Climate Data

The Climate Data Guide curates expert insights on over 200 observational datasets and climate indices, searchable or browseable in the list below.

To find a specific dataset or climate variable, jump to the the search box. For only the datasets paired with guidance written by experts, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.

Data creators, data publishers, and scientists who use climate data are invited to join our Network of Experts by contributing commentaries on data strengths and limitations to the Climate Data Guide. What type of data are included? See this discussion.

With the exception of about 25 climate indices, the Climate Data Guide does not host datasets.  Data cannot be downloaded from this site. However, links are provided to download locations under the "Data Access" section of each dataset page.

Climate datasets

Has expert guidance
WASWind: Wave and Anemometer-based Sea Surface Wind WASWind: Wave and Anemometer-based Sea Surface Wind

  • Years of record

  • to

"WASWind (Wave and Anemometer-based Sea Surface Wind) provides a bias-corrected marine surface wind dataset over the global oceans. Variables include scalar, zonal and meridional winds at 10-meter high, and zonal and meridional components of wind stress.…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Wind Wind Stress

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Collections

    • None
CHOMPS: CICS High-Resolution Optimally Interpolated Microwave Precipitation from Satellites CHOMPS: CICS High-Resolution Optimally Interpolated Microwave Precipitation from Satellites

  • Years of record

  • to

CHOMPS utilizes all available passive microwave satellite estimates to develop improved global daily rainfall time series. No IR values are used. Satellite sources include SSM/I, AMSU, AMSR-E and TRMM. The most recent/accurate and consistent retrieval schemes…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Precipitation

    • Timestep

    • Daily

    • Collections

    • None

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Climate Data Guide Randolph Glacier Inventory data base of global glacier outlines

  • Years of record

The Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI) is a global data base of glacier outlines. It is intended for estimates of ice volume and glacier mass at regional and global scales. The data are organized into 19 large regions, with a shapefile provided for each region.…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Glaciers Land

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Historical land-cover changes and land-use conversions global data set by Meiyappan and Jain Historical land-cover changes and land-use conversions global data set by Meiyappan and Jain

  • Years of record

  • to

A set of three estimates of land-cover types and annual transformations of land use are provided on a global 0.5°x0.5° grid at annual timesteps. The longest of the three estimates spans 1770-2010. The three estimates use three different data sets of cropland…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Land Cover Type Land Use Conversion Vegetation Cover

    • Timestep

    • Annual

    • Collections

    • None
Sea Ice Concentration data from NOAA OI Sea Ice Concentration data from NOAA OI

  • Years of record

  • to

The NOAA Optimal Interpolation (OI) v2 sea ice data set contains gridded, weekly or monthly resolution sea ice concentration estimates for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is intended as a consistent analyses for input into SST analyses (and is…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Harmonized Soil Carbon Database Harmonized Soil Carbon Database

  • Years of record

"This state-of-the-art database was established by IIASA and FAO in partnership with: ISRIC-World Soil Information which, together with the FAO, contributed recent regional soil and terrain databases together with the WISE soil profile database; The European…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere CO2

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Liquid Water Path (LWP): UWisc climatology Liquid Water Path (LWP): UWisc climatology

  • Years of record

  • to

"This work describes a new climatology of cloud liquid water path (LWP), termed the University of Wisconsin (UWisc) climatology, derived from 18 yr of satellite-based passive microwave observations over the global oceans. The climatology is based on a modern…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Liquid Water Path Precipitable water

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Water Isotopes from Satellites Water Isotopes from Satellites

  • Years of record

  • to

Summary of 7 satellite-derived products providing a global snapshot of water isotope distribution in 3D, with good information on zonal gradients and seasonality.

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Water Isotopes
Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes Version 3 (GSSTF3) Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes Version 3 (GSSTF3)

  • Years of record

  • to

Version 3: The Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes (GSSTF) data set is part of the NASA Making Earth Science Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Project. The objective of this project is to continually produce a uniform data…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Specific Humidity Wind Wind Stress Latent & sensible heat flux Ocean Surface Flux

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Extended Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports Archive (EECRA) from Ships and Land Stations Over the Globe Extended Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports Archive (EECRA) from Ships and Land Stations Over the Globe

  • Years of record

  • to

"The Extended Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports Archive makes use of routine synoptic observations made by humans on ships over the ocean and at weather stations over land. Following the synoptic code (WMO, 1974), observers report the fraction of sky dome covered…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Cloud Properties

