The data set comprises of measurements of surface currents collected across the Indian Ocean in the region 50 E (the Gulf of Aden) to 100 E and 25 S to 10 N. The data were collected between 1854 and 1974. The surface currents, measured from ships' drift, have been compiled into 10 day periods and 1 degree latitude-longitude squares. For each of these the vector mean of all of the observations from all years has been calculated. With this amount of subdivision, coverage is often sparse and sometimes non-existent. The source material for this atlas was obtained from the UK Meteorological Office archive of historical surface currents and this data set was compiled by the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory (IOSDL).

The UK Argo programme data set comprises measurements of ocean temperature and salinity and provides information of surface and subsurface Lagrangian (measuring movement by tracing the path of a passively drifting object) displacement enabling the derivation of currents. The data set includes a mixture of near-real-time (quality controlled to operational ocean forecasting standards) and delayed mode (quality controlled to climate research standards) data collected by profiling floats. The UK floats from part of a global array throughout the world oceans. Real-time data are available within 24 hours of the float surfacing while delayed mode data become available within 12 months of the profile date. Floats drift at their parking depth (between 1000m and 2025m) for 5 or 10 days depending on float programming. Traditionally floats measured temperature and conductivity at regular intervals during their rise to the surface. In October 2007, the Argo programme achieved its goal to have (and maintain) more than 3000 active floats. As of 2012, some newly deployed floats are being programmed to collect data whilst drifting at their parking depth and during their ascent and additional oceanographic parameters, for example fluorescence, optical backscatter, and dissolved oxygen are being trialled for inclusion in the data set. The data has a variety of uses including assimilation into operational weather forecasts in near-real-time to climate research with the delayed mode data. The data set also includes Argo floats deployed by Mauritius, Saudi Arabia (one float in the Red Sea) Ireland and Portugal, as the British Oceanographic Data Centre manages the data from these floats in addition to those of the UK Argo programme.

The data set comprises temperature, pressure, position and occasionally wave data from nine drifting buoys that were deployed across the Southern Hemisphere. Data were collected from 1979 to 1981. Each buoy carried surface pressure and sea temperature sensors, and seven of the buoys were equipped with drogues in order to aid the study of large scale, near surface ocean currents, and to complement concurrent oceanographic observations made in the area by the research ship RRS Discovery. Two of the buoys were designed with good wave following characteristics and contained accelerometers and simple processors so as to yield good wave information. The buoys were equipped with UHF telemetry transmitters to relay data to the ARGOS system on board the polar orbiting meteorological satellites Tiros-9 and NOAA-6. The buoys were were deployed by the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Wormley Laboratory UK as part of the First Garp Global Experiment (FGGE) Southern Hemisphere Drifting Buoy Network.

The data set comprises a series of ten reports containing tables of current data and diagrams of trajectories derived from neutrally buoyant floats deployed in seas across the globe. The floats were numbered between 1-180 and 209-227, with floats 1-180 being deployed between 1955 and 1964 and floats 209-227 being deployed between February and March 1969. Detailed deployment information is listed below, with deployment location, float numbers, deployment dates and ship name (if known). NE Atlantic: floats 1-5 (Jun 1955, Oct-Nov 1955); float 11 (Aug 1956); floats 12-20 (Mar 1957); floats 25-33 (May-Jul 1958); floats 34-39 (Nov 1958). Norwegian Sea: floats 6-10 (Apr-May 1956). NW Pacific: floats 21-24 (Jul-Aug 1957). Deep water off Bermuda: floats 40-53, 55, 58 (Jun-Oct 1959, RV Aries); floats 54, 56, 57 (Oct 1959, RV Crawford); floats 59-60,64-65,68, 69,71,73-74 (Jun-Dec 1959, RV Aries); floats 61-63,66, 67,70,72 (Nov 1959, RV Crawford); floats 75-77 (Dec 1959, RV Atlantis); floats 78-98 (Feb-Jun 1960, RV Aries); floats 99-119 (Jun-Aug 1960, RV Aries). Faroe-Shetland Channel: floats 120-127 (Jul 1961, RRS Discovery). Faroe Bank Channel: float 135 (1963, Ernest Holt). Labrador Sea: floats 128-132 (1962, Erika Dan). Arabian Sea: floats 133, 134, 136-139 (Jul-Aug 1963, RRS Discovery). Indian Ocean: floats 140-160 (Mar-Apr 1964, RRS Discovery); floats 161-180 (Apr-Aug 1964, RRS Discovery). NW Mediterranean: floats 209-227 (Feb-Mar 1969, RRS Discovery). The reports were produced by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), which later became the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory.

The RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS dataset comprises measurements of current velocity, temperature, salinity and pressure. Oceanic volume transports are calculated from these variables resulting in continuous measurements of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Data collection is obtained from a mooring array across 26.5N in the Atlantic Ocean and cable measurements across the Florida Straits. The measurement array extends from the Bahamas to the African coast. The data have been measured continuously between April 2004 and March 2020. The data are collected periodically (currently every 18 months) from various UK and USA research cruises. Measurements between the Bahamas and Africa were made using a variety of MicroCat CTD sensors, various current meters and ADCP. All instruments are located on 18 moorings in various locations at 26.5N. An undersea cable makes current velocity measurements across the Florida Straits. The RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS programme aims to deliver a multi-decadal time series of observations of AMOC. The observations will be used with data from other sources to determine and interpret recent changes in the AMOC, to assess the risk of rapid climate change due to changes in the MOC, and to investigate the potential for predicting the MOC and its impacts on climate. The RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS programme is a joint effort between NERC in the UK (the UK Principal Investigator is Eleanor Frajka-Williams), NOAA (Molly Baringer) and RSMAS (Prof. Bill Johns) in the USA. The Atlantic MOC transport (and its components), calculated from the above data, and gridded files of temperature and salinity are held by BODC in NetCDF format.

The dataset comprises hydrographic measurements including current velocity, temperature, salinity and sea level data. Results of one iodine experiment are also included. The data were collected in the area of the Faroe Islands, Shetland, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea between May 2000 and November 2001 over a series of 31 cruises using the research vessels Scotia (UK), Magnus Heinason (Faroes), Johan Hjort and G.O.Sars (Norway). Measurements included five repeated conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sections in the Faroe Shetland Channel, North of Faroes, Gimsøy and Svinøy and Fugløya - Bear Island. Fifty one moorings containing current meters, acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), bottom pressure recorders and inverted echosounders were deployed along the sections. Ten RAFOS floats were also deployed in the Lofoten Basin to measure Lagrangian currents. During the Johan Hjort cruise in May 2000 about 300 water samples were collected in order to measure 129Iodine concentration (relative to 127I). Analysis was carried out by the Centre de Spectrométrie Nucléaire et de Spectrométrie de Masse, France. Observational data from the standard tidal stations at Tórshavn, Lerwick, Bodø and Ny-Ålesund were also used in the analysis. The main objective of MAIA was the development of an inexpensive, reliable system for monitoring the inflow of Atlantic water to the northern seas, based on coastal sea-level data. The project involved contributions from a number of international institutions. The resulting data set was collated at BODC and published on CD-ROM in March 2003.

This dataset consists of daily Florida Current transport measurements, Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) and Oxygen profiles and moored Inverted Echo Sounder (IES) travel time data. The data form part of the Western Boundary Time Series (WBTS) project. The data have been collected since 1982 in the Florida Straits, Northwest Providence Channel and eastwards of Abaco Island, Bahamas. The Florida Current transport measurements are made using a submarine telephone cable plus calibration cruises and the CTD, oxygen profiles and IES data are collected using dedicated research ship time and moorings. The data are collected in order to monitor variability of the transport carried by the Deep Western Boundary Current. The project is led by scientists at the Physical Oceanography Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Data are held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre.

