ESSO - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

Upper Ocean Thermal (XBT)

The Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Project (GTSPP) acquires and processes upper ocean temperature and salinity profiles for real-time and delayed-mode users. A nice summary can be found at:
http://gcmd.nasa.gov/records/GCMD_GTSPP.html

Through its lead role in GTSPP, MEDS has significantly improved handling efficiency and data quality for Canadian data by applying the technology developed in the project. MEDS annually processes and archives over 60,000 oceanographic profiles reported for the world oceans in near real-time into the Ocean Profiles databases through this program. MEDS also supports GTSPP activities of the Ship of Opportunity Program Implementation Panel (SOOPIP) and the WOCE Upper Ocean Thermal Program (WOCE_UOT). To assist in the real-time data flow, MEDS reports monthly on the data that it received via its links to the Global Telecommunications System (GTS).

Data can be obtained via a request form from:
http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/meds/Prog_Int/GTSPP/GTSPP_e.htm

Data are also available via an EPIC web-based server at:
http://apdrc.soest.hawaii.edu/

Both the FNMOC/GODAE real-time profiles and the WOCE UOT profiles are available from this site.
The website for the permanent archive of GTSPP data is at:
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/access_data/gtspp-bc.html

The real-time quality control is done first at MEDS/GTSPP to identify really bad data. Further real-time quality control is done automatically at operational and seasonal climate prediction centers as part of the data assimilation and initialization process. Not all of the centers flag the data that are rejected. Centers include NOAA/NCEP, ECMWF, UKMO, BMRC and others.

Delayed-mode quality control has been done by the three ocean DACs. For the Indian Ocean, CSIRO/BMRC supported the WOCE UOT/DAC during WOCE and a few years thereafter. In collaboration with the APDRC, CSIRO has quality controlled the entire historical UOT data set for the 20th century through 2003. These data will soon be available at CSIRO and APDRC websites.

***Since CSIRO no longer has funding for this activity, INCOIS or the APDRC should take on this task.***

Data for the three oceans and the three DACs are collected and served at NOAA/NODC as the permanent archive.

The website for GTSPP data is at:
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/access_data/gtspp-bc.html

The "best copy" has been QC'ed by the DACs; and other files are rough. There is a link to the CD as well as a link to the real-time data archive.

The NODC serves as the custodian of the permanent archive:
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/General/NODC-dataexch/NODC-wdca.html

North Indian Ocean XBT observation is funded by INCOIS, the program is implemented by NIO.
XBT data in delayed mode after quaity control is available at NIO webiste:
http://www.ino.org/data_info/xbt/PreseFrames.html