Identification

Title

Seawater temperature records for the UK Shelf - 01 - Cefas Coastal Temperature Network

Alternative title(s)

Coastal Temperature Network (CTN)

Abstract

The Coastal Temperature Network consists of Cefas (and predecessor) originated data and data from external suppliers, who have agreed their data can be published as part of the network (Jones, 1981). The earliest data are from 1875 (Owers Light vessel) and have been supplied by the Met Office. The longest continuous record provided here is from Eastbourne (1892–2014). Sampling is from piers and breakwaters 50-200m from the shore where possible (Jones, 1981). The present network covers the temperature condition of coastal waters around the coast of England and Wales and was operationally combined with the salinity and temperature conditions across the Southern Bight of the North Sea. Individuals on behalf of Cefas, councils, companies and other organisations have obtained records of coastal sea surface temperature, for some stations, of more than 100-year duration. Approximately half of the stations started recording coastal temperatures in the mid–1960s. There are 41 stations in England and Wales where 20 out of 41 are still in operation. Cefas observers record coastal sea surface temperature using calibrated thermometers approximately 6 – 14 times per month, usually close to the time of high water. Other organisations record sea surface temperature ranging from daily values to monthly means. Since 2012, the data from Dover Council is recorded every minute. Data are published as monthly means (Joyce, 2006); the extracted data are the measurements used to calculate the means. The Cefas instruments are calibrated at Lowestoft to an accuracy of ±0.1°C. The accuracy of other instruments is not known, but is thought to be at least to an accuracy of ±0.2°C. The ferry route observers record offshore sea surface temperature from the ships main seawater pipe using a calibrated thermometer 4 times a month. The temperatures are recorded to at least an accuracy of ±0.2°C. The seawater samples are taken from the sea water main pipe to the harbour pump about 1.5 metres inboard. Quality assurance checks are applied to the data for each station by comparing the current dataset with either a 5 or 10 year running mean for each month. The data is first tested to see whether it is normally distributed i.e. whether all the data are close to average. The standard deviation is calculated to see how tightly the data are clustered around the mean; three standard deviations are then calculated to account for 99% of the data. If the data are outside this range (3 std dev) then the value is flagged and removed from subsequent analysis. See Joyce (2006) for details of the duration and history of individual datasets. Inevitably, there are changes in the number and location of monitoring stations over such a long period. At its peak the network reported on about 100 locations. This has reduced to around 30 in the late 20th century. Jones & Jeffs (1991) show the locations of early coastal stations. In addition, operating sites are moved and data recording upgraded, e.g. Eastbourne from a manual coastal site (see Joyce, 2006) to, in 2013, an electronic logging system mounted on an offshore buoy. These changes are reflected in the positions associated with the extracted data. See `https://www.cefas.co.uk/cefas-data-hub/sea-temperature-and-salinity-trends/`_ for a full description of the originating system which has sea-surface temperature (and sometimes salinity) data collected at a number of coastal sites around England and Wales, some operated by volunteers, some operated by local councils and some associated with power stations. The longest time-series include those from Eastbourne (1892 - present), Dover (1926 - present) and Port Erin, Isle of Man (1903 - present) although most time series began in the 1960s or 1970s. .. _`https://www.cefas.co.uk/cefas-data-hub/sea-temperature-and-salinity-trends/`: https://www.cefas.co.uk/cefas-data-hub/sea-temperature-and-salinity-trends/

Resource type

dataset

Resource locator

https://data.cefas.co.uk/view/3232

name: Cefas Data Portal

description: The Cefas Data Portal contains metadata records and data sets available to download and connect to in support of our commitment to open science. Data is available in the following formats: CSV, ESRI Shapefile. The data can also be accessed via the WFS and WMS protocols.

function: download

Unique resource identifier

code

CEFAS3232

codeSpace

https://data.cefas.co.uk

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

oceans

2012-01-11

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

-9.00

East bounding longitude

3.00

North bounding latitude

55.00

South bounding latitude

49.50

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

1880-01-01

End position

2015-01-02

Dataset reference date

date type

asNeeded

Quality and validity

Lineage

Cefas observers record coastal sea surface temperature using calibrated thermometers approximately 6 to 14 times per month, usually close to the time of high water. Other organisations record sea surface temperature ranging from daily values to monthly means. The Cefas instruments are calibrated at Lowestoft to an accuracy of ±0.1°C. The accuracy of other instruments is not known, but is thought to be at least to an accuracy of ±0.2°C. The ferry route observers record offshore sea surface temperature from the ships main seawater pipe using a calibrated thermometer 4 times a month. The temperatures are recorded to at least an accuracy of ±0.2°C. The seawater samples are taken from the sea water main pipe to the harbour pump about 1.5 metres inboard. Quality assurance checks are applied to the data for each station by comparing the current dataset with either a 5 or 10 year running mean for each month. The data is first tested to see whether it is normally distributed ie, whether all the data are close to average. The standard deviation is calculated to see how tightly the data are clustered around the mean; three standard deviations are then calculated to account for 99% of the data. If the data is outside of this range (3 stdev) then the value is flagged and removed from subsequent analysis. The multiple sources are described in 17 separate metadata entries under the same Title, e.g. Seawater temperature records for the UK Shelf - 15 - RV Cefas Endeavour FerryBox Monitoring System. These data have been described in detail via the following publication. Morris, D. J., Pinnegar, J. K., Maxwell, D. L., Dye, S. R., Fernand, L. J., Flatman, S., Williams, O. J., and Rogers, S. I.: Over 10 million seawater temperature records for the United Kingdom Continental Shelf between 1880 and 2014 from 17 Cefas (United Kingdom government) marine data systems, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 27–51, `https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-27-2018`_, 2018. .. _`https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-27-2018`: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-27-2018

Conformity

Conformity report

specification

title

INSPIRE Data Specification on Oceanographic geographical features – Technical Guidelines

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2013-12-10

degree

false

explanation

See the referenced specification

Conformity report

specification

title

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2010-12-08

degree

true

explanation

See the referenced specification

Data format

name of format

Unknown

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Limitations on public access

Constraint set

responsible party role

distributor

Responsible party

organisation name

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS)

email address

data.manager@cefas.co.uk

responsible party role

owner

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact

organisation name

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS)

full postal address

Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory

Pakefield Road

Lowestoft

NR33 0HT

email address

data.manager@cefas.co.uk

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata date

2024-06-21T01:31:10

Metadata language

eng