Scripps Institute of Oceanography - Data Programs

Written By Justin Chung

Published Date: 05/20/2023 Author: Nayana Venukanthan

Scripps Institute of Oceanography has developed and is operating 33 data programs, each aimed towards a different subset of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the hopes of improving our understanding of environmental occurrences like natural disasters. Here’s a compiled list of a few prominent data programs they have and information on their purpose, content, and how they can be accessed!


About Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Scripps Institute of Oceanography is located in UC San Diego and is renowned as one of the most significant centers for earth science and oceanographic research in the world. Their scientists are constantly working towards solutions to the greatest environmental crises our generation faces, and leads research in a variety of topics related to climate change, natural hazards, conservation, oceans, and more. 


1) CalCOFI: California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations


CalCOFI was established in 1949 with the intention of studying the Pacific sardine collapse off the coast of California. Over the decades, CalCOFI’s data collection and focus have broadened to encompass the ecosystem of South California Current System, and has immense value for understanding marine ecosystems internationally.

The databases that we can access are available at the hyperlink above. There is both a Bottle database for oceanographic data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, etc.) from seawater samples, dating all the way back to the program’s founding in 1949, though the methodology of collection has changed from Niskin, Nansen and Wally bottles to CTD-Rosettes (pictured below) in 1993. The database is available in four different formats for download. 

2) CCHDO: CLIVAR and Carbon Hydrographic Data Office


The CCHDO program provides global CTD and hydrographic data from the CLIVAR and other repeat hydrography programs. The data is open to the public (with the request that you cite your sources) and is formatted as a searchable database where you can either use the Map Search feature that lets you make a box on a map to find station data in that selected area, or you can use the Advanced Search which will accept a wide range of keywords.

The database contains data from all 5 oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern), and from 7 different data programs, so there is a good chance of finding a station from one of the programs in the general area that you hope to find hydrographic data for.The data is available in WHP-Exchange, WOCE, and netCDF formats. 

3) CWWWE: Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes


Finally, to shift gears from oceanography for a bit, there is the CWWWE, which is more weather focused. It was established in response to the wide range of storms in the West coast This database provides infrared, visible, and water vapor satellite images from 2 of the satellites in NASA and NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) program. The 2 satellites, GOES-16 and GOES-17, provide images at 3 domains each. 


The website itself has data processing on the satellite data, one example being a map and graph of automated atmospheric river detection which was run by NOAA/ESRL/PSD after applying it to the water vapor imagery from the satellite SSMIS. (shown below)

Sources:

Justin Chung
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