Abstract:
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was an unprecedented
effort during 1990-1997 by scientists from more than 30 nations to
study the large-scale circulation of the ocean.
The WOCE data are available on a set of 13 CDs:
Disc 1: Data Information Unit
Disc 2: Hydrographic Program Data
Disc 3: Hydrographic Program Data & Products
Disc
... 4: Upper Ocean Thermal
Disc 5: Subsurface Floats
Disc 6: Surface Velocity Program
Disc 7: Current Meter Moorings
Disc 8: Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers
Disc 9: Sea Level
Disc 10: Surface Meteorology (Pacific & Indian Oceans)
Disc 11: Surface Meteorology (Atlantic & Southern Oceans)
Disc 12: Surface Fluxes
Disc 13: Satellite Data
More information about each data type can be obtained from the WOCE
Data Information Unit.
[The summary above was derived from the NODC WWW pages.]
The oceans are a key element in the world climate system in the way they
transport heat and fresh water and exchange these with the atmosphere.
The oceans also sequester carbon dioxide released by the burning of
fossil fuels. Twenty five nations contributed resources to the World
Ocean Circulation Experiment to make unprecedented ocean and satellite
observations of the global ocean between 1990 and 1997 and to observe
poorly-understood but important physical processes. Data from this eight
year program will provide much-needed improvements in ocean circulation
models for use in climate prediction. This set of 13 CDs contains the
first version of global ocean data resulting from the WOCE observation
period. Not all WOCE-observed data have been released, but will be
available in later versions of this product.
The types of data included are:
Disk 1 -- Summary overview of all data, background information about the
project, and bathymetry data collected during WOCE. Disk 2 --
Hydrographic data - subsurface samples of temperature, salinity,
dissolved oxygen, nutrient chemicals, carbon dioxide, CFCs, tritium,
helium and other tracers. Not all data have been released in this
version of the WOCE Data Set. Disk 3 -- Gridded data sets and graphic
products derived from hydrographic data. Disk 4 -- Upper ocean thermal
data and products derived from XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph)
measurements. Disk 5 -- Subsurface ocean currents as measured by several
different types of subsurface floats. Disk 6 -- Surface ocean currents
as measured by surface drifting buoys. Disk 7 -- Surface and subsurface
ocean currents as measured by moored current meters. Disk 8 -- Upper
ocean currents as measured by ship-mounted acoustic doppler current
profile (ADCP) instruments. Disk 9 -- Sea level measurements collected
at tide stations around the globe. Disk 10 -- Sea surface meteorology
measurements collected from ships in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Disk
11 -- Sea surface meteorology measurements collected from ships in the
Atlantic and Southern Oceans. Disk 12 -- Ocean surface flux fields and
graphic products. Disk 13 -- Sea surface height and temperature
measurements from satellites.
NOTE: Advanced programming skills are strongly recommended for users of
this data product.
NOAAServer Codes: [OL 90 -80 180 -180] ; nodateline obtain 
