Finding Data & Statistics: Oceanography

The UC San Diego Library's Digital Collection contains hundreds of oceanographic related datasets including: SIO Geological Collections; Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) Float Data Archive; dataMares ecological monitoring, ecosystem dynamics, and fisheries; a variety of cruise data; and much more.

NCEI has a wide variety of products and datasets on topics such as: arctic and sea ice, global climate, marine geology, ocean climate, ocean exploration, satellite oceanography, and more.

Available data encompasses geophysical parameters that characterize the oceans (e.g., temperature, salinity, sea surface topography, chemistry/biology optics) as well as those physical processes operating within the Earth’s oceans and at its surface.

The Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) is a national-regional partnership. Access data from IOOS US National Data Portal or IOSS Regional Data Portals (including Southern California Coastal Observing System).

GFDL is focused on comprehensive long-lead-time research that is fundamental to advancing the scientific understanding of the physical, dynamical, chemical and biogeochemical processes governing the behavior of the atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice components and their interactions with the ecosystem. Access models and model data.

The Shore Stations Program collects and provides access to current and historical sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS) measurements observed at shoreline stations along the west coast of the United States. Historically, stations ranged from the southern most station in La Jolla, California, up to the northern most point on the western coast, Neah Bay, Washington, which sits at the entrance of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Currently, all active stations are located in California.

Many LTER data are also available through disciplinary or regional repositories such as the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO), the Arctic Data Center, the Dryad Digital Repository, and others. The most comprehensive search of public data at this time is available via the DataONE Federation, LTER member node.

Argo is an international program that measures water properties across the world’s ocean. The data that Argo collects describes the temperature and salinity of the water and some of the floats measure other properties that describe the biology/chemistry of the ocean.

Datasets include: sea level rise , El Nino indicators, global temperature anomalies, snow and ice extent, and more.

Climate Data Online (CDO) provides free access to the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) archive of global historical weather and climate data in addition to station history information. These data include quality controlled daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly measurements of temperature, precipitation, wind, and degree days as well as radar data and 30-year Climate Normals.

Indicator areas: greenhouse gases, weather and climate, oceans, snow and ice, health and society, and ecosystems

Includes El Nino, astronomical, and other data

HABSOS is a data collection and distribution system for harmful algal bloom (HAB) information in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of HABSOS is to provide environmental managers, scientists, and the public with a data driven resource for HAB events. Cell counts and environmental information are combined into a single product and distributed on a map powered by ArcGIS.

The HAEDAT is a meta database containing records of harmful algal events. HAEDAT contains records from the ICES area (North Atlantic) since 1985, and from the PICES area (North Pacific) since 2000.

Monthly to bi-monthly reports synthesize model output, near real-time observations, and public health alerts to provide a more complete picture of the regional variability in harmful algal blooms. Includes data from CA Harmful Algae Risk Mapping nowcasts and three-day corecasts, as well as data from CA Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring and Alert Program.

The Water Quality Portal is the nation's largest source for water quality monitoring data. The Water Quality Portal (WQP) uses the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) data format to share over 380 million water quality data records from 900 federal, state, tribal and other partners.

Ocean-related data from the United States Geological Survey. Select "Ocean" under "Topic" in all data search.

OBIS is a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development.

Search and download real-time, delayed-mode, and historical data for in situ and remotely-sensed physical, chemical, and biological observations.

Many LTER data are also available through disciplinary or regional repositories such as the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO), the Arctic Data Center, the Dryad Digital Repository, and others. The most comprehensive search of public data at this time is available via the DataONE Federation, LTER member node.

Since 1949, hydrographic and biological data of the California Current System have been collected on CalCOFI cruises. The 70+ year hydrographic time-series includes temperature, salinity, oxygen and phosphate observations. In 1961, nutrient analysis expanded to include silicate, nitrate and nitrite; in 1973, chlorophyll was added; in 1984, C14 primary productivity incubations were added; and in 1993, CTD profiling began.

Includes data from the dataMares collection. Currently, dataMares contains fishery, reef, and mangrove data (and more) pertaining to the Gulf of California and Mexico specific oceans.

Full-sized scanned images are very large. All color maps were scanned at 300 dpi, all preliminary (black and white) maps were scanned at 400 dpi. Maps are also available, grouped by region, on CD, and can be browsed/downloaded via an interactive map.

GEBCO’s current gridded bathymetric data set, the GEBCO_2020 Grid, is a global terrain model for ocean and land, providing elevation data, in meters, on a 15 arc-second interval grid. It is accompanied by a Type Identifier (TID) Grid that gives information on the types of source data that the GEBCO_2020 Grid is based.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) supports research into the world’s frozen realms: the snow, ice, glaciers, frozen ground, and climate interactions that make up Earth’s cryosphere. NSIDC manages and distributes scientific data, creates tools for data access, supports data users, performs scientific research, and educates the public about the cryosphere.

The City of San Diego collects data as part of the regulatory permit requirements governing wastewater discharge to the Pacific Ocean through the Point Loma and South Bay ocean outfalls. Monitoring surrounding the current discharge site for the Point Loma Ocean Outfall began in July 1991, while monitoring of the South Bay Ocean Outfall region began in July 1995. Ocean monitoring data for calendar years beginning 2001 are currently available for downloading.

The Beach and Bay Monitoring Program conducts the following activities to monitor beach water quality and notify the public of water quality conditions. Depending on season, monitor and sample between 20 and 40 locations weekly.