Abstract:
The Global Subsurface Data Centre (GSDC) of the Institut Francais de
Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) Systeme
d'Informations Scientifique pour la Mer (SISMER) holds global
temperature and salinity profile data. There are over 400,000
profiles collected from 1985 onwards.
The largest dataset within the
... archive is the collection of eXpendable
BathyThermograph (XBT) data. Most of the observations are made
routinely by a ship of the VOS (Voluntary Observing Ship) network,
sampling along regular shipping lines recommended by TOGA and WOCE.
Data is archived for the following programs: Tropical Ocean and Global
Atmosphere (TOGA), World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), and
Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Project (GTSPP).
[This summary was adapted from the IFREMER/SISMER/GSDC website.] 
