are estimated colorimetrically and dissolved oxygen is determined by the Winkler technique, as outlined in Jacobsen et al. (1950). Until 2006, chlorophyll-a was estimated using the trichromatic methods recommended by SCOR-UNESCO Working Group 17. Since that year the spectroscopic methods of Aminot & Rey (2000) have been used. Dissolved nitrogen and dissolved phosphorus were measured using the persulphate digestion method adapted from Valderama (1981). The data were collected by the Port Erin Marine Laboratory (part of the University of Liverpool) until its closure in 2006. Sampling has since been taken over by the Isle of Man Government Laboratory (GAL). The data are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre.

This dataset comprises 135 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during February - March 1989 from a pre-determined 123-station survey grid covering the southern North Sea (south of 56N). 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 Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Bidston Laboratory as part of the North Sea Project water column survey.

This dataset comprises 24 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, in May 1995 from stations in the north east Norwegian Sea between 69 - 71 N, 15 - 19 E. 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 University of Tromsø Norwegian College of Fishery Science as part of the Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX) I project.

The Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) Observatory is a sustained, multidisciplinary observatory. Key time-series datasets include measurements of sea temperature, air temperature, air pressure, waves, wind, CO2, salinity, Megafauna (Species diversity, abundance and biomass), geochemistry, humidity, chlorophyll, nitrate, PAR and currents. The PAP observatory is situated in the Northeast Atlantic away from the continental slope and mid Atlantic ridge (49N,16.5W, depth 4800m). Since 1989, this environmental study site in the Northeast Atlantic has become a major focus for international and interdisciplinary scientific research and monitoring including water column biogeochemistry, physics and benthic biology. Since 2002, a mooring has been in place with sensors taking a diverse set of biogeochemical and physical measurements of the upper 1000m of the water column. Some of these data are transmitted in near real-time via satellite. A diverse range of Essential Climate variables are measured and sampled at the PAP site from the atmosphere and surface ocean to the seafloor. The instruments used include CTD + Backscatter; ADCP (2 way, re-programmable for water profiling as well as burst sampling), Seismometer (2 way, retrieval of selected time period - 1 Minute - in the past e.g. seismic event), Bottom Pressure Sensor, Sediment trap (2 way, re-programmable for change sampling interval), Boxcores, Mega- and Multicores, Optode, Digital Camera and Stand-alone hydrophone. Seafloor sampling includes trawling, coring, towed camera systems from a research ship and time-lapse photography. Since 2002 many of the upper ocean measurements (0-1000m) have been transmitted in near real-time. There is a growing need for ever more accurate climatic models to predict future climate change and the impact this will have on human settlement, the insurance industry, fisheries, agriculture and nature at large. Long term observations at fixed points in the open oceans are essential to provide high quality and high resolution data to increase our knowledge of how our oceans function, how they are changing and how this may impact on the climate. The observatory is coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre. In 2010, a collaboration between NERC and UK Met Office has led to the first atmospheric measurements at the site.

This dataset comprises 10 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during March - April 1995 from stations in the Porcupine Bight/Seabight between 50 - 55 N, 5 - 15 W. 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 Biological Institute Helgoland as part of the Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX) I project.

The Catlin Arctic Survey created a unique collaboration between scientists and explorers to undertake field research in the Arctic. Each Catlin Survey comprised of two principle parts. The 'Catlin Ice Base', which was a stationary scientific research base located off the northern coast of Canada; and the 'Explorer Team', comprising of a small long-range specialist team moving on foot from close to the North Geographic Pole towards Greenland. The Catlin Ice Base consisted of temporary polar shelters and tents erected on the sea ice off the coast of Ellef Ringnes Island, Nunavut, Canada, 78°46'27" N / 104°42'49" W. In 2010 and 2011 during the second and third Catlin Arctic Surveys, scientists and explorers examined the upper layers of the Arctic Ocean's water column. In parallel, scientists from the US, UK and Canada conducted experiments at a unique research station on the frozen Arctic Ocean with the support of experienced polar explorers and guides. These datasets (as .xls and .csv files) resulted from the work carried out at the Ice Base. Here a group, of up to 10 scientists and operational staff, were able to collect and analyze samples from under the sea ice as well as deploy heavier instrumentation up to a depth of 200 metres. Scientists at the ice base made measurements of temperature, salinity, total alkalinity, DIC, nutrients, chlorophyll, zooplankton community structure and physiological responses to elevated pCO2 levels. The Catlin Arctic Survey has enabled the monitoring, measuring and collection of information to improve scientific understanding of the processes involved in, and the impacts of, climate change. The scientists researched how changes within the seawater beneath the floating sea ice may be affecting powerful ocean currents that influence prevailing climate and weather patterns worldwide. These data were collected as part of the Catlin Arctic Survey funded by Catlin Ltd. and coordinated by Geo Mission Ltd. Participants were supported by a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) UK Fellowship, PML Lord Kingsland Fellowship, Ralph Brown Expedition Grant from the Royal Geographical Society, NERC's National Centre for Earth Observation, World Wildlife Fund for Nature and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

This dataset comprises 114 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, in August 1988 from a pre-determined 123-station survey grid covering the southern North Sea (south of 56N). 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 Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Bidston Laboratory as part of the North Sea Project water column survey.