Abstract:
Marine Surface Observations is digital data set DSI-1129, archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). This is meteorological data. In 1983-85, a joint project was undertaken to collect all available marine data sets of reasonable quality and combine them into one database. Members of the joint project included the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Environmental Research Laboratory
... (ERL), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). The latter three agencies have produced several data files and statistical summaries for the period 1854-1979. The set of products is known as the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS). One of the COADS products is a unique set of marine observations in DSI-1129 format for 1970-79 and in a modified DSI-1129 format for 1854-1969. The modified format for pre-1970 data contains supplemental and additional data fields determined by data source. Data sources include several older punched card data sets. Data is organized in the ocean grid arrangement known as Marsden Squares. Data quality is variable through the data set. Data quality is determined by data source, as described in the DSI-1100 Reference Manual (for the DSI-11xx series of NCDC data sets). Known data problems have been corrected and most duplicate observations removed. Observations were taken by ships at sea as well as fixed and drifting buoys, and temporary weather stations on ice islands. The period of record of the current database includes the years 1854 through the present. Data received at the NCDC after 1982 are in DSI-1129 format regardless of data year. Users requesting marine data from the NCDC will receive DSI-1129 formatted data for 1970 through the present year. COADS data will be provided for 1970-79 unless the user specifies a different set. Pre-1970 data will be provided from the COADS set in modified DSI-1129 format. That format is the same as DSI-1129 for data positions 1-78 and 125-140. Data positions 79-124 and 141-148 contain supplemental data fields which are unique for each data source. Documentation for the pre-1970 marine data is available in the Marine Data Users Reference, 1854-1969. The International Maritime Meteorological Tape (IMMT) format was implemented by the WMO in 1982. This effects some parameters in the following list. Major parameters include: wind direction and speed visibility present and past weather codes second most significant past weather sea level pressure barometric tendency 3-hour barometric pressure change air, wet bulb, and dew point temperatures total cloud amount lowest clouds amount and height low, middle, and high cloud types significant cloud amount, type, and height precipitation amount precipitation accumulation time sea surface temperature wave and swell direction, period, and height second most significant swell direction type of ice accretion on ship ice thickness on ship sea ice type sea ice concentration (since 1982) sea ice effect on navigation (before 1982) sea ice development stage bearing of principal sea ice edge from ship (before 1982) sea ice of land origin type (since 1982) distance to sea ice edge from ship (before 1982) bearing of principal sea ice edge from ship (since 1982) orientation of sea ice edge (before 1982) ship situation in sea ice. A partial list of data sources follows: Pacific Marine Environmental Lab (PMEL) USSR Ice Island Observations Gulf Offshore Weather Observing Network (GOWON) Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center Tuna boats First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) NOAA Data Buoy Center (NDBC) Global Telecommunications System (GTS) National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) Japan Australia World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Foreign Exchange Data Great Lakes manuscript US Merchant manuscript US Navy manuscript Ocean Station Vessel (OSV) 
