ECCO V4r4: Geometric Parameters for a 0.5-Degree Ocean Model Grid

ECCO Version 4 Release 4 provides geometric parameters for a regular 0.5-degree latitude-longitude grid used in ocean and sea-ice state estimation. The dataset includes grid cell areas, lengths, coordinates, and approximated domain geometry like bathymetry and land/ocean masks. NASA produced this data, which supports a dynamically consistent reconstruction of the global ocean from 1992 to 2018.

Use Cases

• Interpolating ocean model outputs to a standard grid based on the provided cell center coordinates.
• Calculating approximate fluxes or budgets using the included grid cell areas and side lengths.
• Masking land and ocean regions for visualization or analysis using the provided land/ocean mask.
• Referencing approximate bathymetry for large-scale oceanographic studies.

Strengths

• Provides a 26-year temporal coverage from 1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01.
• Includes multiple geometric parameters like cell areas, lengths, and center/corner coordinates.
• Derived from the ECCO V4r4 state estimate, which assimilates numerous satellite and in-situ observations.

Limitations

• Domain geometry fields like bathymetry are approximations due to interpolation from the native model grid.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality and structure require manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred from the file contents.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Generated from the ECCO Version 4 Release 4 (V4r4) ocean and sea-ice state estimate, which is a free-running model solution fitted to observations.

Time Range

1992-01-01T12:00:00 to 2018-01-01T00:00:00

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:05:43.951858; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean