Multi-decadal ocean temperature time-series and climatologies from Australia’s long-term National Reference Stations

• Published in: Scientific data Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 157 - 15
• Main Authors: Roughan, Moninya, Hemming, Michael, Schaeffer, Amandine, Austin, Tim, Beggs, Helen, Chen, Miaoju, Feng, Ming, Galibert, Guillaume, Holden, Clive, Hughes, David, Ingleton, Tim, Milburn, Stuart, Ridgway, Ken
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 07.04.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 704/106/694; 704/829/2737; Coastal waters; Data collection; Data Descriptor; Environmental changes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Marine environment; multidisciplinary; Ocean temperature; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Water sampling; Australia
• ISSN: 2052-4463; 2052-4463
• DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01224-6

Multi-decadal ocean time-series are fundamental baselines for assessing the impacts of environmental change, however, compiling and quality controlling historic data from multiple sources remains challenging. Here we aggregate, document, and release a number of long time-series temperature products and climatologies compiled from data obtained at 4 monitoring sites around Australia where sub-surface ocean temperature has been recorded nominally weekly to monthly since the 1940s/50s. In recent years, the sampling was augmented with data obtained from moored sensors, vertical profiles and satellite-derived data. The temperature data have been quality controlled, and combined using a rigorously tested methodology. We have packaged the multi-decadal, multi-depth, multi-platform temperature time-series at each site and produced a range of daily temperature climatologies from different data combinations and time periods. The 17 data products are provided as CF-compliant NetCDF files and will be updated periodically. The long-term temperature time-series will be useful for studies of ocean temperature variability, trends, anomalies and change. The data collection is supported by Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System and data are open-access. Measurement(s) temperature of water • temperature of sea surface Technology Type(s) ocean time series station • satellite • ship-based water sampling • ship-based CTD profiles Sample Characteristic - Environment coastal sea water • sea water environment • continental shelf Sample Characteristic - Location Australia • Tasman Sea coastal waters of continental Australia • Western Australia