COPEPOD: The Coastal & Oceanic Plankton Ecology, Production, & Observation Database

The Coastal & Oceanic Plankton Ecology, Production, & Observation Database (COPEPOD) provides NMFS scientists with quality-controlled, globally distributed plankton biomass, abundance, and composition data, along with other co-sampled physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic variables. COPEPOD provides in situ data along with spatial and temporal data products (i.e., high-resolution gridded mean fields and time series analyses), fulfilling the data needs of plankton scientists at a broad range of aggregations and resolutions (from individual species observations for taxonomists to global carbon fields for modelers).

To fulfill the data needs of plankton scientists at a broad range of aggregations and resolutions, from individual species observations (for plankton taxonomists) to global carbon fields (for plankton and ecosystem modelers).

Marine Ecosystems Division (ST7)

Data is publicly available, online

Online access (browse, select, download) provided by NCEI.

Data is publicly available, online.

Data users should cite COPEPOD and/or the individual data sets. Guidance is given at each download menu.

Data is publicly available, online.

Data is publicly available, online.

COPEPOD data are stored in comma separated value (CSV) ascii text files. The data area available in a computer-friendly compact format (the "short format") as well as a detailed and human-friendly comma- and space- separated "long format".

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Data are not necessarily inter-comparable as each plankton data set has its own method and often gear type used for the collection process.

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Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

Each COPEPOD data piece (data from a cruise, a project, an institution) was created using its own sampling methods (gear, technique) and sample processing methods (e.g. microscope vs visual, counting everything vs. counting general groups). Accuracy/precision/applicability/QC varies for each data piece.

COPEPOD uses empirical, method and realm-based quality control. (It compares each data point to similar data from a similar gear and a similar geographic region to look for extreme outliers.)

The application is hosted by the Office of Science and Technology within the NOAA System 4020 and is compliant with all applicable Federal Government security policies.

Edit access to data is subject to role-based authentication and access control.

Many of the data coming into COPEPOD are already archived by NCEI-MD as individual pieces. COPEPOD then combines these into its global collection. COPEPOD has full backup coverage provided by the Office of Science & Technology. If COPEPOD were to be destroyed, only the labor and expertise of the compilation process (but not the original data) would be lost.

The data in COPEPOD come from a wide variety of historical and ongoing plankton cruises and projects. Each data sub-piece within COPEPOD contains a brief summary of that data piece's source and history.