Subsurface Float Ocean Current and Temperature Measurements from WOCE

NOAA_NCEI Accession 9200081 contains ocean circulation data collected by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution using subsurface floats. The dataset includes East-West (U) and North-South (V) current components, water temperature, and water pressure measurements. Data were gathered from the NW Atlantic and other locations between 1972 and 1989 as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment.

Use Cases

• Calculate current velocity magnitude and direction from the U and V component columns.
• Analyze the relationship between water temperature and pressure depth from the corresponding time-series measurements.
• Map subsurface current pathways in the NW Atlantic using the geospatial and temporal data.
• Validate or calibrate numerical ocean circulation models using the in-situ float observations.

Strengths

• Data collection spans 18 years from 1972 to 1989.
• Includes direct measurements of key physical oceanographic parameters: current components, temperature, and pressure.
• Collected by the authoritative Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as part of the international WOCE program.

Limitations

• Specific row count, geographic coordinates, and data resolution are unknown.
• Data format is the specialized WHOI floater format, which may require specific tools or libraries to parse.
• The dataset is temporally stale, with the last update in 1989.

Provenance

Source

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), archived by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Data collected from subsurface floats deployed in the ocean.

Time Range

1972-01-01 to 1989-12-31

Freshness

null

Geography

NW Atlantic (limit-40 W) and other unspecified locations.