Real-Time Ocean Temperature Profiles from Ships of Opportunity

IMOS Ships of Opportunity Expendable Bathythermographs Sub-Facility provides real-time ocean temperature and depth profiles. Data is collected by technicians on ships using Quoll systems, undergoes scientific quality control at CSIRO, and is distributed globally via GTSPP. This dataset covers waters around Australia and across to New Zealand.

Use Cases

• Analyze temperature-depth profiles to identify oceanic features like eddies and fronts.
• Monitor real-time ocean temperature changes along established transit lines for climate research.
• Validate and calibrate ocean models using high-density sampling data from ship transits.
• Study water column structure and temperature inversions across the Australasian region.

Strengths

• Data undergoes a full scientific QC process identifying bad data and oceanic features.
• Real-time data messages are transmitted from ships via Iridium SBD and inserted onto the GTS.
• High-density sampling is performed along established transit lines by onboard technicians.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column details, and sample size are unknown.
• Geographic coverage is limited to waters around Australia and across to New Zealand.
• File formats listed (PDF, WFS, HTML, PNG, WMS) suggest access may be through interfaces rather than raw data files.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, IMOS Ships of Opportunity Expendable Bathythermographs Sub-Facility.

Collection Method

Data acquired by technicians on ships using Quoll systems by Turo Technology, stored in netcdf files, with messages sent via Iridium SBD.

Freshness

Data is described as real-time, with a last updated metadata date of 2026-04-04.

Geography

Waters around Australia and across to New Zealand.