Nutrient, pigment, suspended matter and turbidity measurements in the Belgian part of the North Sea

Abstract

Through regular sampling surveys, the Flanders Marine Institute is generating long term data series for the Belgian coastal water and sand bank systems, a designated site in the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. The data series is built on sampling activities initiated in 2002, but gradually upgraded and extended in the framework of the LifeWatch marine observatory and the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) participation. Nine nearshore stations are sampled monthly, with additional seasonal sampling of eight offshore stations. This paper presents the generated data series for nutrients, pigments, suspended matter and turbidity. The collection, methodology and processing of the 2002–2018 dataset is described, along with its data curation, integration and quality control. Yearly versions of the data are published online in a standardized format, accompanied with extensive metadata description and labelled with digital identifiers for traceability. Data is published under a CC-BY license, allowing use of the data under the condition of providing reference to the original source.