README



Getting Started
      
      To access the information contained on this disc, use a Web browser to open the file index.html. 

System Requirements
      
      This disc is readable on any computing platform that has standard Compact Disc (CD) driver software installed. The minimum software requirements are a Web browser and a text editor.

CD Organization
      
      This report is divided into seven sections: Acronyms and Abbreviations, Disc Contents, Instrument, Methods, Data, Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata, and Trackline. Links at the top and bottom of each page provide access to these sections. This report contains links to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), collaborators, and other available resources if access to the Internet is available while viewing these documents.  Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) files, images used to produce the Web pages, and this readme file are also included in this report.  The Disc Contents page contains a listing with locations and links to all files and folders contained on this disc.
      
Project Summary
      
      From August 11 to 15, 2008, a cruise led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected air and sea surface partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), pH, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and total alkalinity (TA) data on the west Florida shelf. Approximately 1,600 data points were collected underway over a 650-km trackline using the Multiparameter Inorganic Carbon Analyzer (MICA). The collection of data extended from Crystal River Southward to Marco Island, FL (~400 km), and westward up to 160 km off the Florida coast. Discrete water samples from approximately 40 locations were also taken at specific localities to corroborate underway data measurements. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 08FSH01 tells us the data were collected in 2008 for the Response of Florida Shelf (FSH) Ecosystems to Climate Change project and the data were collected during the first field activity for that study in that calendar year.