Researchers at Shandong University in Jinan, China, have built a regional ocean database for the Coastal China Sea to consolidate high-quality observations for the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea, plus part of the Sea of Japan. The database unifies nearly 4 million data points from 1985 to 2021 across several variables, including temperature, salinity, oxygen levels, nutrients, and carbon. The dataset provides a powerful tool for studying issues such as coastal hypoxia—dangerously low oxygen levels that threaten marine life and fisheries—as well as the region’s role as a major carbon sink, supporting both marine research and policy decisions on climate and coastal management.
Image Credits: Conor Sexton
