Levitus Quality-Controlled NODC Station Data; Temperature, Salinity, and Oxygen

at Standard Levels

BRIEF

These data contain approximately 553,000 quality controlled profiles reporting temperature, salinity and oxygen for standard levels, in non-NODC format (hence the designation Level A; see quality field). These profiles represent a quality controlled version of the NODC Station Data File (SDF) as of 1978. The quality control techniques used to produce this version of the SDF are described in the CLIMATOLOGICAL ATLAS OF THE WORLD OCEAN (Levitus, 1988); see references.

These data are being made available because of the recognition that one set of objectively analyzed, smoothed fields such as presented in the ATLAS cannot satisfy all the needs of various investigators. Having a quality controlled version of the data will allow investigators to analyze and grid data in whatever manner most suited to their purpose.

There are two points to beware. In the ATLAS it was noted that because of numerous quality control problems, salinity data below 400 meters depth from the Soviet Union were not used in the preparation of the objectively analyzed fields. Those data are, nonetheless, still included in this tape.

The second point is that the final step of the quality control procedure was simply to eliminate one-degree square means that produced very unrealistic features in the objective analysis. Those data are, again, still included in this tape.

The data are here.

ATTRIBUTES

Entry_ID: ACC#8800247 (MD Identifier: 1234)
 
Temporal Coverage:
     From: 1935-01-01                 TO: 1978-12-31 
 
Geographic Coverage:
     Southwest Extent: 90S,180W    Northeast Extent:  90N,180E
 
Source:
     SHIP
 
Storage Media:
     Digital Magnetic Tape
 
Discipline, Subdiscipline:
     EARTH SCIENCE                   > OCEAN
 
Location Keyword:
     GLOBAL
 
Parameter Group, Parameter:
     OCEAN COMPOSITION               > OXYGEN
     OCEAN COMPOSITION               > SALINITY
     OCEAN DYNAMICS                  > TEMPERATURE
 
General Keywords:
     IDN_NODE GSFC/NODC
 
Revision Date: 1992-08-25
 
Quality Statement:
 

These data are termed Level A by NODC, indicating that they are in 'originator'
format, rather than standard NODC format. While they have had no quality
assurance checking at NODC, they have in fact received extensive quality
checking; see references.
                                             

DATACENTER

Archive: 
   NOAA/NESDIS/NODC>National Oceanographic Data Center, NOAA
   Data Set ID: ACC#8800247 (REF#L00601 > Level A Data)
 
   Contact: NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA CENTER,  
 
            Electronic Mail: SPAN> NODC::SERVICES
                             TELEMAIL> NODC.WDCA/OMNET
 
            Phone: 202-606-4549
                   FTS 266-4549
                                             

PERSONNEL

Investigator: LEVITUS, SYDNEY 
 
              Electronic Mail: OMNET> S.LEVITUS
                               SPAN> NODC::LEVITUS
                               TELEMAIL> [NODC.WDCA/OMNET]
 
              Phone: 202-606-4411
                     202-673-5411
                     FTS 266-4411
 
Entry Author: IRVINE, DAVID 
 
              Electronic Mail: INTERNET> IRVINE@NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV
                               OMNET> D.IRVINE
                               SPAN> NCF::IRVINE
 
              Phone: (301) 441-4213
 
 
Information in this entry provided by NODC
                                             

REFERENCE

Levitus, S, 1982: CLIMATOLOGICAL ATLAS OF THE WORLD OCEAN, NOAA Professional
    Paper 13, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C., 173pp.