    • Timestep

    • Sub-daily

    • Collections

    • None
Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC based on NASA Team algorithm Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC based on NASA Team algorithm

  • Years of record

  • to

NASA Team sea ice refers to a well-known algorithm used to estimate sea ice concentration from passive microwave brightness temperatures. This page discusses the algorithm itself and the long-term data set ("NSIDC 0051") produced by scientists at NASA Goddard…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Sea Ice Concentration data from AMSR-E, AMSR2 & SSMIS, U Bremen and U Hamburg ASI algorithm Sea Ice Concentration data from AMSR-E, AMSR2 & SSMIS, U Bremen and U Hamburg ASI algorithm

  • Years of record

  • to

The sea ice data derived from AMSR-E using the ARTIST sea ice (ASI) algorithm offer a factor of 4 finer spatial resolution than most sea ice data sets from passive microwave satellite instruments. ASI is based on the difference of vertically and horizontally…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
MSU/AMSU Atmospheric Temperature Climate Data Record, Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) MSU/AMSU Atmospheric Temperature Climate Data Record, Remote Sensing Systems (RSS)

  • Years of record

  • to

A long (30-year+) data set of atmospheric temperatures for 4 tropopsheric and lower stratopsheric layers has been derived from brightness temperatures measured by the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU). This page…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature
Antarctic Seasonal Pressure Reconstructions 1905-2013 Antarctic Seasonal Pressure Reconstructions 1905-2013

  • Years of record

  • to

This dataset consists of seasonally resolved timeseries of surface pressure at 18 Antarctic research stations, spanning 1905-2013.  Routine meteorological observations began at most of these stations only around 1960, leaving a very short instrumental record on…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Sea Level Pressure

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
SeaWIFS: ocean bio-optical and carbon properties SeaWIFS: ocean bio-optical and carbon properties

  • Years of record

  • to

The purpose of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project is to provide quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties and to assess the oceans' role in the global carbon cycle. SeaWiFS data are being used to help clarify the…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean ocean ecosystem

    • Timestep

    • Climatology, Daily, Monthly, Seasonal, Annual

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Freshwater Discharge: 1948-2004 Freshwater Discharge: 1948-2004

  • Years of record

  • to

"A dataset of historical monthly streamflow at the farthest downstream stations for the world’s 925 largest ocean-reaching rivers has been created for community use. Compared with previous studies, the new dataset has improved homogeneity and enables more…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Runoff and Streamflow

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
SCRIPPS O2 ,CO2 and APO SCRIPPS O2 ,CO2 and APO

  • Years of record

  • to

"The Scripps O2Program measures changes in atmospheric oxygen levels from air samples collected at stations around the world. This sampling network provides a global and hemispheric perspective on oxygen variability. " Stations include: Alert, NWT, Canada Cold…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere CO2 O2

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
LANDSAT LANDSAT

  • Years of record

  • to

"The Landsat Program provides the longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence. Since 1972, Landsat satellites have collected measurements of Earth’s continents and surrounding coastal regions that have enabled people to study forests,…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere NPP: Net Primary Production Land Land Cover Type Vegetation Cover

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes Version 2c (GSSTF 2c) Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes Version 2c (GSSTF 2c)

  • Years of record

  • to

This data set (GSSTF 2C) has been superceded by GSSTF3 released in July 2012. The Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes (GSSTF) data set is part of the NASA Making Earth Science Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Project. The…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Specific Humidity Wind Stress Latent & sensible heat flux Precipitable water Ocean Surface Flux

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC based on Bootstrap algorithm Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC based on Bootstrap algorithm

  • Years of record

  • to

Bootstrap sea ice refers to a well-known algorithm used to estimate sea ice concentration from passive microwave brightness temperatures. It can be applied to data from many satellite instruments, such as SMMR, SSMI, and AMSR-E. This page discusses the…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Japanese Ocean Flux Data sets with Use of Remote Sensing Observations (J-OFURO2) Japanese Ocean Flux Data sets with Use of Remote Sensing Observations (J-OFURO2)

  • Years of record

  • to

These ocean surface flux data sets are derived primarily using data from multiple satellites. The COARE 3.0 bulk algorithm [Fairall et al. (2003)] is used in J-OFURO2 for the estimation of sensible and latent heat fluxes.

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Specific Humidity Wind Stress Latent & sensible heat flux Ocean Surface Flux

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Global Ocean Heat and Thermospheric Sea Level Change Global Ocean Heat and Thermospheric Sea Level Change

  • Years of record

  • to

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 change (0-2000m) for the period 1955-2010 are derived.

