This dataset comprises 104 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during April - May 1990 from the North East Atlantic Ocean. 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 Queen's University Belfast School of Biological Sciences as part of the Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS).

This dataset comprises 45 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during June - July 1991 from stations in the South Iceland Basin in the North East Atlantic Ocean. 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 Southampton Department of Oceanography as part of the Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS).

This dataset comprises 167 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during August - October 1994 from stations from the Straits of Hormuz to the Murray Ridge in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. 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 Plymouth Marine Laboratory as part of the ARABESQUE project.

This dataset comprises 53 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during May - June 1989 from two sites in the North East Atlantic Ocean, centred on 47 N, 20 W and 59 N, 22 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 Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory as part of the Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS).

This dataset comprises 156 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during April - May 1996 from stations in an area centred around 56.3N, 9.0 W in the North East Atlantic. 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 Napier University School of Life Sciences as part of the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS) Shelf Edge Study (SES).

This dataset comprises 171 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, during August-September 1995 from stations on the Malin shelf break, at approximately 56.5 N, 9.0 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 Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory as part of the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS) Shelf Edge Study (SES).

This dataset comprises 87 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, in July 1996 from stations along the Hebridean Shelf and shelf edge west of Scotland, centred around 56 30 N, 9W in the North East Atlantic. 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 Wales, Bangor School of Ocean Sciences as part of the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS) Shelf Edge Study (SES).

This dataset comprises 137 hydrographic data profiles, collected by a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor package, in May 1995 from the Hebrides shelf edge and slope east of the Hebrides terrace seamount, in the north east Atlantic. 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 Wales, Bangor School of Ocean Sciences as part of the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS) Shelf Edge Study (SES).

The data set includes hydrographic profiles (including temperature, salinity, attenuance, chlorophyll, oxygen, irradiance, turbulence, sound velocity and currents), hydrographic time series (temperature, currents, fluorescence, bottom pressure), water samples (>70 parameters measured), sediment samples (>160 parameters measured), sediment trap samples (>10 parameters measured), production experiments and marine snow camera profiles. Additional meteorological and wave records are also available, as well as satellite imagery and underwater photography (water column and seabed). The data were collected on the Hebridean Slope (NW of Ireland) between March 1995 and September 1996. Measurements were collected via a combination of shipboard instrument deployments, including >1,800 conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) and SeaSoar (undulating oceanographic recorder) profiles, >100 expendable bathythermograph (XBT) profiles, >38,000 acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) profiles, >35 core profiles, >800 turbulence profiles, >40 marine snow camera profiles, >55 radiometer profiles and >25 sound velocity and travel time experiments. Benthic lander deployments were also undertaken, along with shipboard incubation experiments and drifting buoy deployments (48 tracks). An intensive water sampling programme provided >2,500 samples for biological and biogeochemical analysis. An extensive moored instrument array was maintained throughout the experiment, including sediment traps, recording current meters (104 series), electromagnetic current meters (9 series), ADCPs (16 series), thermistor chain and temperature probes (70 series), fluorometers (18 series), transmissometers (16 series), light meter (5 series), bottom pressure recorders (11 series), plus one waverider buoy series and three meteorological buoy time series. The Shelf Edge Study (SES) was an intensive multidisciplinary experiment and formed part of the NERC Land Ocean Interaction Study. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) assembled over 95% of the data sets collected during SES into its project database system. Once basic quality control procedures had been completed the data set was published, complete with extensive data documentation, on CD-ROM.

The data set comprises hydrographic, biogeochemical and biological data, including measurements of temperature, salinity and attenuance, plus concentrations of parameters such as nutrients, pigments, urea, hydrocarbons, sedimentation flux, sulphur and dissolved carbon. Analyses of bacterial, zooplankton and phytoplankton communities were also undertaken. The oceanographic data were supplemented by measurements of surface meteorological parameters. Data were collected across three repeated sections: one along the Gulf of Oman; a section at 67deg East from 8 to 14.5deg North; and a major section from 8deg North, 67 deg East to the coast of Oman. Other one-off sections were also traversed in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman areas. Measurements were collected during two cruises: one between 27 August and the 4 October 1994 and the other between the 16 November and the 19 December 1994. Sections were covered by underway surface ocean measurements (one minute sampling of multiple parameters providing some 5 million measurements) complemented by a total of 21 CTD/water-bottle stations, 14 of which were repeated. ARABESQUE was organised by the Plymouth Marine Laboratory of NERC's Centre for Coastal and Marine Sciences and involved the University of Wales, Bangor; Queen's University of Belfast; University of East Anglia; University of Edinburgh; University of Newcastle; the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada; the Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Germany and the Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Data management support for the project was provided by the British Oceanographic Data Centre. All data collected as part of the project were lodged with BODC who had responsibility for assembling, calibrating, quality controlling and fully documenting the data. BODC checked for instrument spikes or malfunction, values beyond the calibration range, unreasonable ratios of chemical constituents and unreasonable deviations from climatological means. Data were assembled into a relational database, complete with supporting documentation and a user manual. The full data set has been published by BODC on CD-ROM complete with user interface.