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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

World Ocean Atlas 2018 (NCEI Accession 0192181)

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World Ocean Atlas 2018 (WOA18) is a set of objectively analyzed (one degree grid and quarter degree grid) climatological fields of in situ temperature and salinity, at standard depth levels for annual, seasonal, and monthly compositing periods for the World Ocean. WOA18 also includes associated statistical fields of observed oceanographic profile data interpolated to standard depth levels on quarter degree, one degree, and five degree grids. Temperature and salinity fields are available for six decades (1955-1964, 1965-1974, 1975-1984, 1985-1994, 1995-2004, and 2005-2017) and an average of all decades representing the period 1955-2017, as well as the "climate normal" period 1981-2010. Oxygen, as well as calculated Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU), and percent oxygen saturation climatologies are available in all-date climatologies using quality-controlled data from 1960-2017. Nutrient (phosphate, silicate, nitrate) climatologies are available using data from all years with quality data. This accession is a product generated by the National Centers for Environmental Information's (NCEI) Ocean Climate Laboratory Team. The analyses are derived from the NCEI World Ocean Database 2018. Final version of WOA18 published August, 2019.
  • Cite as: Boyer, Tim P.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Zweng, Melissa M.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Weathers, Katharine A.; Baranova, Olga K.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V. (2019). World Ocean Atlas 2018 (NCEI Accession 0192181). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0192181. In Boyer, Tim P.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Zweng, Melissa M.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Weathers, Katharine A.; Baranova, Olga K.; Paver, Christopher R.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V.. World Ocean Atlas 2018. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NCEI-WOA18. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0192181
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Distribution Formats
  • netCDF (Version: netCDF-4 classic model)
    • File Specification: NODC_NetCDF_Grid_Template_v2.0, ACDD-1.3, CF-1.6
  • netCDF (Version: netCDF-4 classic model)
    • File Specification: NODC_NetCDF_Grid_Template_v2.0
Ordering Instructions Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 1955-01-01 to 2017-12-31
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -180
East: 180
South: -90
North: 90
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2019-08-28
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Supplemental Information
This final version of WOA18 published in July 2019, replaces a prereleased version made available in September 2018 (NCEI accession 0176314). The changes between the versions include:

1. For the first time the Animal mounted pinniped temperature profiles (APB) have been added improving coverage in high latitude areas.
2. A different Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) correction (Cheng et al., 2014) has been employed.
3. A double XBT correction has been detected in pre-release version and fixed in final version.
4. All temperature and salinity climatological fields were re-calculated to account for these adjustments.
Purpose Oceanographic objective analyses have proven to be of great utility to the oceanographic, climate research, geophysical, and operational environmental forecasting communities. Such analyses are used as boundary and/or initial conditions in numerical ocean circulation models and atmosphere-ocean models, for verification of numerical simulations of the ocean, as a form of "sea truth" for satellite measurements such as altimetric observations of sea surface height, for computation of nutrient fluxes by Ekman transport, and for planning oceanographic expeditions among others.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Boyer, Tim P.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Zweng, Melissa M.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Weathers, Katharine A.; Baranova, Olga K.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V. (2019). World Ocean Atlas 2018 (NCEI Accession 0192181). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0192181. In Boyer, Tim P.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Zweng, Melissa M.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Weathers, Katharine A.; Baranova, Olga K.; Paver, Christopher R.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V.. World Ocean Atlas 2018. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NCEI-WOA18. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Resource Providers
Publishers
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Boyer, Tim P.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Zweng, Melissa M.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Weathers, Katharine A.; Baranova, Olga K.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V. (2019). World Ocean Atlas 2018 (NCEI Accession 0192181). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0192181. In Boyer, Tim P.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Zweng, Melissa M.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Weathers, Katharine A.; Baranova, Olga K.; Paver, Christopher R.; Seidov, Dan; Smolyar, Igor V.. World Ocean Atlas 2018. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NCEI-WOA18. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2019-08-28T08:17:39Z - NCEI Accession 0192181 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets
Last Modified: 2025-04-09T21:44:24Z
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