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Ocean Heat Content Sea Level

    • Timestep

    • Monthly, Seasonal, Annual

    • Collections

    • None

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Walsh and Chapman Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice Walsh and Chapman Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice

  • Years of record

  • to

The Walsh and Chapman Sea Ice Data Set provides a long record of Arctic sea ice concentrations on a monthly basis for 1870-2011. Historical observations were gridded and combined with satellite-derived sea ice concentrations for the recent decades. Mostly…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean
Gridded Climatology of Clouds from Surface Observations Worldwide (1971-2008) Gridded Climatology of Clouds from Surface Observations Worldwide (1971-2008)

  • Years of record

  • to

This digital archive provides multi-year monthly, seasonal, and annual averages in 5x5-degree grid boxes (or 10x10-degree boxes for some quantities over the ocean). Daytime and nighttime averages, as well as the diurnal average (average of day and night), are…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Cloud Properties
MEaSUREs Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial Snow Cover Extent Daily 25km EASE-Grid 2.0 MEaSUREs Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial Snow Cover Extent Daily 25km EASE-Grid 2.0

  • Years of record

  • to

"This data set offers users 25 km Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent represented by four different variables. Three of the snow cover variables are derived from the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System, MODIS Cloud Gap Filled Snow Cover, and…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Cover

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
SOCAT: Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas SOCAT: Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas

  • Years of record

  • to

SOCAT (Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas)  represents an effort to "provide a comprehensive, publicly available, regularly updated, global data set of marine surface CO2, which had been subject to quality control (QC)." The data sets are comprised of observations (ship…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere CO2

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Landscape surface freeze/thaw status based on passive microwave remote sensing Landscape surface freeze/thaw status based on passive microwave remote sensing

  • Years of record

  • to

A global data set of the frozen state of the land surface (free-thaw (FT) status) has been developed spanning 1979-present at a daily timestep and 25 x 25 km spatial resolution. Based on passive microwave remote sensing, the FT parameter is closely related to…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Freeze/Thaw
JRA-55C (reanalysis using conventional observations) JRA-55C (reanalysis using conventional observations)

  • Years of record

  • to

JRA-55C is a fixed observing system atmospheric reanalysis that uses the same model and data assimilation scheme as JRA-55. The observations assimilated include surface station data, radiosondes, tropical cyclone retrievals and wind profilers.  No satellite…

Main variables and Earth System components

    • Timestep

    • Sub-daily, Monthly

    • Collections

    • None
HadDTR: Hadley Centre sea-surface temperature diurnal temperature range climatology HadDTR: Hadley Centre sea-surface temperature diurnal temperature range climatology

  • Years of record

The Hadley Centre sea-surface temperature diurnal temperature range climatology is a 5x5 degree gridded climatology of the diurnal range of sea surface temperature as measured by drifting buoys.

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean SST - sea surface temperature SST diurnal range

    • Timestep

    • Climatology

    • Collections

    • None

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
PACIFICA: PACIFic ocean Interior CArbon PACIFICA: PACIFic ocean Interior CArbon

  • Years of record

  • to

PACIFICA (PACIFic ocean Interior CArbon) was an international collaborative project for the data synthesis of ocean interior carbon and its related parameters in the Pacific Ocean. The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), Section of Carbon and…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean CO2: CarbonDioxide nitrate

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Global Ocean Salinity Change, 1950-2008 (Durack-Wijffels) Global Ocean Salinity Change, 1950-2008 (Durack-Wijffels)

  • Years of record

  • to

Using data from the Indian Ocean Hydrobase (IOHB) (Kobayashi et al., 2006), Hydrobase2 (Curry, 2002), and Southern Ocean Atlas (Orsi and Whitworth, 2010) databases along with the improved spatial and temporal coverage provided by ARGO profiling data, new…

Main variables and Earth System components

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Sea Ice Concentration data reprocessed from SSMR & SSMI, by Eumetsat Sea Ice Concentration data reprocessed from SSMR & SSMI, by Eumetsat

  • Years of record

  • to

The Eumetsat Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Applications Facility provides a "reprocessed" data set of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice concentration for 1978-2009. Source data are the SMMR and SSM/I passive microwave brightness temperatures. Three algorithms are…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology: SSMR, SSMI Global Monthly EASE-Grid Snow Water Equivalent Climatology: SSMR, SSMI

