Climate data guide content with tag Diagnostic Data Sets
Atmospheric Reanalysis: Overview & Comparison Tables
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Reanalysis a systematic approach to produce data sets for climate monitoring and research. Reanalyses are created via an unchanging ("frozen") data assimilation scheme and model(s) which ingest all available observations every 6-12 hours over the period being analyzed. This unchanging framework provides a dynamically consistent estimate of the climate state at each time…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere-
Formats
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Timestep
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Domain
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- Dee, Dick, Fasullo, John, Shea, Dennis, Walsh, John
CERES EBAF: Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF)
Years of record
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The CERES-EBAF product provides 1-degree regional, zonal and global monthly mean Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) and surface (SFC) longwave (LW), shortwave (SW), and net (NET) fluxes under clear and all-sky conditions. EBAF is used for climate model evaluation, estimating the Earth's global mean energy budget, and to infer meridional heat transport. The data synthesized to…
Experts contributing reviews
- Loeb, Norman
Cloud observations from MODIS
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The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is scanning instrument that makes measurements in 36 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared at spatial resolutions from 250 m to 1 km. There are MODIS instruments aboard two sun-synchronous polar-orbiting NASA satellites: Terra, which has a daytime equatorial crossing at about 10:30 am local time…
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Timestep
- Daily, Monthly, Weekly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, atmosdiagnostics, Obs4MIPS
Experts contributing reviews
- Pincus, Robert
CMAP: CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation
Years of record
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CMAP refers to a collection of precipitation data sets, though the 2.5°x2.5° global monthly version is probably the most widely used. This data set is constructed from an analysis of gauge data and satellite-derived precipitation estimates. An "enhanced" version (CMAP/A) is also available, which provides global coverage by filling in gaps with precipitation forecasts…
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Timestep
- Monthly, Pentad
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Arkin, Phil, Xie, PIngping
Combined CloudSat spaceborne radar and CALIPSO spaceborne lidar cloud fraction dataset (3S-GEOPROF-COMB)
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A global (82S-82N) cloud fraction data set, providing a unique view of cloud vertical structure, has been developed based on the complimentary spaceborne remote sensing capabilities of the CloudSat radar and the CALISPSO lidar. The data set provides monthly mean cloud fraction over several vertical layers for 2006-2019.
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Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Monthly, Seasonal, Annual
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, atmosdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Bertrand, Leah, Kay, Jennifer
COREv2 Air-Sea Surface Fluxes
Years of record
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The Coordinated Ocean Research Experiments version 2 (COREv2) data set consists of a globally complete set of air-sea fluxes of momentum, heat and freshwater for 1948-2009 at monthly resolution. This data set serves as a set of common atmospheric boundary conditions that has been used by the ocean modeling community to force and compare a diverse set of…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Evaporation Precipitation Radiation Wind Stress Land Runoff and Streamflow Ocean Surface Flux-
Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, atmosdiagnostics, oceandiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Yeager, Stephen
COSP: Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package
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Cloud processes and feedbacks are recognized as the largest uncertainty in climate model projections. Progress in understanding the roles of clouds in the response of the Earth to changes in external forcing (GHG, aerosoles, etc.) has in part been hampered by the lack of a consistent definition of clouds and cloud types in models and observations. It has been difficult…
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Formats
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Timestep
- N/A
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, atmosdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Kay, Jennifer
ERA-20C: ECMWF's atmospheric reanalysis of the 20th century (and comparisons with NOAA's 20CR)
Years of record
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The ECMWF's first atmospheric reanalysis of the 20th Century, ERA-20C, provides a long, gridded dataset of many climate variables, spanning 1900-2010. Observations assimilated include surface pressures from the International Surface Pressure Databank v3.2.6 and ICOADS v 2.5.1, and surface winds over the oceans from ICOADSv2.5.1. Upper-air and satellite data…
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Timestep
- Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Poli, Paul
ERA-Interim
Years of record
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Using a much improved atmospheric model and assimilation system from those used in ERA-40, ERA-Interim represents a third generation reanalysis. Several of the inaccuracies exhibited by ERA-40 such as too-strong precipitation over oceans from the early 1990's onwards and a too-strong Brewer-Dobson circulation in the stratosphere, were eliminated or significantly reduced…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water Precipitation-
