Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas: Global Sea Surface Carbon Dioxide Measurements, 1968-2014

Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) version 4 contains surface underway data collected from unknown platforms in the world-wide oceans from 1968-11-16 to 2014-12 31. The data include BAROMETRIC PRESSURE, LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, Partial pressure of carbon dioxide - water, SALINITY, and SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE. This international effort is endorsed by the IOCCP, SOLAS, and IMBER projects to deliver a uniformly quality-controlled surface ocean CO2 database.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean carbon sink dynamics based on partial pressure of carbon dioxide measurements.
• Analyzing sea surface temperature and salinity correlations with carbon dioxide fugacity.
• Studying long-term trends in oceanic CO2 uptake based on data spanning over 46 years.
• Calibrating satellite-derived sea surface CO2 estimates using in-situ underway measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection spans over 46 years, from 1968-11-16 to 2014-12-31.
• Includes multiple measured variables: BAROMETRIC PRESSURE, LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, SALINITY, and SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE.
• Dataset is a product of an international, quality-controlled effort endorsed by major ocean carbon projects.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The specific platforms and instruments used for collection are listed as 'unknown'.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Surface underway data collection from unknown platforms.

Time Range

1968-11-16 to 2014-12-31

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-05 22:40:24.168238; freshness should be verified.

Geography

World-wide oceans