International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) Release 2.5, Monthly Summaries

This dataset is superseded by ICOADS Release 3, Monthly Summary

The International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) is a global ocean marine meteorological and surface ocean dataset.  It is formed by merging many national and international data sources that contain measurements and visual observations from ships (merchant, navy, research), moored and drifting buoys, coastal stations, and other marine platforms. The coverage is global and sampling density varies depending on date and geographic position relative to shipping routes and ocean observing systems.  The monthly summary time
series are available at 2-degree (since 1800) and 1-degree (since 1960) spatial
resolutions. Observations (22 observed and computed parameters) taken in each month for a give spatial latitude by longitude box are statistically summarized (e.g. mean, median, number of observations, etc) and NOT interpolated or analyzed to fill data voids.
All three U.S. ICOADS partners (NOAA/ESRL, NOAA/NCDC, NCAR) offer various data
access and format options.  To review all available options see the
ICOADS website.

IMPORTANT: The time period of data available is defined in two segments.

ICOADS Monthly Summary Release 2.5 covers 1800 through 2007
All data following the Release 2.5 end date is based exclusively on real-time GTS data with minimal quality control.  These data should be considered preliminary and will be subject to change in new Releases of ICOADS

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • datahelp@ucar.edu

Temporal Range

  • Begin:  1800-01
    End:  2022-03

Keywords

Resource Type dataset
Temporal Range Begin 1800-01
Temporal Range End 2022-03
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links

Related Resource #1 : ICOADS Project Website
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format ASCII
Binary
Standardized Resource Format ASCII
Binary
Asset Size 11806.404 MB
Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization N/A
Distributor NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange

Author
Publisher NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research
Publication Date 1984-04-18
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) https://doi.org/10.5065/D6CF9N3F
Alternate Identifier d540001
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category oceans
Progress onGoing
Metadata Date 2025-10-09T01:26:12Z
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.gdex::d540001
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation . (1984). International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) Release 2.5, Monthly Summaries. NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research. https://doi.org/10.5065/D6CF9N3F. Accessed 31 December 2025.

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