International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) Release 3.1 Final, Individual Reports in the International Maritime Meteorological Archive Format version 1 (IMMA1)

This dataset, the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS), is the most widely-used freely available collection of surface marine observations, with over 455 million individual marine reports spanning 1662-2014-each containing the observations and metadata reported from a given ship, buoy, coastal platform, or oceanographic instrument, providing data for the construction of gridded analyses of sea surface temperature, estimates of air-sea interaction and other meteorological variables. ICOADS observations are assimilated into all major atmospheric, oceanic and coupled reanalyses, further widening its impact. R3, therefore includes changes designed to enable the effective exchange of information describing data quality between ICOADS, reanalysis centres, data set developers, scientists, and the public. These user-driven innovations include the assignment of a unique identifier (UID) to each marine report to enable tracing of observations, linking with reports and improved data sharing. Other revisions and extensions of the ICOADS' International Maritime Meteorological Archive (IMMA) common data format incorporate new near-surface oceanographic data elements and cloud parameters. Many new input data sources have been assembled, and updates and improvements to existing data sources, or removal of erroneous data, made.

This dataset includes one product of the official ICOADS Release 3.1 dataset: 'Final' R3.1, with duplicates removed, where all reports have been compared for matching dates, id's and elements observed and the best duplicate retained as the final report. This release does not include the 'Total' version that accompanies the 3.0 release. This version marks the first time multi-line linked reports (Main plus Subsidiary) in IMMA1 data format have been used. The Subsidiary records are linked to the Main records through replication of the unique identification number (UID) and expand the IMMA1 capability to hold ICOADS value-added data (Ivad) and Reanalysis feedback quality control (Rean-qc) information. Release 3.1 provides data not included in the previous version, R3.0: 1) ICOADS value-added data (Ivad): Intended to store adjusted fields (e.g. bias corrected temperatures, etc), whereas the unadjusted data will continue to be stored in the Core and other IMMA1 attachments and 2) Reanalysis feedback quality control (Rean-qc): Intended to store selected QC and feedback information on the ICOADS observations used as input, as made available from reanalysis projects.

Tags: 1 minute - < 1 hour, anemometers, aneroid pressure sensor, atmosphere, atmospheric - surface - air temperature, atmospheric - surface - pressure, atmospheric - surface - wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric pressure measurements, barometers, buoys, c-man, coastal marine network, doc/noaa/nesdis/ncei, drifting buoys, earth science, floats, hourly - < daily, hygrometers, ice edges, icebergs, icoads, international comprehensive ocean-atmosphere data set, moorings, national centers for environmental information, ndbc moored buoy, nesdis, noaa, ocean, ocean platforms, ocean pressure, ocean temperature, ocean waves, ocean weather stations, ocean winds, oceanic - surface - sea-surface temperature, oceans, point resolution, pressure tendency, sea ice, sea ice concentration, sea level pressure, sea state, sea surface, sea surface temperature, ships, surface pressure, surface winds, swells, tao, thermometers, triangle trans-ocean buoy network, triton, tropical atmosphere ocean, u.s. department of commerce, vertical location, visual observations, water temperature, wave height, wave period, wave speed/direction, wind vane, wind waves
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce