Ocean Observations
Encyclopedia
The following are considered essential ocean climate variables by the OOPC that are currently feasible with current observational systems.
Precipitation (meteorology)
evaporation
Air Pressure, sea level pressure (SLP)
Surface radiative fluxes
Surface thermodynamic fluxes
Wind speed and direction
Surface wind stress
Water vapor
(SST)
Sea surface salinity (SSS)
Sea level
Sea state
Sea ice
Ocean current
Ocean color
(for biological activity)
Carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2)
Salinity
Ocean current
Nutrients
Carbon
Ocean tracers
Phytoplankton
http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7140
This site includes links to the ARGO Float Data, The Data Library and Archives (DLA), the Falmouth Monthly Climate Reports, Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory, the Multibeam Archive, the Seafloor Data and Observation Visualization Environment (SeaDOVE): A Web-served GIS Database of Multi-scalar Seafloor Data, Seafloor Sediments Data Collection, the Upper Ocean Mooring Data Archive, the U.S. GLOBEC Data System, U.S. JGOFS Data System, and the WHOI Ship Data-Grabber System.
There are a variety of data sets in a data library listed at Columbia University:
This library includes:
In situ observations spanning from the early 1700s to present are available from the International Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS). Further information can be found here:
http://icoads.noaa.gov
This data set includes observations of a number of the surface ocean and atmospheric variables from ships, moored and drifting buoys and C-MAN stations.
The future of oceanic observation systems:
Atmosphere surface
Air TemperatureTemperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
Precipitation (meteorology)
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
evaporation
Air Pressure, sea level pressure (SLP)
Surface radiative fluxes
Surface thermodynamic fluxes
Wind speed and direction
Surface wind stress
Water vapor
Water vapor
Water vapor or water vapour , also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. It is one state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from the sublimation of ice. Under typical atmospheric conditions, water vapor is continuously...
Ocean surface
Sea surface temperatureSea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature is the water temperature close to the oceans surface. The exact meaning of surface varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air masses in the Earth's atmosphere are highly modified by sea surface temperatures within a...
(SST)
Sea surface salinity (SSS)
Sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
Sea state
Sea ice
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
Ocean current
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
Ocean color
Ocean color
The "color" of the ocean is determined by the interactions of incident light with substances or particles present in the water.For pure ocean water, such like the open ocean water, it appears as a very dark navy blue. The reason the ocean is blue is due to the absorption and scattering of light...
(for biological activity)
Carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2)
Ocean subsurface
TemperatureTemperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
Salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
Ocean current
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
Nutrients
Carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
Ocean tracers
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
Satellite
There is a composite network of satellites that generate observations (http://ioc3.unesco.org/oopc/obs/surface_sat.php). These include:| Type | Variables Observed | Responsible Organizations |
|---|---|---|
| Infrared (IR) | SST, sea ice | CEOS, IGOS, CGMS |
| AMSR-class microwave | SST, wind speed, sea ice | CEOS, IGOS, CGMS |
| Surface vector wind (two wide-swath scatterometers desired) | surface vector wind, sea ice | CEOS, IGOS, CGMS |
| Ocean color | chlorophyll concentration (biomass of phytoplankton) | IOCCG |
| high-precision altimetry | sea-level anomaly from steady state | CEOS, IGOS, CGMS |
| low-precision altimetry | sea level | CEOS, IGOS, CGMS |
| Synthetic aperture radar | sea ice, sea state | CEOS, IGOS, CGMS |
In situ
There is a composite network of in situ observations (http://ioc3.unesco.org/oopc/obs/surface_insitu.php). These include:| Type | Variables Observed | Responsible Organizations |
|---|---|---|
| Global surface drifting buoy array with 5 degree resolution (1250 total) | SST, SLP, Current (based on position change) | JCOMM Data Buoy Cooperation Panel (DBCP) |
| Global tropical moored buoy network (about 120 moorings) | typically SST and surface vector wind, but can also include SLP, current, air-sea flux variables | JCOMM DBCP Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel (TIP) |
| Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS) fleet | all feasible surface ECVs | JCOMM Ship Observations Team (SOT) |
| VOSClim | all feasible surface ECVs plus extensive ship metadata | JCOMM Ship Observations Team (SOT) |
| Global referencing mooring network (29 moorings) | all feasible surface ECVs | OceanSITES |
| GLOSS core sea-level network, plus regional/national networks | sea level | JCOMM GLOSS |
| Carbon VOS | pCO2, SST, SSS | IOCCP |
| Sea ice buoys | sea ice | JCOMM DBCP IABP and IPAB |
Subsurface
There is a composite network of subsurface observations (http://ioc3.unesco.org/oopc/obs/subsurface.php). These include:| Type | Variables Observed | Responsible Organizations |
|---|---|---|
| Repeat XBT (Expendable bathythermograph Expendable bathythermograph The expendable bathythermograph, or XBT, is a device for obtaining a record of temperature as a function of depth from a moving ship.Temperature is measured with a thermistor within an expendable, weighted casing. Depth is determined by a priori knowledge of the rate at which the casing sinks and... ) line network (41 lines) |
Temperature | JCOMM Ship Observations Team (SOT) |
| Global tropical moored buoy network (~120 moorings) | Temperature, Salinity, current, other feasible autonomously observable ECVs | JCOMM DBCP Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel (TIP) |
| Reference mooring network (29 moorings) | all autonomously observable ECVs | OceanSITES |
