Not only does ocean circulation effect global weather patterns, but the ocean (as well as the atmosphere) has a climate. The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) holds global physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic data sets that are being used by researchers world-wide. Specifically NODC's Ocean Climate Laboratory is investigating interannual-to-decadal ocean climate variability using historical oceanographic data, and building scientifically, quality-controlled global oceanographic databases. In fact,the Ocean Climate Laboratory has announced that the world ocean has warmed significantly over the past 40 years. Sydney Levitus, who heads the Ocean Climate Laboratory in Silver Spring, MD, reported the findings in the March 24, 2000 issue of Science in an article named "Warming of the World Ocean*". Also, see World Ocean Database and World Ocean Atlas products, publications, and International Data Exchange information.

Other NODC activities supporting climate change and weather topics include the maintenance and archival of historical buoy data sets, Global Temperature Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP), the NODC Satellite Oceanography Group, and the Global Argo Data Repository.

» NODC Resources


- Beach Temperatures
- Coastal Buoy Data
- Data types and products
- Archive of Original Data
- World Ocean Database
- CD-ROMs / DVDs
- Publications