The project of the Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) is to develop enhanced air-sea heat flux analysis products for the global oceans. The product integrates satellite observations with surface moorings, ship reports, and atmospheric model reanalyzed surface meteorology.
Summary
The OAFlux dataset is available via NCAR at:
http://dss.ucar.edu/datasets/ds260.1/
Data access requires user registration which is basically a formality. Once registered, the daily OAFlux products including wind speed at 10 m from 1985 through 2011 at a nominal 1 deg. by 1 deg. global resolution can be found at:
http://dss.ucar.edu/dsszone/ds260.1/index.html?g=1
as the files of the form ws_oaflux_2010.nc.gz.
And the monthly OAFlux produts including wind speed at 10 m from 1958 through 2011 at the same spatial resolution can be found at:
http://dss.ucar.edu/dsszone/ds260.1/index.html?g=2
as the files of the form ws_oaflux_2001.nc.gz.
Turbulent latent and sensible heat fluxes
FTP: ftp://ftp.whoi.edu/pub/science/oaflux/data_v3/daily/turbulence_1985-2006/
Daily: The directory has daily global analysis of latent heat flux (lh_oaflux_yyyy.nc.gz, positive upward), sensible heat flux (sh_oaflux_yyyy_nc.gz, positive upward), the 10m neutral wind speed (ws_oaflux_yyyy.nc.gz), the 2m air specific humidity (qa_oaflux_yyyy.nc.gz), the 2m air temperature (ta_oaflux_yyyy.nc.gz), and sea surface temperature (ts_oaflux_yyyy.nc.gz). The yearly files for each variable include also the daily error analysis for the corresponding variable. The units are:
A typical latent heat flux NetCDF header (from lh_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf lh_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short lhtfl(time, lat, lon) ;
lhtfl:comments = "daily mean surface latent heat flux, positive upward" ;
lhtfl:units = "W/m^2" ;
lhtfl:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
lhtfl:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed surface latent heat flux" ;
err:units = "W/m^2" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
A typical sensible heat flux NetCDF header (from sh_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf sh_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short shtfl(time, lat, lon) ;
shtfl:comment = "daily mean surface sensible heat flux, positive upward" ;
shtfl:units = "W/m^2" ;
shtfl:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
shtfl:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed surface sensible heat flux" ;
err:units = "W/m^2" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
A typical wind speed NetCDF header (from ws_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf ws_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short wnd10(time, lat, lon) ;
wnd10:comments = "daily mean neutral wind speed at 10m" ;
wnd10:units = "m/s" ;
wnd10:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
wnd10:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed neutral wind speed at 10m" ;
err:units = "m/s" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
A typical specific humidity NetCDF header (from qa_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf qa_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:offset = 723107. ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short hum2m(time, lat, lon) ;
hum2m:comment = "daily mean specific humidity at 2m" ;
hum2m:units = "g/Kg" ;
hum2m:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
hum2m:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed specific humidity at 2m" ;
err:units = "g/Kg" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
A typical air temperature NetCDF header (from ta_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf ta_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:offset = 723107. ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short tmp2m(time, lat, lon) ;
tmp2m:comment = "daily mean air temperature at 2m" ;
tmp2m:units = "degree C" ;
tmp2m:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
tmp2m:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed air temperature at 2m" ;
err:units = "degree C" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
A typical sea surface temperature NetCDF header (from ts_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf ts_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short tmpsf(time, lat, lon) ;
tmpsf:comments = "daily mean sea surface temperature" ;
tmpsf:units = "degree C" ;
tmpsf:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
tmpsf:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed sea surface temperature" ;
err:units = "degree C" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.01 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
Ocean evaporation (1985-2006)
FTP: ftp://ftp.whoi.edu/pub/science/oaflux/data_v3/daily/evaporation_1985-2006/
Daily: The directory has daily ocean evaporation analysis as well as daily error analysis. The two sets of daily analysis are grouped into one data file for each year. The yearly files are named as: evapr_oaflux_yyyy.nc.gz, where “yyyy” denotes the four-digit year. The unit is cm/year.
A typical evaporation NetCDF header file (from evapr_oaflux_1985.nc) is:
netcdf evapr_oaflux_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short evapr(time, lat, lon) ;
evapr:comments = "daily mean evaporation rate" ;
evapr:units = "cm/yr" ;
evapr:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
evapr:missing_value = 32766. ;
short err(time, lat, lon) ;
err:comments = "estimated error of analysed evaporation rate" ;
err:units = "cm/yr" ;
err:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
err:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...
Ocean surface radiation fluxes
FTP: ftp://ftp.whoi.edu/pub/science/oaflux/data_v3/daily/radiation_1985-2004/
Daily: he surface radiation data in this directory are taken from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP; Zhang et al. 2004). The ISCCP-FD data are kindly provided by Dr. William B. Rossow for distribution along with the OAFlux products. Please reference the ISCCP webpage http://isccp.giss.nasa.gov/projects/flux.html about the project and the full global dataset.
The ISCCP data hosted here include net longwave radiation (lw_isccp_yyyy.nc.gz, positive upward) and net shortwave radiation (sw_isccp_yyyy.nc.gz, positive downward) at the ocean surface. The data are available from 7/1/1983 to 12/31/2004 and came with no error analysis. The unit is W/m2.
Please note that the original net longwave and shortwave radiations from ISCCP have a three-hour resolution and are on 2.5-degree grid over the globe. We applied daily average and linearly interpolation to the ISCCP dataset to produce the same spatial and temporal resolution as the OAFlux product.
A typical longwave flux NetCDF header (for lw_isccp_1985.nc) is:
netcdf lw_isccp_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:offset = 723107. ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short nlwrs(time, lat, lon) ;
nlwrs:comment = "daily mean net surface fullsky longwave radiation flux, positive upward" ;
nlwrs:units = "W/m^2" ;
nlwrs:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
nlwrs:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:author = "ISCCP -FD dataset kindly provided by Dr. W.B. Rossow" ;
:description = "linear interpolation and daily average were applied to map ISCCP radiation on
to 1x1 and daily resolution used by the WHOI OAFlux project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://isccp.giss.nasa.gov/projects/flux.html" ;
data:
...
Net heat fluxes over the global oceans
FTP: ftp://ftp.whoi.edu/pub/science/oaflux/data_v3/daily/netheat_1985-2004/
Daily: The daily net heat flux (qnet_yyyy.nc.gz, positive downward) results from combining the OAFlux latent and sensible heat fluxes with the ISCCP ocean-surface radiation. The net heat flux, qnet, is computed as: qnet = SW- LW - LH - SH. The unit is W/m2.
A typical NetCDF header (from qnet_1985.nc) is:
netcdf qnet_1985 {
dimensions:
time = UNLIMITED ; // (365 currently)
lat = 180 ;
lon = 360 ;
variables:
float lon(lon) ;
lon:long_name = "longitude" ;
lon:units = "degrees" ;
lon:range = "0.5 to 359.5" ;
float lat(lat) ;
lat:long_name = "latitude" ;
lat:units = "degrees" ;
lat:range = "89.5S to 89.5N" ;
int time(time) ;
time:units = "day" ;
time:comment = "Year 1985" ;
short qnet(time, lat, lon) ;
qnet:comments = "daily mean net surface heat flux, positive downward" ;
qnet:units = "W/m^2" ;
qnet:scale_factor = 0.1 ;
qnet:missing_value = 32766. ;
// global attributes:
:creation_date = "Dec 2007" ;
:description = "WHOI Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project" ;
:project_PIs = "Lisan Yu, Bob Weller" ;
:website = "http://oaflux.whoi.edu" ;
data:
...