Lange, Nico, Fiedler, Björn , Alvarez, Marta, Benoit-Cattin, Alice, Benway, Heather, Buttigieg, Pier Luigi , Coppola, Laurent, Currie, Kim, Flecha, Susana, Gerlach, Dana S., Honda, Makio, Huertas, I. Emma, Lauvset, Siv K., Muller-Karger, Frank, Körtzinger, Arne , O'Brien, Kevin M., Olafsdottir, Solveig R., Pacheco, Fernando C., Rueda-Roa, Digna, Skjelvan, Ingunn, Wakita, Masahide, White, Angelicque and Tanhua, Toste (2024) Synthesis Product for Ocean Time Series (SPOTS) – a ship-based biogeochemical pilot. Earth System Science Data, 16 . pp. 1901-1931. DOI 10.5194/essd-16-1901-2024.

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Abstract

The presented pilot for the Synthesis Product for Ocean Time Series (SPOTS) includes data from
12 fixed ship-based time-series programs. The related stations represent unique open-ocean and coastal marine
environments within the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Nordic Seas, and Caribbean Sea.
The focus of the pilot has been placed on biogeochemical essential ocean variables: dissolved oxygen, dissolved
inorganic nutrients, inorganic carbon (pH, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, and partial pressure of
CO2), particulate matter, and dissolved organic carbon. The time series used include a variety of temporal res-
olutions (monthly, seasonal, or irregular), time ranges (10–36 years), and bottom depths (80–6000 m), with the
oldest samples dating back to 1983 and the most recent one corresponding to 2021. Besides having been harmo-
nized into the same format (semantics, ancillary data, units), the data were subjected to a qualitative assessment
in which the applied methods were evaluated and categorized. The most recently applied methods of the time-
series programs usually follow the recommendations outlined by the Bermuda Time Series Workshop report
(Lorenzoni and Benway, 2013), which is used as the main reference for “method recommendations by prevalent
initiatives in the field”. However, measurements of dissolved oxygen and pH, in particular, still show room for
improvement. Additional data quality descriptors include precision and accuracy estimates, indicators for data
variability, and offsets compared to a reference and widely recognized data product for the global ocean: the
GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP). Generally, these descriptors indicate a high level of continuity
in measurement quality within time-series programs and a good consistency with the GLODAP data product,
even though robust comparisons to the latter are limited. The data are available as (i) a merged comma-separated
file that is compliant with the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) exchange format and (ii) a format
dependent on user queries via the Environmental Research Division’s Data Access Program (ERDDAP) server
of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). The pilot increases the data utility, findability, accessibility,
interoperability, and reusability following the FAIR philosophy, enhancing the readiness of biogeochemical time
series. It facilitates a variety of applications that benefit from the collective value of biogeochemical time-series
observations and forms the basis for a sustained time-series living data product, SPOTS, complementing relevant
products for the global interior ocean carbon data (GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project), global surface ocean
carbon data (Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas; SOCAT), and global interior and surface methane and nitrous oxide data
(MarinE MethanE and NiTrous Oxide product).
Aside from the actual data compilation, the pilot project produced suggestions for reporting metadata, im-
plementing quality control measures, and making estimations about uncertainty. These recommendations aim
to encourage the community to adopt more consistent and uniform practices for analysis and reporting and to
update these practices regularly. The detailed recommendations, links to the original time-series programs, the
original data, their documentation, and related efforts are available on the SPOTS website. This site also pro-
vides access to the data product (DOI: https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.896862.2, Lange et al., 2024) and
ancillary data.

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