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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

NODC Standard Product: World Ocean Atlas 2001 (6 disc set) (NCEI Accession 0095600)

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The World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) Series consists of two sets of products. The first set of products consists of three DATA CD-ROMs containing global data statistics at standard depth levels by one-degree and five-degree squares of several commonly measured ocean variables, as well as objectively analyzed fields (on a one-degree grid) of these variables. These products are in ASCII format. The ocean variables included in this series are: in-situ temperature, salinity, oxygen (dissolved oxygen, apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), and percent oxygen saturation), dissolved inorganic nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, and silicate), and chlorophyll at standard depth levels, and plankton biomass sampled between 0 m and 200 m depth. The second set of products consists of three FIGURE DVDs containing PDF figures illustrating the fields found on the DATA CD-ROMs.

The World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) is an update of World Ocean Atlas 1998. WOA01 expands on WOA98 with the addition of the monthly nutrients fields and the introduction of annual and seasonal zooplankton biomass fields.

The WOA01 consists of three CD-ROMs containing global data statistics at standard depth levels by one-degree and five-degree squares of several commonly measured ocean variables, as well as objectively analyzed fields (on a one-degree grid) of these variables.

Disc 1: Temperature & Salinity
Disc 2: Oxygen (dissolved oxygen, apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), and percent oxygen saturation)
Disc 3: Nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, and silicate), Chlorophyll & Zooplankton Biomass

As with previous works, ocean profile data from 'observed' depth levels are vertically interpolated to standard depth levels. Thirty-three (33) standard depth levels extend from the sea surface to 5500 meter depth. Zooplankton biomass is from the sea surface to 200 meter depth. Several statistics are computed, by one-degree and five-degree squares, for the world ocean at each standard depth level and for various climatological, all-data, compositing periods (annual, seasonal and monthly). The statistics computed include the number of observations of each variable, the arithmetic mean (referred to as "unanalyzed mean"), the standard deviation about the arithmetic mean of each variable, and the standard error of the mean of each variable.

The data used to generate these statistics are available on CD-ROM as the World Ocean Database 2001 (WOD01). Color images of the annual, seasonal and monthly values at standard depths are available on DVD as the World Ocean Atlas Figures 2001.
  • Cite as: Levitus, Sydney; US National Oceanographic Data Center (2013). NODC Standard Product: World Ocean Atlas 2001 (6 disc set) (NCEI Accession 0095600). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0095600. Accessed [date].
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 1773-01-13 to 2001-06-29
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -180
East: 180
South: -90
North: 90
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2013-04-11
  • revision: 2022-01-11
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Supplemental Information
The contents of these discs are available as 1) a compressed .tar file via the download data button (download size limit may prevent obtaining all data in one transaction); 2) a complete ISO 9660 disc image, from which an identical replica of the original disc may be burned on new CD/DVD media, by navigating to the .iso file in the data/0-data/disc_image/ subdirectory; 3) individual files, by navigating to specific file(s) in the data/0-data/disc_contents/ subdirectory.
Purpose This dataset is available to the public for a wide variety of uses including scientific research and analysis.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Levitus, Sydney; US National Oceanographic Data Center (2013). NODC Standard Product: World Ocean Atlas 2001 (6 disc set) (NCEI Accession 0095600). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0095600. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Resource Providers
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Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Levitus, Sydney; US National Oceanographic Data Center (2013). NODC Standard Product: World Ocean Atlas 2001 (6 disc set) (NCEI Accession 0095600). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0095600. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2013-04-11T01:13:39Z - NCEI Accession 0095600 v1.1 was published.
  • 2022-01-11T23:35:11Z - NCEI Accession 0095600 was revised and v1.2 was published.
    Rationale: Additional metadata files were received or created for this dataset. These updates were copied into the about/ directory of this accession. These updates may provide additional files or replace obsolete files. This version contains the most complete and up-to-date representation of this archival information package. All of the files received prior to this update are available in the preceding version of this accession.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 - NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Last Modified: 2024-08-22T13:06:00Z
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