The COBE data set is a spatially complete, interpolated 1°x1° SST product for 1891 to present. It combines SSTs from ICOADS release 2.0, the Japanese Kobe collection, and reports from ships and buoys. Data are gridded using optimal interpolation. As in HadISST, data up to 1941 were bias-adjusted using the "bucket correction." Prior to the interpolation analyses, data were also subject to quality control using a-priori thresholds, and nearby observations were combined. COBE data have been used in the JRA Reanalyses and for AMIP experiments.
Key Strengths:
- Kobe collection improves data coverage compared to earlier releases of ICOADS that were used in other gridded reconstructions (ICOADS 2.5 includes Kobe)
Key Limitations:
- Compared to modern benchmarks (e.g. HadSST3), the bias adjustments and uncertainty estimates are somewhat primitive
Years of Record
1891/01 to 2020/03
Formats
Timestep
Monthly
Data Time Period Extended?
yes, data set is extended
Domain
Spatial Resolution
1°x1°
Ocean or Land
Ocean Only
Missing Data Flag
spatially complete
Vertical Levels
Input Data
ICOADS, Kobe Collection, buoys, GTS
Data Access: Please Cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions.
- Ishii, M., A. Shouji, S. Sugimoto, and T. Matsumoto, 2005: Objective Analyses of Sea-Surface Temperature and Marine Meteorological Variables for the 20th Century using ICOADS and the Kobe Collection. Int. J. Climatol., 25, 865-879.
- Hirahara, Shoji, Masayoshi Ishii, Yoshikazu Fukuda, 2014: Centennial-Scale Sea Surface Temperature Analysis and Its Uncertainty. J. Climate, 27, 57–75.
