Dataset: CPR: Phytoplankton occurrence
Deployment: CPR_1946-2019

Continous Plankton Recorder zooplankton occurrence data
Principal Investigator: 
Peter H. Wiebe (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI)
Scientist: 
David Johns (Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, SAHFOS)
Project Coordinator: 
Martin Edwards (Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, SAHFOS)
Data Manager: 
Darren Stevens (Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, SAHFOS)
BCO-DMO Data Manager: 
Nancy Copley (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)
Current State: 
Preliminary and in progress
Version Date: 
2016-09-09
Description

This dataset includes phytoplankton found in CPR tows from 1946 to 2014. These are occurrence data, not abundances.

Click on the 'Get Data' button above to view some of the data or drill down into any selection by species.
The entire, unsorted data file may be download [522 MB]. See the data files section.

Over the last 81years, the CPR analysis team has analyzed more than a quarter of a million samples from over 6.5 million miles of tows in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, North and South Atlantic, North Pacific, and Indian Oceans. In 2015 (to mid-December), approx. 124,600 nautical miles were sampled with over 4000 samples for analysis. Samples were taken in the North Atlantic and North Sea, Pacific, and Southern Ocean. 

SAHFOS can supply some descriptive data at little cost (usually free).

Spatial and temporal data are stored at SAHFOS for every sample analysed by the CPR survey, since 1946. This amounts to almost 170,000 samples, with around 200 more samples added per month. The presence of every planktonic entity identified on each sample is stored in the database, and there are almost 2 million plankton records in total. The database also contains supportive information such as tow locations, times and dates, ship details, a taxon catalogue and analyst details.

Over 400 zooplankton and phytoplankton entities have been identified on CPR samples, and the 'abundance' of each entity on each sample can be extracted from the database. Some plankton are identified to species level, some to genus level, and some at a higher taxonomic level. Some entities are groups of other entities. The complete Species List is kept in the database.

Data can be extracted from user defined areas, over specified periods, for selected entities [from the SAHFOS site]. For example, all samples taken from the Dogger Bank area in the North Sea during March, April, and May since 1946 could be extracted from the database, and the 'abundance' of selected diatom species on each sample could be listed. Alternatively, an average value, number of samples, and standard deviation per year per month, could be retrieved. The data can be exported to statistical and presentation packages in many popular formats such as text, rich text, comma separated, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Word, Fox Pro, Dbase, Lotus and to SQL compliant databases. SAHFOS can supply some descriptive data at little cost (usually free).

If you would like to know more about CPR coverage of a particular location, contact the Data Manager - Darren Stevens or David Johnsat SAHFOS.

For information about methods and parameters, and link to SAHFOS' data page: https://www.cprsurvey.org/data/our-data/

More information about this dataset deployment