UN
Atlas of the Oceans
ABOUT: Ecology: Ecosystems.
Changes in Ecosystems See More...
Maintained by NOAA Fisheries
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Research & Development
Through cooperative arrangements with many agencies, PFEL obtains raw data and adds value by reformatting with new products. The data delivery systems at PFEL are tailored to provide environmental data for research in fisheries and marine ecosystems and are delivered worldwide.
The use
of Live Access Servers (LAS), developed by the Pacific
Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) is widespread in the oceanographic and atmospheric data community. At PFEL
it has been customized for the interaction between physical and chemical
parameters in the ocean and their impact on ecosystems.The following Live Access Server data sets require Java. You need to set your browser preferences to enable Java and JavaScript. Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/las.html for more information.
Example of a LAS product: Pressure reduced to Mean Sea Level (mb) Image: PFEL
Choose between Data Base Development and Data Product Development.
Data Base Development
Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS)
The Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) is the most complete compilation of surface marine observations available. Go to the COADS homepage at http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/coads/
PFEL produces a small subset of the time series. Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/research/fishery_clim/COADS.html
World Ocean Database (WODB)
The National Oceanographic Data Center archives and provides public access to global oceanographic and coastal data, products, and information including the World Ocean Database (WODB).
We at PFEL have reformatted the WODB for easy access, have added new products and developed a data base extraction program. The database allows users on their own computers to subsample the WODB and other data sets, and produce summaries for customized geographic regions in a number of formats that can be read directly into visualization and statistical analysis software packages. Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/research/globec/RESEARCH/DATA/index.html
Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP)The Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP) program will simultaneously tag more than twenty species of pelagic nekton and birds in the North Pacific in an effort to understand how these animals use the ocean environment. An example is the elephant seal.
Track of a male elephant seal through June, 1997. The inset represents a 6 hr period on 1 April 1997 showing the dive patterns and temperature. Image: PFEL
Global Temperature and Salinity (GTS)
Monthly means in 1-degree lat/long squares of sea surface temperature and anomalies. Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/observed/GTS_surface/sfc_temp.html
Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP)
PFEL obtains its data through cooperation with the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC). Go to the Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Program Homepage at http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/gtspp-home.html
PFEL provides Subsurface Temperature and Isotherm Depth Standard Level 1-degree Monthly Means. Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/observed/gtspp_subsurface/gtspp_subsurface.html
Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) Air/Ocean indices
Monthly averages of the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) 6-hourly analyzed pressure fields interpolated where necessary to a 360 by 181 global spherical grid (1-degree), and Air/Ocean indices computed from the interpolated pressure. Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/las/docs/this_month_pressure.nc.html
California Commercial Landings
Landings of fish and invertebrates from California's commercial marine
fisheries from 1928 to near present, in text and graphic display. Monthly
and annual landings available for six California regions. Number of
categories listed ranges from 50 in 1928, to over 300 at present. Go to http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov:8080/las_fish1/servlets/dataset
Data Product
Development
Four of the products which have been developed from Fleet
Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) data fields
are listed below:
Upwelling Indices
On a monthly basis, PFEL generates indices of the intensity of large-scale,
wind-induced coastal upwelling at 15 standard locations along the west
coast of North America. More information at http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/modeled/indices/PFELindices.html
Go to the Live Active Server (LAS) site for
* Global Upwelling Indices (using user-defined coast angle)
* Subsetting and plotting of North American upwelling indices
at http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/las
Air/Ocean indices
A number of other PFEL products derived from FNMOC operational forecasts
include:
* FNMOC 500 mb Height
* FNMOC Surface Winds
* Monthly mean pressure maps
for more information go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/modeled/model_derived.html
Derived Winds and Ocean Transport
PFEL's Historical Product for 15 positions along the North American
west coast at each 3 degrees of Latitude from 21N to 60N. Each of these
data files contain: surface atmospheric pressure; northward component
of surface wind; eastward component of surface wind; northward wind stress;
eastward wind stress; wind stress curl; cube of wind speed; northward
component of Ekman transport; eastward component of Ekman transport; offshore
component of Ekman transport; direction of offshore component of Ekman
transport; vertical velocity into the Ekman layer; and Sverdrup transport.
Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/modeled/indices/transports/transports.html
Go to the Live Active Server (LAS) site at http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/las
for customized subsections of the data and alternate file formats.
Northern Oscillation Index (NOI) and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)
A new climate index, the extratropical Northern Oscillation Index (NOI)
is based on sea level pressure differences in the North Pacific High and
at Darwin, Australia. It identifies events and climate regime shifts that
are not always apparent in indices such as the Southern Oscillation Index
(SOI). The NOI is well correlated with remote and local climate change
and biological and fishery production eg west coast salmon catch. Go to
http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/modeled/indices/NOIx/noix.html
The following two products are derived from the Global Temperature and
Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP) described above:
14 deg
C isotherm
Monthly climate is calculated from 1945-1996 at 33 standard depth levels.
Monthly averaged temperature is available at 19 standard depth levels.
Go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/las
Mixed layer depth (MLD)
Three Mixed Layer Depth (MLD) criteria were used to compute the MLD files
available on the PFEL/GLOBEC web site. Go to:
http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/observed/WOD98/MLD/mld.html
Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Anomaly Maps
Product derived from Global Temperature and Salinity (GTS) above.
For monthly anomaly maps go to http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/PFEL/observed/GTS_surface/sfc_temp_maps.html
OSCURS
The OSCURS numerical model is a research tool that allows oceanographers
and fisheries scientists to perform retrospective analyses of daily ocean
currents anywhere in an ocean-wide grid from Baja California to China
and from 10 deg N to the Bering Strait. The model is used to measure the
movement of surface currents over time as well as the movement of what
was in or on the water. Ocean surface currents affect organisms suspended
in the water column such as fish eggs, small larvae and plankton, and
may affect their survival by determining their location after a few months
of drift. OSCURS has gained visibility as a debris tracker. For
general information go to OSCURS
at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/refm/docs/oscurs/get_to_know.htm
The OSCURS model has been implemented on a separate version of PFEL's
Live Access Server. Users can input a location in the North Pacific and
a start and ending time (1967-present) and get a plot or listing of the
predicted track. Go to
http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/las_oscurs/
Frances B Michaelis
April 22, 2003