| Sustained and repeated ship-based hydrography network | All feasible ECVs, including those that depend on obtaining water samples | IOCCP, CLIVAR, other national efforts |
| Argo (oceanography) Argo (oceanography) Argo is an observation system for the Earth's oceans that provides real-time data for use in climate, weather, oceanographic and fisheries research. Argo consists of a large collection of small, drifting oceanic robotic probes deployed worldwide. The probes float as deep as 2 km. Once every... network |
temperature, salinity, current | Argo |
| Critical current and transport monitoring | temperature, heat, freshwater, carbon transports, mass | CLIVAR, IOCCP , OceanSITES |
| Regional and global synthesis programmes | inferred currents, transports gridded fields of all ECVs | GODAE, CLIVAR, other national efforts |
Accuracy of measurements
The quality of in situ measurements is non-uniform across space, time and platforms. Different platforms employ a large variety of sensors, which operate in a wide range of often hostile environments and use different measurement protocols. Occasionally, buoys are left unattended for extended periods of time, while ships may involve a certain amount of the human-related impacts in data collection and transmission . Therefore, quality control is necessary before in situ data can be further used in scientific research or other applications. This is an example of quality control and monitoring of sea surface temperatures measured by ships and buoys, the iQuam system developed at NOAA/NESDIS/STAR: http://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/iquam, where statistics show the quality of in situ measurements of sea surface temperatures.Historical data available
A variety of historical data sets is available here:http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7140
This site includes links to the ARGO Float Data, The Data Library and Archives (DLA), the Falmouth Monthly Climate Reports, Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory, the Multibeam Archive, the Seafloor Data and Observation Visualization Environment (SeaDOVE): A Web-served GIS Database of Multi-scalar Seafloor Data, Seafloor Sediments Data Collection, the Upper Ocean Mooring Data Archive, the U.S. GLOBEC Data System, U.S. JGOFS Data System, and the WHOI Ship Data-Grabber System.
There are a variety of data sets in a data library listed at Columbia University:
This library includes:
- LEVITUS94 is the World Ocean Atlas as of 1994, an atlas of objectively analyzed fields of major ocean parameters at the annual, seasonal, and monthly time scales. It is superseded by WOA98.
- NOAA NODC WOA98 is the World Ocean Atlas as of 1998, an atlas of objectively analyzed fields of major ocean parameters at monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales. Superseded by WOA01.
- NOAA NODC WOA01 is the World Ocean Atlas 2001, an atlas of objectively analyzed fields of major ocean parameters at monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales. Replaced by WOA05.
- NOAA NODC WOA05 is the World Ocean Atlas 2005, an atlas of objectively analyzed fields of major ocean parameters at monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales.
In situ observations spanning from the early 1700s to present are available from the International Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS). Further information can be found here:
http://icoads.noaa.gov
This data set includes observations of a number of the surface ocean and atmospheric variables from ships, moored and drifting buoys and C-MAN stations.
Future developments
Areas requiring research and development- Satellite observations with higher resolution and accuracy and more spectral bands from geostationary satellites
- improved capability for ocean color observations in coastal and turbid waters
- improved interpretation of sea-ice data from satellites
- satellite measurement of salinity
- Observing system evaluation and design, including improvements in air-sea flux parameterizations.
- Improvements in ocean platforms, including increased capabilities for Argo floats
- improved glider technology and mooring technology.
- New development in ocean sensors and systems, including improved bio-fouling protection, autonomous water sampling systems, optical and acoustic systems, airborne variable sensors, and two-way, low-cost, low-power telecommunications.
- New and improved capability to measure biogeochemical variables, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as to identify organisms.
- Improved instruments, including near-surface current meters, in-water radiometers, sensors for air-sea interface variables and turbulent fluxes, and VOS sensor systems.
The future of oceanic observation systems:
- Guided unmanned underwater vehicles
Organizations
- GOOS (The Global Ocean Observing SystemGOOSGOOS is a global system for sustained observations of the ocean comprising the oceanographic component of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems...
) - GCOS (Global Climate Observing SystemGlobal Climate Observing SystemThe Global Climate Observing System is an international institution co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization , the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme , and the International Council for Science...
) - IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing SystemIntegrated Ocean Observing SystemThe Integrated Ocean Observing System is an organization of systems that routinely and continuously provides quality controlled data and information on current and future states of the oceans and Great Lakes from the global scale of ocean basins to local scales of coastal ecosystems...
) - ArgoArgo (oceanography)Argo is an observation system for the Earth's oceans that provides real-time data for use in climate, weather, oceanographic and fisheries research. Argo consists of a large collection of small, drifting oceanic robotic probes deployed worldwide. The probes float as deep as 2 km. Once every...
- GODAE (Global Ocean Data Experiment)
- OOPC (Ocean Observation Panel for Climate)
- OOI (Ocean Observatories InitiativeOcean Observatories InitiativeThe Ocean Observatories Initiative is an NSF Division of Ocean Sciences program that focuses the science, technology, education and outreach of an emerging network of science driven ocean observing systems...
)