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Description

This dataset contains monthly-averaged ocean and sea-ice surface freshwater fluxes interpolated to a regular 0.5-degree grid from the ECCO Version 4 revision 4 (V4r4) ocean and sea-ice state estimate. Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) ocean and sea-ice state estimates are dynamically and kinematically-consistent reconstructions of the three-dimensional, time-evolving ocean, sea-ice, and surface atmospheric states. ECCO V4r4 is a free-running solution of the 1-degree global configuration of the MIT general circulation model (MITgcm) that has been fit to observations in a least-squares sense. Observational data constraints used in V4r4 include sea surface height (SSH) from satellite altimeters [ERS-1/2, TOPEX/Poseidon, GFO, ENVISAT, Jason-1,2,3, CryoSat-2, and SARAL/AltiKa]; sea surface temperature (SST) from satellite radiometers [AVHRR], sea surface salinity (SSS) from the Aquarius satellite radiometer/scatterometer, ocean bottom pressure (OBP) from the GRACE satellite gravimeter; sea ice concentration from satellite radiometers [SSM/I and SSMIS], and in-situ ocean temperature and salinity measured with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensors and expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) from several programs [e.g., WOCE, GO-SHIP, Argo, and others] and platforms [e.g.,research vessels, gliders, moorings, ice-tethered profilers, and instrumented pinnipeds]. V4r4 covers the period 1992-01-01T12:00:00 to 2018-01-01T00:00:00.

Product Summary

Platforms
Models ,
MITgcm
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
0.5 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
Location
GLOBAL OCEAN
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C1990404792-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
312
Processing Level
4
Published
Science Keywords
Sublimation ,
Fresh Water Flux ,
Snow ,
Surface Precipitation ,
Evaporation ,
Runoff Rate

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Fenty, I., & Wang, O. (2020). ECCO Ocean and Sea-Ice Surface Freshwater Fluxes - Monthly Mean 0.5 Degree (Version 4 release 4) [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ECG5M-FRE44 Date Accessed: 2026-02-15

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
EXFempmr Net surface freshwater flux from precipitation, evaporation, and runoff per unit area in open water (not covered by sea-ice). Excludes freshwater fluxes involving sea-ice and snow. Note: calculated as EXFevap-EXFpreci-EXFroff. m s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -0.00042406158 to 1.9718298E-5 1
EXFevap Evaporation rate per unit area of open water (not covered by sea-ice). Note: calculated using the bulk formula following Large and Yeager (2004) NCAR/TN-460+STR. m s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -2.6279436E-6 to 2.2455906E-5 1
EXFpreci Precipitation rate. Note: sum of ERA-Interim precipitation and the control adjustment from ocean state estimation. m s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -4.383419E-6 to 7.837462E-5 1
EXFroff River runoff freshwater flux. Note: not adjusted by the optimization. m s-1 float 9.96921E+36 0 to 0.0004099686 1
latitude uniform grid spacing from -89.75 to 89.75 by 0.5 degrees_north float N/A N/A 1
latitude_bnds latitude bounds grid cells N/A float N/A N/A 1
longitude uniform grid spacing from -179.75 to 179.75 by 0.5 degrees_east float N/A N/A 1
longitude_bnds longitude bounds grid cells N/A float N/A N/A 1
oceFWflx Net freshwater flux into the ocean including contributions from runoff, evaporation, precipitation, and mass exchange with sea-ice due to melting and freezing and snow melting. Note: oceFWflx does NOT include freshwater fluxes between the atmosphere and sea-ice and snow. The variable 'SIatmFW' accounts for freshwater fluxes out of the combined ocean+sea-ice+snow reservoir. kg m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -0.16563949 to 0.42406157 1
SFLUX The rate of change of total ocean salinity due to freshwater fluxes across the liquid surface and the addition or removal of mass. Note: the global area integral of SFLUX matches the time-derivative of total ocean salinity (psu s-1). Unlike oceFWflx, SFLUX includes the contribution to the total ocean salinity from changing ocean mass (e.g. from the addition or removal of freshwater in oceFWflx). g m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -3.1355982 to 0.53775376 1
SIacSubl Freshwater flux to the atmosphere due to sublimation-deposition of snow or ice. Positive values imply sublimation from ice/snow to vapor, negative values imply deposition from atmospheric moisture kg m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 0 to 0.0018268302 1
SIatmFW Net freshwater flux into the combined liquid ocean, sea-ice, and snow reservoirs from the atmosphere and runoff. Note: freshwater fluxes BETWEEN the liquid ocean and sea-ice or snow reservoirs do not contribute to SIatmFW. SIatmFW counts all fluxes to/from the atmosphere that change the TOTAL freshwater stored in the combined liquid ocean, sea-ice, and snow reservoirs. kg m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -0.019718297 to 0.42406157 1
SIfwThru Precipitation over sea-ice covered regions reaching ocean through sea-ice. Note: Precipitation over sea-ice covered regions that directly reaches ocean through the sea-ice. It is not due to melt of sea-ice/snow. kg m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -0.0006256243 to 0.009369112 1
SIrsSubl Residual freshwater flux by sublimation to remove water from or add water to ocean. When implied sublimation freshwater flux SIacSubl is larger than availabe sea-ice/snow, SIrsSubl is positive and water is removed from ocean. Note: freshwater flux by sublimation that is to remove water from the ocean when it is positive. kg m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -0.0025733775 to 5.5072785E-5 1
SIsnPrcp Snow precipitation on sea-ice kg m-2 s-1 float 9.96921E+36 -0.003553188 to 0.015556604 1
time center time of averaging period hours since 1992-01-01T12:00:00 int N/A N/A 1
time_bnds Start and end times of averaging period. N/A int N/A N/A 1
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