The CARIACO Ocean Time-Series Program collected various oceanographic parameters from 1995 until 2017 at the Cariaco station (10°30’N, 64°40’W). The Cariaco Basin, located off eastern Venezuela in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, is the world’s largest marine anoxic basin and the site of one of the longest-running oceanographic studies on record (CARIACO). The Cariaco Basin exhibits pronounced seasonal and interannual variations in hydrographic properties and primary production due to seasonal coastal upwelling. Additionally, due to its restricted circulation and high primary production, the basin is anoxic below approximately 250 meters.

Monthly oceanographic cruises were conducted aboard the R/V Hermano Ginés of the Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales de Venezuela. These cruises collected data on hydrographic conditions, nutrient and carbon concentrations, primary productivity, phytoplankton and zooplankton populations, and other biogeochemical observations throughout the water column (surface to 1300 meters). Additional seasonal cruises to the station focused on chemical and microbial processes. The downward flux of particulate material was measured using sediment traps moored at various depths.

Different datasets generated by the CARIACO Oceanographic Time-Series are available through USF Digital Commons (https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2587/).