  • Years of record

  • to

This data set comprises global, monthly satellite-derived snow water equivalent (SWE) climatologies from November 1978 through May 2007, and is updated with more recent data periodically. Global data are gridded to the Northern and Southern 25 km Equal-Area…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Snow Water Equivalent (AMSR-E) Snow Water Equivalent (AMSR-E)

  • Years of record

  • to

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) distributes daily, weekly, and monthly products which includes snow water equivalent. Note: "On 04 October 2011, the AMSR-E instrument on board the Aqua satellite stopped producing data…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Stratospheric & Tropospheric Ozone: ACC/SPARC (Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate / Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate) Stratospheric & Tropospheric Ozone: ACC/SPARC (Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate / Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate)

  • Years of record

  • to

"The AC&C/SPARC ozone database covers the period 1850 to 2100 and can be used as forcing in climate models that do not include interactive chemistry. The historical part of the AC&C/SPARC ozone database spans the period 1850 to 2009 and consists of…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ozone: Stratospheric

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Total Column Ozone: Bodeker Scientific Total Column Ozone: Bodeker Scientific

  • Years of record

Bodeker Scientific produces global, daily, total column ozone database by combining measurements from a number of different satellite-based instruments. Offsets and drifts between the different datasets are resolved through comparisons with the Dobson and…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ozone: Total Column Ozone: Stratospheric

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Sea ice concentration data from NASA Goddard based on SSMI and NASA Team (NT2) algorithm Sea ice concentration data from NASA Goddard based on SSMI and NASA Team (NT2) algorithm

  • Years of record

  • to

The NASA Team 2 (NT2) / SSMI data set of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice concentration is available at daily timesteps and 25km spatial resolution for 1992-2008. NT2, an extension of the original NASA Team algorithm, uses SSMI 85GHz channels to help resolve…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC using AMSR-E and NASA TEAM2 (NT2) algorithm Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC using AMSR-E and NASA TEAM2 (NT2) algorithm

  • Years of record

  • to

The AMSR-E/NASA Team 2 (NT2) data set of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice concentration is available at daily timesteps and 12.5 km (optionally 25km) spatial resolution for 2002-2011. NT2, an extension of the original NASA Team algorithm, uses AMSR-E 89GHz channels…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
MEaSUREs: Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial Snow Cover Extent Weekly 100km EASE-Grid 2.0 MEaSUREs: Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial Snow Cover Extent Weekly 100km EASE-Grid 2.0

  • Years of record

  • to

"This data set offers users weekly 100 km Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent represented by three different variables. Two of the variables are derived from individual source products: the NOAA/NCDC Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Extent Climate Data Record…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Cover

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT)

  • Years of record

  • to

"The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) is a multidisciplinary programme which undertakes biological, chemical and physical oceanographic research during an annual voyage between the UK and destinations in the South Atlantic." As of early November, 2013, there…

Main variables and Earth System components

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
CARINA: Carbon in the North Altantic CARINA: Carbon in the North Altantic

  • Years of record

  • to

The CARINA (CARbon dioxide IN the Atlantic Ocean) data synthesis project is an international collaborative effort of the EU IP CARBOOCEAN, and US partners. It has produced a merged internally consistent data set of open ocean subsurface measurements for…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean CO2: CarbonDioxide

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Stratospheric Ozone: Vertically Resolved, zonal mean based on BDBP Stratospheric Ozone: Vertically Resolved, zonal mean based on BDBP

  • Years of record

  • to

Combined monthly mean vertical ozone profile database spanning the period 1979 to 2007. The database is completely filled such that there are no missing data. The raw individual ozone data are sourced from the BDBP database.  Monthly means are calculated from…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ozone: Stratospheric

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Collections

    • None
RAPID: monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N RAPID: monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N

  • Years of record

  • to

"The Rapid Climate Change programme (RAPID) explores what causes rapid switches in climate, with a main (but not exclusive) focus on the Atlantic Ocean's thermohaline circulation." "A principal objective of the RAPID programme is the development and maintenance…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Salinity Sub Surface Temperature heat flux streamfunction

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Stratospheric Ozone: Randel & Wu 2007 Stratospheric Ozone: Randel & Wu 2007

  • Years of record

  • to

This is a monthly, zonal-mean ozone profile data set spanning 1979–2005 for altitudes from the tropopause up to 50 km. Interannual variability is based on a combination of SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) satellite profile measurements and polar…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ozone: Stratospheric