Timestep
- Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Dee, Dick
ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis
Years of record
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ERA5, the successor to ERA-Interim, provides global, hourly estimates of atmospheric, ocean-wave and land-surface variables, at a horizontal resolution of 31 km and 137 levels in the vertical from the surface to 0.01 hPa (about 80km). Produced by ECMWF on behalf of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ERA5 extends from 1940 onwards. Each day one…
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Timestep
- Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets
Experts contributing reviews
- Hersbach, Hans
Global (land) precipitation and temperature: Willmott & Matsuura, University of Delaware
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A series of gridded temperature and precipitation data sets. Station records that served as bases for the Terrestrial Air Temperature: 1900-2014 Gridded Monthly Time Series (Version 4.01) and Terrestrial Precipitation: 1900-2014 Gridded Monthly Time Series (Version 4.01) archives are used here to help create new gridded climatologies of monthly and annual average air…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Air Temperature at 2m Precipitation-
Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, atmosdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Matsuura, Kenji
Global land-ocean surface temperature data: HadCRUT5
Years of record
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HadCRUT5 is one of the main datasets used to monitor global and regional surface temperature variability and trends. It is a global surface temperature product that combines land surface air temperatures from CRUTEM5 with SSTs from HadSST4. HadCRUT5 is a departure from its predecessors (HadCRUT4, HadCRUT3, etc.) in that two different versions are offered. Both versions…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature at 2m Ocean SST - sea surface temperature-
Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets
Experts contributing reviews
- Hausfather, Zeke
Global surface temperature data: GISTEMP: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Surface Temperature Analysis
Years of record
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NASA Goddard's Global Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP) combines land surface air temperatures from GHCN-M version 4 with SSTs of the ERSSTv5 analysis into a comprehensive, global surface temperature data set spanning 1880 to the present at monthly resolution, on a 2x2 degree latitude-longitude grid. As such, it is one of the main data sets used to monitor global…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Ocean SST - sea surface temperature-
Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Lenssen, Nathan
Global surface temperature data: HadCRUT4 and CRUTEM4
Years of record
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Extending back to 1850 and frequently updated, HadCRUT4 is the longest data set of its type. HadCRUT4 is a combination of the global land surface temperature data set, CRUTEM4 and the global SST data set, HadSST3. HadCRUT4 is different from the most closely comparable products (e.g. NASA GISTEMP and NOAA MLOST) in that no interpolation is performed. As such, there are…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Ocean SST - sea surface temperature-
Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
Global surface temperature data: MLOST: NOAA Merged Land-Ocean Surface Temperature Analysis
Years of record
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NOAA's Merged Land-Ocean Surface Temperature Analysis (MLOST) combines land surface air temperatures primarily from the Global Historical Climatology Network, Monthly (GHCN-M) version 3 with SSTs of the ERSSTv3b analysis into a comprehensive global surface temperature data set spanning 1880 to the present at monthly resolution, on a 5x5 degree latitude-longitude grid. As…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Ocean SST - sea surface temperature-
Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
Global surface temperatures: BEST: Berkeley Earth Surface Temperatures
Years of record
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The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperatures (BEST) are a set of data products, originally a gridded reconstruction of land surface air temperature records spanning 1701-present, and now including an 1850-present merged land-ocean data set that combines the land analysis with an interpolated version of HadSST3. The land station data are available in an archive, and…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Ocean SST - sea surface temperatureExperts contributing reviews
- Cowtan, Kevin
GPCC: Global Precipitation Climatology Centre
Years of record
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The GPCC provides gridded gauge-analysis products derived from quality controlled station data. Two products are for climate: (a) the Full Data Reanalysis Product (1901-2010) is recommended for global and regional water balance studies, calibration/validation of remote sensing based rainfall estimations and verification of numerical models, and (b) the VASClimO 50-…
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Timestep
- Climatology, Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
GPCP (Monthly): Global Precipitation Climatology Project
Years of record
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Data from rain gauge stations, satellites, and sounding observations have been merged to estimate monthly rainfall on a 2.5-degree global grid from 1979 to the present. The careful combination of satellite-based rainfall estimates provides the most complete analysis of rainfall available to date over the global oceans, and adds necessary spatial detail to the rainfall…
