A global three-dimensional grid of total inorganic carbon (TCO2) and total alkalinity (TALK) for ocean waters below the deepest winter mixed layer depths. The dataset was created by NOAA using interpolation methods applied to high-quality data from the WOCE, JGOFS, and OACES programs. It provides monthly climatological estimates on a 1° × 1° × 32-layer grid for use in ocean-atmosphere carbon dioxide system models.
Use Cases
- Initialize ocean-atmosphere carbon dioxide models based on three-dimensional carbon fields.
- Analyze spatial variation in CO2 system properties based on interpolated correlations with temperature, salinity, and oxygen.
- Provide a realistic carbon field for model spin-up to reduce initialization time.
- Study the global distribution of total alkalinity and total inorganic carbon below the mixed layer.
Strengths
- Derived from high-quality data sets from major ocean research programs (WOCE, JGOFS, OACES).
- Provides a three-dimensional grid at a monthly temporal resolution.
- Gridded coefficients are applied to a global monthly climatology of ocean temperature, salinity, and oxygen.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- The interpolation methodology is limited to waters below the deepest mixed layer.
Provenance
- Source
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce
- Collection Method
- Interpolation of ocean CO2 system measurements correlated with temperature, salinity, and oxygen utilization.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-03-05 23:44:21.754856; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Global ocean