Monthly Ocean Heat Content Anomalies (OHCA) in the top 2000 dbar of the North Atlantic ocean north of 20°N are calculated for the period 2005-2022. The data is mapped using a locally stationary Gaussian process from Argo float observations, with separate vertical sections from 15 to 1850 dbar. Regions shallower than 300 m or not well-sampled by Argo are excluded.
Use Cases
- Analyzing decadal trends in ocean heat uptake based on monthly anomaly time series.
- Studying spatial patterns of heat content variability across different vertical layers.
- Validating climate model outputs for the North Atlantic region based on mapped observational data.
Strengths
- Data covers a 17-year period from 2005 to 2022.
- Maps anomalies for five distinct vertical sections from 15 to 1850 dbar.
- Uses a sophisticated, data-driven mapping method (local Gaussian process) to interpolate sparse observations.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Regions shallower than 300 m or not sufficiently sampled by the Argo array are not included.
Provenance
- Source
- Argo floats, processed by Donata Giglio at University of Colorado Boulder.
- Collection Method
- OHC fields mapped using a locally stationary Gaussian process defined over space.
- Time Range
- 2005-2022
- Geography
- North Atlantic ocean north of 20°N