Dover-Sangatte (Dover Strait) cable voltage series (1955-1969)

The data set comprises continuous hourly recordings of electrical potential across the Dover Strait, which relate to the flux of water, over the period 1955-1965 and part of 1968-1969, together with parallel measurements of sea temperature and pressure. Voltages on telegraph cables were measured almost continuously by pen recording milliammeters installed at Dover since 1954. The d.c. potential between the inner conductor of the cable and its screen is measured through a 2.2 kohm resistor in series with a milliammeter, whose internal resistance was of order 1 kohm. The screen was earthed at both the English and French ends, and at the French end the conductor is also effectively earthed (through inductive elements) as far as low frequency voltage variations were concerned. Thus the voltage recorded at St. Margaret's Bay is effectively the difference in earth potentials between the particular coastal points in England and France. A 0.003F capacitance in parallel with the milliammeter shunted out voltage variations with time scales less than about half a minute. For calibration, a standard voltage cell was switched in place of the cable on occasions. For parallel measurements of sea temperature (related to conductivity) and local wind conditions, 6-hourly temperatures and barometric pressures from the Noord Hinder Light Vessel, the pressures from the Terschellinger Bank Light Vessel and the 6-hourly pressures from Gorlston (East Anglia) were used. Data for sea salinity at the Varne Light Vessel were extracted from International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) publications.

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British Oceanographic Data Centre record 1048037
Date (Publication)
2017-10-03
Date (Creation)
2010-09-28
Date (Revision)
2010-09-28
Citation identifier
http://www.bodc.ac.uk/ / EDMED178
Point of contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Bidston Laboratory

Unknown

inapplicable

 		Originator

British Oceanographic Data Centre

enquiries@bodc.ac.uk

Custodian
Maintenance and update frequency
As needed

MEDIN metadata record availability

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SeaDataNet PDV

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Data are freely available to all following agreement to the terms and conditions of a Data Licence
Language
English
Topic category
  • Oceans
  • Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere
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Begin date
1955
End date
1969
Supplemental Information

Publication year: 1977-01-01

Publication title: An analysis of 10 years' voltage records from the Dover-Sangatte cable.

Publication authors: Alcock, G.A. and Cartwright, D.E.

Publication editors: IOS Report
Reference system identifier
OGP / urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Distribution format
    Distributor contact
    Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

    British Oceanographic Data Centre

    enquiries@bodc.ac.uk

    		Distributor
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Statement

    Instrument(s) used to collect data: anemometers; meteorological packages; sea level recorders; current meters; salinity sensor.

    Metadata

    File identifier
    e70a63111c5357cda85118b84c61dd70 XML
    Metadata language
    English
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Date stamp
    2018-02-06T15:16:38
    Metadata standard name

    MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard
    Metadata standard version

    Version 2.3.8
    Metadata author
    Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

    British Oceanographic Data Centre

    Polly Hadžiabdic

    enquiries@bodc.ac.uk

    		Point of contact
     
     

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