The [HOMAGE_STERIC_OHC_TIME_SERIES_v01] dataset contains monthly global mean ocean heat content (OHC) anomalies as well as thermosteric, halosteric and total steric sea level anomalies computed from various gridded ocean data sets of sub-temperature and salinity profiles as provided by different institutions: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO);
Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP); Barnes objective analysis (BOA from CSIO, MNR); Jamstec / Ishii et al. 2017 (I17); and Met Office Hadley Centre: EN4_c13, EN4_c14, EN4_g10, and EN4_I09.
The data are averaged over the quasi-global ocean domain (i.e., where valid values are defined; note that gaps exist, in particular towards polar latitudes), at monthly intervals. The input profiling data (i.e, temperature and salinity profiles at depth levels), editing, quality flags and processing schemes vary across the different gridded products, please refer to the documentation for each institution’s data product for details. Since 2005, the profiling data are dominated by the observations from the global Argo network (e.g., https://argo.ucsd.edu/), which comprises nearly 4000 active floats (as of 08/2022). Before 2005, non-Argo data such as XBT profilers were used, and the global ocean coverage was significantly more sparse. Data sets from SIO and BOA are Argo-only, while the others also include other observations, such as expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) observations. The data are active forward stream data files and will be frequently updated as new observations are acquired by Argo, and processed by the data centers.