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Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Pendergrass, Angeline, Wang, Jian-Jian
GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment: Surface mass, total water storage, and derived variables
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The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) refers to a pair of NASA satellites that has flown in low-Earth orbit since 2002. The satellites use a precise microwave ranging system to measure the distance between themselves due to gravitational acceleration. Onboard GPS instruments determine the exact position of the satellites over the Earth. GRACE measures…
Main variables and Earth System components
Cryosphere Glaciers Ice Sheet Mass Land Groundwater surface water Water Storage Ocean Bottom pressure-
Timestep
- Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, landdiagnostics, landicediagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Swenson, Sean
Gridded Climatology of Clouds from Surface Observations Worldwide (1971-2008)
Years of record
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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 given. Nighttime averages were computed using only those reports that met an "illuminance criterion" (i.e., made…
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Formats
- ascii
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Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly, Seasonal
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, atmosdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Norris, Joel
ISCCP: International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project
Years of record
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The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) makes use of routine observations by operational weather satellites to provide a long-term (1983-2009), gridded, global record of cloud properties. ISCCP uses observations in the visible and infrared window portions of the spectrum to determine cloud optical thickness and cloud top temperature, from which the…
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Timestep
- Climatology, Sub-daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Pincus, Robert
Merged Hadley-NOAA/OI Sea Surface Temperature & Sea-Ice Concentration (Hurrell et al, 2008)
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The merged Hadley-OI sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice concentration (SIC) data sets were specifically developed as surface forcing data sets for AMIP style uncoupled simulations of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). The Hadley Centre's SST/SIC version 1.1 (HADISST1), which is derived gridded, bias-adjusted in situ observations, were merged with the NOAA-…
Main variables and Earth System components
Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean SST - sea surface temperature-
Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Monthly
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
NASA MERRA
Years of record
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The Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) was undertaken by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office with two primary objectives: to place observations from NASA’s Earth Observing System satellites into a climate context and to improve upon the hydrologic cycle represented in earlier generations of reanalyses. MERRA was generated…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water Water Vapor-
Timestep
- Sub-daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
NCEP-NCAR (R1): An Overview
Years of record
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NCEP-NCAR (R1) is the original reanalysis effort. It uses a frozen global state-of-the-art global data assimilation system (as of 11 January 1995). The original database was enhanced (additional, quality checked datasets) by NCAR's Data Support Section. Originally planned to span 1957-96 ("40-Year Reanalysis Project"), it was extended back to 1948 and continues to this…
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Timestep
- Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
NOAA 20th-Century Reanalysis, Version 2 and 2c
Years of record
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The Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) provides a comprehensive global atmospheric circulation data set spanning 1850-2014. Its chief motivation is to provide an observational validation data set, with quantified uncertainties, for assessing climate model simulations of the 20th century, with emphasis on the statistics of daily weather. The analyses are generated by…
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Timestep
- Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
RAPID: monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N
Years of record
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"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 of a pre-operational prototype system that will continuously observe the strength and structure of the MOC. An…
Main variables and Earth System components
Ocean Salinity Sub Surface Temperature heat flux streamfunction-
Timestep
- Sub-daily
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Domain
- Atlantic Ocean
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
Sea Ice Concentration data from NASA Goddard and NSIDC based on NASA Team algorithm
Years of record
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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 and distributed by NSIDC. The NASA Team data are very widely used and are a key input into other data sets…
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Timestep
- Daily, Monthly
