Ocean

Oceanic variables include sea surface temperature, salinity, currents, air-sea heat fluxes, ocean heat content, and much more. Overview pages summarize and compare selected datasets of a given variable.

To find a specific dataset or variable, jump to the search box below or click your desired variable from among the blue sub-category buttons.

To see only the datasets with expert-written commentaries, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.

Climate datasets

Has expert guidance
Ocean heat content for 10-1500m depth based on Argo Ocean heat content for 10-1500m depth based on Argo

  • Years of Record

  • 2005-01 to 2011-12

A regularly updated monthly timeseries of ocean heat content, based on Argo profiles, is integrated over 10-1500m depth and the latitudes 60°S-60°N. Coverage begins in 2005…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Ocean Heat Content

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Collections

    • N/A
Ocean temperature analysis and heat content estimate from Institute of Atmospheric Physics Ocean temperature analysis and heat content estimate from Institute of Atmospheric Physics

  • Years of Record

  • 1940-01 to 2016-12

The Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) ocean temperature analysis features global coverage of the oceans, at 1° x1° horizontal resolution on 41 vertical levels from 1-…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Ocean Heat Content Sea Level Sub Surface Temperature
Argo float locations July 30, 2025 Argo Ocean Temperature and Salinity Profiles

  • Years of Record

  • 2000-01 to 2025-07

Argo is an array of over 4100 profiling floats distributed almost uniformly across the global oceans. First deployed in 2000, Argo floats provide temperature and…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Salinity Sub Surface Salinity Sub Surface Temperature

    • Timestep

    • Monthly, Weekly

    • Collections

    • N/A
AMOC Observing Systems Observations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

  • Years of Record

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is comprised of a series of northward surface currents and southward currents at depth in the Atlantic Basin. It is a…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean

    • Formats

    • N/A

    • Timestep

    • N/A

    • Domain

    • N/A

    • Collections

    • N/A
CMCC Global Ocean Reanalysis System (C-GLORS) CMCC Global Ocean Reanalysis System (C-GLORS)

  • Years of Record

  • 1982-01 to 2013-12

"The CMCC Global Ocean Physical Reanalysis System (C-GLORS) is used  to simulate the state of the ocean in the last decades. It consists of a variational data…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Ocean Heat Content SST - sea surface temperature Salinity Sub Surface Salinity Sub Surface Temperature mixed layer depth sea surface height u, v current components

    • Timestep

    • Daily, Monthly, Weekly

    • Collections

    • N/A
ORAS4: ECMWF Ocean Reanalysis and derived ocean heat content ORAS4: ECMWF Ocean Reanalysis and derived ocean heat content

  • Years of Record

  • 1958-01 to 2013-04

ECMWF's current ocean reanalysis uses a sophisticated data assimilation methodology which includes a model bias correction. The ocean model used is forced by atmospheric…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Ocean Heat Content Salinity Sea Level potential temperature u, v current components

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
EN4 subsurface temperature and salinity for the global oceans EN4 subsurface temperature and salinity for the global oceans

  • Years of Record

  • 1900-01 to 2019-12

EN4 is a subsurface temperature and salinity dataset for the global oceans, spanning 1900 to present at a monthly timestep. It includes two types of data products: (1) a…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean potential temperature Sub Surface Salinity Sub Surface Temperature Sub-surface data

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Collections

    • N/A
Global Ocean Heat and Thermospheric Sea Level Change Global Ocean Heat and Thermospheric Sea Level Change

  • Years of Record

  • 1955-01 to 2010-12

Using updated data from the World Ocean Database (Boyer et al, 2009) and improved ARGO profiling data, new estimates of ocean heat content and thermospheric sea level…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Ocean Heat Content Sea Level

    • Timestep

    • Monthly, Seasonal, Annual

    • Collections

    • N/A

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
Asymmetry and Diversity in the pattern, amplitude and duration of El Niño and La Niña Asymmetry and Diversity in the pattern, amplitude and duration of El Niño and La Niña

  • Years of Record

El Niño and La Niña, the two phases of ENSO, are sometimes described as opposites. However, there are asymmetries in their spatial structure, amplitude, duration and…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean SST - sea surface temperature

    • Formats

    • N/A

    • Timestep

    • N/A

    • Collections

    • N/A
Meridional Modes and their indices Meridional Modes and their indices

  • Years of Record

In each of the world’s tropical ocean basins, year-to-year climate variability is primarily governed by fluctuations in the zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient and…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Wind Ocean SST - sea surface temperature
Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV)

  • Years of Record

  • 1870-01 to 2021-03

The Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) has been identified as a coherent mode of natural variability occurring in the North Atlantic Ocean with an estimated period of…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean SST - sea surface temperature
Tropical Moored Buoy System: TAO, TRITON, PIRATA, RAMA (TOGA) Tropical Moored Buoy System: TAO, TRITON, PIRATA, RAMA (TOGA)

  • Years of Record

  • 1992-01 to 2013-04

The Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere program (TOGA) is a component of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) aimed specifically at the prediction of climate phenomena…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Precipitation Radiation Relative Humidity Sea Level Pressure Wind Ocean Absolute Dynamic Topography (ADT) Ocean Heat Content SST - sea surface temperature Salinity Sub Surface Salinity Sub Surface Temperature u, v current components

    • Timestep

    • Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly, Weekly

    • Collections

    • N/A

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A