Coastal flooding caused by extreme sea levels can produce devastating and wide-ranging consequences. The ‘SurgeWatch’ v1.0 database systematically documents and assesses the consequences of historical coastal flood events around the UK. The original database was inevitably biased due to the inconsistent spatial and temporal coverage of sea-level observations utilised. Therefore, we present an improved version integrating a variety of ‘soft’ data such as journal papers, newspapers, weather reports, and social media. SurgeWatch2.0 identifies 329 coastal flooding events from 1915 to 2016, a more than fivefold increase compared to the 59 events in v1.0. Moreover, each flood event is now ranked using a multi-level categorisation based on inundation, transport disruption, costs, and fatalities: from 1 (Nuisance) to 6 (Disaster). For the 53 most severe events ranked Category 3 and above, an accompanying event description based upon the Source-Pathway-Receptor-Consequence framework was produced. The database contains 57 files: 1 XLSX file, 54 PDF files and 1 CSV file. The first file is a spreadsheet (XLSX) containing the list of all 329 coastal flood events in the database categorised according to the severity scale that we devised. The second and third files are PDF documents containing the short commentaries for all Category 1 and 2 events. There are an additional 53 PDF files containing the longer event commentaries for events ranked Category 3 and higher. A final CSV file contains the digitised storm tracks for the 53 Category 3 and higher events. Each of these files is self-describing and is accompanied by extensive metadata. SurgeWatch v2.0 provides the most comprehensive and coherent historical record of UK coastal flooding. It is designed to be a resource for research, planning and management and education. Haigh et al. (2017) provides more detail. Collation of the database and the development of the website was funded through a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) impact acceleration grant. The database contributes to the objectives of UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) consortium project FLOOD Memory (EP/K013513/1).

This dataset consists of high resolution tiff photographed images of tide gauge charts, from various historical tide gauges from the Grand Harbour (Port of Valletta), Malta. Due to the historical nature of these records, there is little associated metadata with the original charts. They come from various individual tide gauge locations around the Grand Harbour (Port of Valletta), Malta, and some are labelled with more specific locations, such as French Creek and Ricasoli Breakwater. General coordinates have been given for the geographic coverage: 14.49E to 14.53E, 35.87N to 35.9N. The earliest chart is from the 01/06/1871 and the latest is from 1926. There are gaps of several years in the dataset. In his 1878 paper, On the tides at Malta, G. B. Airy describes the gauge in operation in 1871: "The float was a copper vessel, nearly spherical, about 8 inches in diameter; a vertical rod attached to it passed freely through a guide, and was hinged to the end of a horizontal lever, of which the arms were so proportioned that each space marked on the tabular form between the horizontal lines [one-fourth of an inch. - G.B.A.] corresponded accurately to an inch rise or fall of the float." "The cylinder on which the paper was wrapped revolved once in 24 hours". It is not known how long this gauge was in operation for, but all of the tide gauges that produced the tide gauge charts in this dataset would have been float gauges. The original charts were collected by the Royal Navy as part of their surveying duties of the Grand Harbour. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) had these charts in its archives, which were difficult to access and in need of conservation. The charts were conserved and photographed and made publically available as digital images to help preserve one of the longest and earliest temporal series of sea level data in the Mediterranean. The original data were collected by the Royal Navy and were placed in the archives of the Admiralty, now the UKHO. The conserved and photographed images were created by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office Archives for the MALTESER, MediterrAnean Long TErm SEa level Rescue project and then deposited with the British Oceanographic Data Centre. This project was funded under the Central Government Breakthrough Fund, 2014. Reference: Airy, G. B. (1878). On the tides at Malta. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 169, 123-138.