The dataset comprises a diverse set of physical, chemical and biological data including: bacteria, carbon, chlorophyll, dissolved gases, light levels, nutrients, phytoplankton, productivity, respiration, salinity, temperature, trace elements and zooplankton. Measurements were gathered from the North Atlantic and Norwegian fjord waters between 1971 and 1998. The data arise from three sources: biological and hydrographic data collected between 1971 and 1975 at Ocean Weather Ship (OWS) India in the North Atlantic; conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) casts, water samples, net samples and meteorological data from the four week Bergen Mesocosm experiment at Espegrend Marine Biological Field Station (Norway) in 1995; and the six week RRS Discovery cruise 221 to the North East Atlantic in 1996, where physical, chemical and biological data were collected. The data were collected using a variety of methods including: more than 500 CTD and SeaSoar profiles; nearly 1000 water bottle samples; over 600 net hauls; over 450 Secchi disk deployments; nearly 4000 multisizer samples; 23 production experiments; four drifting buoy tracks and 40 days of weather observations. The PRIME programme aimed to lay the basis for mathematical models to describe the role of plankton in biogeochemical fluxes within the oceans which have implications for climate regulation. The project was hosted by the School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor. Data management was undertaken by the British Oceanographic Data Centre and over 95% of the data collected are now assembled on a CD-ROM. The data are accompanied by an extensive users' guide (covering sampling protocol documentation), the structures used to store the data, and the data interrogation tools.

The dataset comprises physical, biogeochemical and biological measurements of water column properties. Hydrographic profiles of water temperature, salinity, fluorescence, turbidity, attenuance, dissolved oxygen and photosynthetically active radiation were collected, and were supplemented by measurements of surface ocean (temperature, salinity, fluorescence, attenuance) and meteorological (air pressure, air temperature, humidity, wind, irradiance) properties, as well as bathymetry. A comprehensive water sampling program provided biogeochemical data including measurements of dimethyl sulphide (DMS), dimethylsulphionopropionate (DMSP), nutrients, halocarbons, methylamines, pigments, radiogeochemistry and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Biological data were also collected, including samples of viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton, micro- and mesozooplankton. Currents throughout the water column were measured both at fixed locations and across the study area, while Lagrangian experiments provided further current data. The datqa were collected in the northern North Sea between 5th June 1999 and 1st July 1999 during RRS Discovery cruise D241. Hydrographic profiles were collected using a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) package with attached auxiliary sensors, an undulating oceanographic recorder (UOR), a vessel-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), moored ADCP and temperature sensors, and a suite of standard underway hydrographic and meteorological sensors. Water samples for biogeochemical and biological analyses were collected from both the underway system and CTD bottles, while nets were deployed to collect zooplankton samples. Plankton samples were supplemented by respiration experiments conducted during the cruise. The Lagrangian current data were gathered from four drifters and a tracer experiment where the distribution of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) released from the ship was monitored via water samples collected from the CTD and the underway system. A survey of the region was carried out in order to locate an Emiliania huxleyi bloom suitable for the study and the chosen bloom was labelled with the SF6 tracer. The biogeochemical process study followed the patch as it drifted in a SE direction and was eventually subducted under Norweigian coastal water on 26 June. The study aimed to investigate DMS biogeochemistry within a coccolithophore bloom. The research was organised by NERC's Plymouth Marine Laboratory and involved the University of East Anglia, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Defence Research Agency, and Southampton Oceanography Centre. Data management support for the project is provided by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). The dataset is available on CD-ROM and can be requested from BODC.

The data set comprises a diverse collection of physical, chemical and biological measurements, encompassing well over 1000 parameters. There are data from over 1000 conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)/rosette stations, over 440 core profiles, over 180 sediment trap samples, over 140 net hauls and much, much more. The primary study area was a box extending to the base of the slope from Vigo to Cap Finistere. However, data are included from both further offshore (filament tracking) and from the Portuguese Margin. Measurements were taken from November 1996 to October 1999 during 33 cruise legs, involving research vessels from seven nations. Data were collected using a variety of equipment and techniques, including expendable bathythermographs (XBTs), turbulence probes, CTDs and oceanographic undulators with auxiliary sensors. These hydrographic profiles were accompanied by net hauls, plankton recorder deployments, sediment cores and a comprehensive water sampling programmes during which a wide variety of chemical and biological parameters were measured. The station data were supplemented by underway measurements of oceanographic and meteorological properties. Results from production and phosphate uptake experiments are also included in the dataset, as are bathymetric data from multibeam (swath) surveys, coastal upwelling measurements and data from moored instruments and benthic landers. The dataset also includes imagery from satellites, seabed photography and X-ray photographs of core samples. The aim of the project was study biogeochemical processes at the shelf break and to quantify the fluxes of material between the shelf and the open ocean. The project brought together over 100 scientists from 40 research centres and universities throughout Europe. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is assembling the data sets collected during OMEX II into its project database system and the data set is also available on CD-ROM.