Seasonal Temperature Climatology for British Columbia EEZ (2001-2020)

Seasonal temperature climatologies for the Northeast Pacific Ocean cover the period 2001 to 2020. The data consists of raster layers with high spatial resolution of 1/300 degree for the Canadian Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone. It was produced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada using observations from multiple oceanographic databases.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal temperature patterns (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) across the British Columbia EEZ using the high-resolution raster layers.
• Model vertical temperature profiles from the surface to 5000m depth using the 52 interpolated vertical levels.
• Assess spatial temperature gradients in the Northeast Pacific Ocean by leveraging the 1/300-degree resolution climatology grids.

Strengths

• Covers a 20-year time period from 2001 to 2020, providing a long-term climatological baseline.
• High spatial resolution of 1/300 degree for detailed regional analysis.
• Integrates data from multiple authoritative sources including NODC, MEDS, IOS, and CIOOS Pacific.
• Provides vertical profiles interpolated across up to 52 levels from the surface to 5000m depth.

Limitations

• Uncertainties are introduced due to spatial interpolation of observations over varying distances.
• The data represents climatological averages, not real-time or individual observational events.
• Specific sample sizes, row counts, and underlying observation densities are not provided.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, integrating data from NODC, MEDS, IOS, and CIOOS Pacific.

Collection Method

Spatial interpolation using Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis (DIVA) on quality-controlled CTD, bottle, and profiling float data, followed by median filtering and smoothing.

Time Range

2001 to 2020.

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026, though the underlying data covers up to 2020.

Geography

Northeast Pacific Ocean, specifically the Canadian Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone (British Columbia EEZ).