This dataset has been extracted as part of an exercise to assemble "all" Cefas
Temperature Data and publish it in a Data paper. It is one of 17 Cefas data
sources assembled. The Lowestoft Sample Data Management System (LSDM) was the
tool used for tracking the ingestion, processing and analysis of marine water,
sediment and radiological samples. It was replaced by the Cefas Laboratory
Information Management System (LIMS) in 2015. This dataset is an extract from
the LSDM for seawater temperature data (other data are in LIMS and the Cefas
Data Hub). The Laboratory Sample Data Management system (LSDM) was the primary
system used by Cefas (Lowestoft) before and throughout the 1990s (initially
known as the Liquid Sample Data Management system). Its function was to
provide a vehicle for the management of the ingestion, analysis and recording
of measurements on marine samples, ranging from oceanographic water samples
through sediments to “environmental materials” and radiological samples (see
Sutton (1993) for an example of the supporting role of LSDM in relation to
the, usually high level, scientific measurement systems of the day, Sauer et
al (2002) for an example of its pivotal role in quality assured processes and
analyses. As the work profile for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food Directorate of Fisheries Research changed, followed by the creation of
Cefas and then Defra, the need for the centralised system for the management
of an extensive suite of physical samples decreased. LSDM was closed down in
2015 with chemical data transferred to other systems. The temperature data
held included the historical ferry routes and historical CTN data. The
remainder, from a variety of programmes and cruises, are presented in this
section.