Report on the Danish Oceanographical Expeditions 1908-1910 to the Mediterranean and adjacent seas - Introduction

Study Extent

Consistently to the goal of the Thor expeditions, physical oceanographic data were collected in co-occurrence with sampling for pelagic species. Each sampling station, identified by geographical coordinates, is also characterized by a set of data regarding measurements of temperature and salinity, as well as observations of weather and bottom conditions. Date (and consequently season) and time of the day are provided in correspondence of each sampling event (more than one event could have occurred at a station, often in the case for different gears used and different depths sampled).

Sampling

Data proceed from the logbooks of the research vessel Thor (1908-1910; 1905 and 1906 expeditions) as well as vessels Pangan, Ingolf, and commercial vessels. Data were presented as tables in the report by Schmidt (1912)Vol1 (Introduction).

Quality Control

Individual datasets were digitized manually from scanned documents. Original names regarding taxonomy and sampling location were kept as a reference. At the same time taxon names were cross-checked against the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS); while the original sampling coordinates were plotted using Google Earth in order to double check that they are located in the sea. All data were checked for inconsistencies, both for the range of values, but also compared to other datasets from the same series, collected at the same station. Any problematic records were recorded in a remarks field in the data.

Method steps

1. Data were digitized by hand, then quality controlled, and published through the MedOBIS IPT installation.

Includes stations reported in Schmidt J. (1912). Stations include Thor expeditions 1908-1910 but also earlier and later expeditions of Thor and -to less extent- other vessels