The World Ocean Atlas (WOA) is a data product of the Ocean Climate Laboratory of the National Oceanographic Data Center (USA). The WOA consists of a climatology of fields of in situ ocean properties for the World Ocean. It was first produced in 1994 (based on the earlier Climatological Atlas of the World Ocean^[1]), with later editions at roughly four year intervals in 1998, 2001 and 2005. In general, data consist of propositions that reflect reality. ... The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) manages the acquisition, ingest processing, quality control and long-term preservation of oceanographic data. ... The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) manages the acquisition, ingest processing, quality control and long-term preservation of oceanographic data. ... Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time,[1] and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ... For other uses, see Ocean (disambiguation). ... The term World Ocean refers to the interconnected system of the planet Earths marine waters. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The fields that make up the WOA dataset consist of objectively-analysed global grids at 1° spatial resolution. The fields are three-dimensional, and data are typically interpolated onto 33 standardised vertical intervals^[2] from the surface (0 m) to the seafloor (5500 m). In terms of temporal resolution, averaged fields are produced for annual, seasonal and monthly time-scales. The WOA fields include ocean temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, apparent oxygen utilisation (AOU), percent oxygen saturation, phosphate, silicic acid, and nitrate. Early editions of the WOA additionally included fields such as mixed layer depth and sea surface height. Objectivity has several meanings: Objectivity (philosophy) Objectivity (journalism) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually symbolized °, is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1／360 of a full rotation. ... Image resolution describes the detail an image holds. ... The space we live in is three-dimensional space. ... In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points from a discrete set of known data points. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ... The seabed is the bottom of the ocean. ... A pocket watch, a device used to keep time There are two distinct views on the meaning of time. ... Annual, from the Latin annuum, or year means pertaining to a year or happening every year. ... A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather. ... Look up Month in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fig. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ... Oxygen saturation or dissolved oxygen (DO) is a measure of amount of oxygen dissolved in a given medium. ... A percentage is a way of expressing a proportion, a ratio or a fraction as a whole number, by using 100 as the denominator. ... Oxygen saturation is a relative measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium. ... Above is a ball-and-stick model of the inorganic hydrogenphosphate anion (HPO42−). Colour coding: P (orange); O (red); H (white). ... Silicic acid is a general name for a family of chemical compounds of silicon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with the general formula [SiOx(OH)4-2x]n. ... An electrostatic potential map of the nitrate ion. ... The oceanic or limnological mixed layer is the top zone in the ocean or a lake, having variable depth depending on how far the energy from the wind has penetrated into the water. ...

In addition to the averaged fields of ocean properties, the WOA also contains fields of statistical information concerning the constituent data that the averages were produced from. These include fields such as the number of data points the average is derived from, their standard deviation and standard error. A lower horizontal resolution (5°) version of the WOA is also available. Template:Otherusescccc A graph of a bell curve in a normal distribution showing statistics used in educational assessment, comparing various grading methods. ... In probability and statistics, the standard deviation of a probability distribution, random variable, or population or multiset of values is a measure of the spread of its values. ... Standard error can refer to: In statistics, an expression of the uncertainty in a value - see standard error (statistics). ...

Gallery

Annual mean sea surface temperature (WOA 2001)	Annual mean sea surface salinity (WOA 2001)	Annual mean sea surface dissolved oxygen (WOA 2001)
Annual mean sea surface phosphate (WOA 2001)	Annual mean sea surface silicic acid (WOA 2001)	Annual mean sea surface nitrate (WOA 2001)

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1550x1075, 265 KB) Annual mean sea surface temperature from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1550x1075, 265 KB) Annual mean sea surface temperature from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1563x1075, 299 KB) Summary Annual mean sea surface salinity from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1563x1075, 299 KB) Summary Annual mean sea surface salinity from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1525x1075, 296 KB) Summary Annual mean sea surface dissolved oxygen (O2) from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1525x1075, 296 KB) Summary Annual mean sea surface dissolved oxygen (O2) from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1538x1075, 345 KB)[edit] Summary Annual mean sea surface phosphate from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1538x1075, 345 KB)[edit] Summary Annual mean sea surface phosphate from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1550x1075, 285 KB) Summary Annual mean sea surface nitrate from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1550x1075, 285 KB) Summary Annual mean sea surface nitrate from the World Ocean Atlas 2001. ...

References

1. ^ Levitus, S. (1982) Climatological Atlas of the World Ocean, NOAA Professional Paper No. 13, pp. 191
2. ^ Standardised intervals are at 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1750, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500 m

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency of the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. ...

See also

• Global Ocean Data Analysis Project

The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a synthesis project bringing together oceanographic data collected during the 1990s by research cruises on the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and Ocean-Atmosphere Exchange Study (OACES) programmes. ...

External links

• World Ocean Atlas 1994
• World Ocean Atlas 1998
• World Ocean Atlas 2001
• World Ocean Atlas 2005