A first impression
9
temperature was anomalously high over a much larger area of the Pacific than
previously thought. This lead Jacob Bjerknes to the discovery of the connection
between changes in the equatorial trade winds and those in the sea surface temperature in the eastern Pacific. It also provided the first clear example of the important
role of the ocean circulation in the climate system.
1.2.2. The modern era
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was operational from 19851995 and aimed to measure, describe, model and understand the global ocean
circulation. Along many sections hydrographic measurements (temperature,
salinity) have been collected and several of these sections have been repeated
two or three times to determine long term variations in temperature and salinity. The data are freely available through the website http://whpo.ucsd.edu/ and
can be viewed and analyzed relatively easily by using, for example, the Ocean
Data View software (http://odv.awi-bremerhaven.de/) or the Java Ocean Atlas
(http://odf.ucsd.edu/joa/). The WOCE program also contained a large component dedicated to ocean modeling and there are now a dozen or so ocean models
available to the community. Other large-scale international programs in which the
study of the oceans was central were the Tropical Ocean Atmosphere Program
(TOGA) and the (still ongoing) Climate Variability (CLIVAR) project.
The first satellite for oceanographic research, the SEASAT, was launched in
1978. Although the satellite was only operational for one month, important measurements of the sea surface topography were performed through radar altimetry.
With instruments on a satellite there is the possibility for global coverage of the
ocean surface (remote sensing). Measurements of the sea surface height (TOPEX,
ERS), surface chlorophyll concentration (SeaWiFs) and sea surface temperature
(AVHRR) are now routinely performed and can be downloaded from the internet
(see http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/).
First steps have been taken now towards an ocean global observing system. For
example, ARGO is a global array of 3,000 free-drifting profiling floats that measures the temperature and salinity of the upper 2000 m of the ocean. This allows,
for the first time, continuous monitoring of the temperature, salinity, and velocity
of the upper ocean, with all data being relayed and made publicly available within
hours after collection (see http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/).
An overview of all data available is provided by the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center (http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/index.html) where all links are
provided to the locations of the different data sets.
9
temperature was anomalously high over a much larger area of the Pacific than
previously thought. This lead Jacob Bjerknes to the discovery of the connection
between changes in the equatorial trade winds and those in the sea surface temperature in the eastern Pacific. It also provided the first clear example of the important
role of the ocean circulation in the climate system.
1.2.2. The modern era
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was operational from 19851995 and aimed to measure, describe, model and understand the global ocean
circulation. Along many sections hydrographic measurements (temperature,
salinity) have been collected and several of these sections have been repeated
two or three times to determine long term variations in temperature and salinity. The data are freely available through the website http://whpo.ucsd.edu/ and
can be viewed and analyzed relatively easily by using, for example, the Ocean
Data View software (http://odv.awi-bremerhaven.de/) or the Java Ocean Atlas
(http://odf.ucsd.edu/joa/). The WOCE program also contained a large component dedicated to ocean modeling and there are now a dozen or so ocean models
available to the community. Other large-scale international programs in which the
study of the oceans was central were the Tropical Ocean Atmosphere Program
(TOGA) and the (still ongoing) Climate Variability (CLIVAR) project.
The first satellite for oceanographic research, the SEASAT, was launched in
1978. Although the satellite was only operational for one month, important measurements of the sea surface topography were performed through radar altimetry.
With instruments on a satellite there is the possibility for global coverage of the
ocean surface (remote sensing). Measurements of the sea surface height (TOPEX,
ERS), surface chlorophyll concentration (SeaWiFs) and sea surface temperature
(AVHRR) are now routinely performed and can be downloaded from the internet
(see http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/).
First steps have been taken now towards an ocean global observing system. For
example, ARGO is a global array of 3,000 free-drifting profiling floats that measures the temperature and salinity of the upper 2000 m of the ocean. This allows,
for the first time, continuous monitoring of the temperature, salinity, and velocity
of the upper ocean, with all data being relayed and made publicly available within
hours after collection (see http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/).
An overview of all data available is provided by the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center (http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/index.html) where all links are
provided to the locations of the different data sets.