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, seaicediagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
Snow Cover Extent (Northern Hemisphere) Climate Data Record, by Rutgers
Years of record
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The Snow Cover Extent Climate Data Record extends from the late 1960s to present. Historical analyses based on visual inspection have been digitized and combined with modern multi-spectral remote sensing to produce a seamless record on a hemispheric scale. The data are available at weekly and monthly resolutions in a variety of formats. The spatial resolution varies with…
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Timestep
- Monthly, Weekly
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Domain
- North America
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Collections
- Climate Data Record, Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, landdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Estilow, Thomas W., Robinson, David
SST data: COBE: Centennial in situ Observation-Based Estimates
Years of record
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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…
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
SST data: HadiSST v1.1
Years of record
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The Hadley Centre Global Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature (HadISST) is a combination of monthly globally complete fields of SST and sea ice concentration for 1871-present. This page focuses on the SST data; see the separate page for discussion of HadISST sea ice. HadISST uses reduced space optimal interpolation applied to SSTs from the Marine Data Bank (mainly ship…
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
SST data: HadSST3
Years of record
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HadSST3 provides monthly SST anomalies on a 5°x5° grid for 1850-present. The anomalies are derived from a 30-year climatology spanning 1961-90.Coverage is global but there is no interpolation; Thus, missing data occur in the final product. The primary input data are from ICOADS release 2.5. Bias adjustments to the ICOADS SSTs account for changes in measurement methods (e…
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Kennedy, John
SST data: HadSST4
Years of record
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HadSST4 provides monthly SST anomalies on a 5°x5° grid for 1850-present. The anomalies are derived from a 30-year climatology spanning 1961-90. Coverage is global but there is no interpolation; Thus, missing data occur in the final product. This means that uncertainties due to limited spatial coverage and systematic errors are relatively easy to identify compared with…
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Formats
- netCDF
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets
Experts contributing reviews
- Kennedy, John
SST Data: NOAA Extended Reconstruction SSTs Version 5 (ERSSTv5)
Years of record
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The NOAA Extended Reconstruction Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) provides global, spatially complete SST data at a monthly timestep for 1854-present. Version5 is based upon statistical interpolation of the ICOADS release 3.0 data. Argo float data are used in the recent years (since ~2000). The data are distributed as anomalies; climatologies (absolute values) are…
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Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets
Experts contributing reviews
- Hausfather, Zeke
SST data: NOAA Extended Reconstruction SSTs, version 3 (ERSSTv3 & 3b)
Years of record
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The NOAA Extended Reconstruction Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) provides global, spatially complete SST data at a monthly timestep for 1854-present. Version3 is based upon statistical interpolation of the ICOADS release 2.4 data. Version 3 includes satellite AVHRR SST data for 1985 onwards. Version 3b does not include satellite data due to a cold bias in the satellite-…
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Timestep
- Monthly
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Domain
- Global
Experts contributing reviews
- Huang, Boyin, Livermore, Jay, Smith, Tom
World Ocean Atlas (WOA09)
Years of record
- N/A
World Ocean Atlas 2009 (WOA09) is a set of objectively analyzed (1 degree grid) climatological fields of in situ temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU), percent oxygen saturation, phosphate, silicate, and nitrate at standard depth levels for annual, seasonal, and monthly compositing periods for the World Ocean. It also includes…
Main variables and Earth System components
Ocean Dissolved Oxygen SST - sea surface temperature Salinity Sub Surface Salinity Sub Surface Temperature oxygen saturation phosphate silicate-
Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly, Seasonal, Annual
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, oceandiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A
World Ocean Atlas 2013 (WOA13)
Years of record
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The World Ocean Atlas (WOA) is a set of climatological mean, gridded fields of oceanographic variables based on in-situ measurements from a wide variety of sources. Global, decadal averages of temperature, salinity, oxygen and nutrients are provided at monthly, seasonal and annual averaging periods on 102 standard depth levels from 0 to 5500m, and at 0.25° (…
Main variables and Earth System components
Ocean Dissolved Oxygen phosphate potential temperature silicate SST - sea surface temperature Sub Surface Salinity Sub Surface Temperature Sub-surface data-
Timestep
- Climatology, Monthly, Seasonal
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, oceandiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Mishonov, Alexey