Dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, Niskin bottle, and other instruments from NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada in the U.S. West Coast California Current System from 2012-09-04 to 2012-09-17 (NCEI Accession 0123468)

This cruise represents the second dedicated West Coast Ocean Acidification cruise (WCOA2012), which took place September 4-17, 2012 aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. Seventy-seven stations were occupied from northern Washington to southern California along fourteen transect lines. At all stations, CTD casts were conducted, and discrete water samples were collected in Niskin bottles. The cruise was designed to obtain a synoptic snapshot of key carbon, physical, and biogeochemical parameters as they relate to ocean acidification (OA) in the coastal realm. During the cruise, some of the same transect lines were occupied as during the 2007 and 2011 West Coast Carbon cruise, as well as many CalCOFI stations. This effort was conducted in support of the coastal monitoring and research objectives of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP).