Quality assurance and control on hydrological data off western Sardinia (2000–2004), western Mediterranean

Abstract

Seven oceanographic cruises in 5 years were organized in the Sea of Sardinia with the repeated collection of physical, chemical and biological data. An accurate and sustained quality assurance on physical sensors was enacted through pre- and postcruise calibration and verified during in situ acquisitions with the use of redundant sensors and other instruments. Moreover, for dissolved oxygen and conductivity, seawater samples at standard depths were frequently analyzed on board. Then an accurate quality control was used to verify all hydrological data profiles, which passed a further quality check following standard procedures. Finally all hydrological data have been included in two online public open-access datasets in the SEANOE (SEA scieNtific Open data Edition) repository (https://doi.org/10.17882/59867 and https://doi.org/10.17882/70340; Ribotti et al., 2019a, b). During and after all cruises Chlorophyll a and nutrient analyses were also carried out, but these data are not yet open access; the same applies for water current profiles, both at casts and during vessel moves, and geophysical data. These ocean data are the first covering the Sea of Sardinia for its whole extension. Here data and assurance and control procedures used are described as they have become standards in deep-sea acquisitions over the years.