FerryBox - Application of continuous water quality observations along transects in the North Sea

In 2002, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany, started to use FerryBox-automated monitoring systems on Ships of Opportunity to continuously record standard oceanographic, biological and chemical in situ data in the North Sea. The present study summarises the operational experience gathered since the beginning of this deployment and reflects on the potential and limits of FerryBox systems as a monitoring tool. One part relates to the instrumental performance, constancy of shipping services, and the availability and quality of the recorded in situ data. The other considers integration of the FerryBox observations in scientific applications and routine monitoring campaigns. Examples are presented that highlight the added value of the recorded data for the study of both long- and short-term variability in water mass stability, plankton communities and surface water productivity in the North Sea. Through the assessment of technical and scientific performance, it is evident that FerryBoxes have become a valuable tool in marine research that helps to fill gaps in coastal and open ocean operational observation networks.

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