This dataset consists of measurements of wave height, direction and frequency, bubble size distribution, Autoflux measurements of air-sea fluxes CO2, and WAVEX measurements of directional wave radar. Data were collected onboard the RRS James Clark Ross in the Weddell Sea during cruises in the 2010/2011, 2011/12 and 2012/13 field seasons. Meteorology data were collected using an aspirated psychrometer and temperature and humidity sensors mounted above the bridge of the ship. Wavex and Autoflux systems were run for the duration of each cruise. Bubble size distributions were measured with two acoustic resonators. These cruises formed the field component of NERC Discovery Science project "Waves, Aerosol and Gas Exchange Study (WAGES)”. The data were collected to measure the amount of aerosol at different sizes generated near the surface and transported upwards into the atmosphere, along with the wind speed, wave size and white-capping under a wide range of different conditions. The aim was to improve understanding of aerosol generation and ultimately the way in which clouds are represented within climate models. The Discovery Science project was composed of three Standard Grants. The lead grant, NE/G00353X/1, was held by the University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, with Professor Ian M. Brooks as principal investigator. The funding period for this grant was 01 August 2009 to 31 March 2014. Child grant NE/G003696/1 was held by the National Oceanography Centre, Department of Science and Technology and was led by Professor Meric Srokosz. The funding period for this grant was 01 September 2009 to 31 March 2014. The third grant was held under the title “pCO2 data collection on James Clark Ross in support of Autoflux” at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. It was led by Professor Phillip D. Nightingale and was funded for the period covering 01 April 2010 to 31 March 2013. All data described have been received by BODC from the RRS James Clark Ross and will be processed and made available online in the future. Raw data are available on request.

This dataset consists of a hydrographic, biogeochemical and meteorological data. Hydrographic profiles, underway measurements and point sources provided information on the water column structure including temperature, salinity and fluorescence. The biogeochemical water sampling programme provided details on nutrients. Meteorological parameters were measured across the study area. Data collection was undertaken in the Arctic Sea. The data were collected during the period 15 - 31 March 2013 during RV Lance ACCACIA cruise and from 13 July - 16 August 2013 during RRS James Clark Ross JR20130713 (JR288) cruise. Measurements were taken using a variety of instrumentation, including conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers with attached auxiliary sensors, water bottle samplers, fluorometers, grabs and ship flow-through and meteorological packages. The data have been collected as part of the United Kingdom (UK) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Arctic Research Programme (ACCACIA project) to provide information on how aerosol concentration levels change with the seasons and the extent of sea-ice cover. This will help improve modelling of the global climate system and predictions for future climatic change, as well as immediate weather forecasts for mid-to-high latitude locations. Both cruises were undertaken by the University of York- Department Of Chemistry in collaboration with the University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of Oxford, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, University of Essex, Bangor University and British Antarctic Survey. The Principal Scientist during the first research cruise was James Lee (University of York) and on the second cruise Lucy Carpenter and Rosie Chance, also from the University of York. The Principal Investigator for this project is Ian Brooks (University of Leeds). CTD data, temperature logger data, nutrient data, ship underway monitoring system data and trace gases concentrations in the water and air are held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre. Other data have not yet been supplied or have been supplied to the British Atmospheric Data Centre.

The Joint Air-Sea Interaction (JASIN) 78 Project Data Set comprises a variety of measurements including upper air and near surface meteorology, and physical oceanography. Meteorological data include air temperature, pressure, humidity and wind, while oceanographic data include temperature, salinity, currents, wave spectra and short-term wave statistics. The data were collected in the North Rockall Trough, an area of deep water (1000m - 2000m) several hundred kilometres off the west coast of Scotland. The experiment lasted for 2 months from mid-July to mid-September 1978 and comprised 2 intensive observational phases preceded by a preparatory test period. Data were collected using a variety of instrumentation, with meteorological data being provided by radiosondes, tethered balloons, and ship- and aircraft-mounted sensors. Hydrographic data were collected via shipboard deployment of conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor packages (both standard and yoyo profiles), towed thermistor chains, ship-mounted wave recorders and moored temperature and current meters. The JASIN Project was designed to study the interaction of the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers with the large scale motions of the sea and air. The multiplicity of processes sampled necessitated a large experiment and involved more than 50 teams of investigators from nine countries. The data are held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre and many series are available via BODC's online data delivery portal.

This dataset was collected on the cruise JC136 in May and June 2016. This cruise is associated with a NERC joint standard research grant (NE/K011855/1 and NE/K013513/1) entitled “Influence of population connectivity on depth-dependent diversity of deep-sea marine benthic biota”. The aims of the project are to investigate connectivity among deep-sea populations at different depths and spatial scales using: 1) larval dispersal modelling using Lagrangian particle tracking, driven by hydrographic models, 2) population genetics/genomics, and 3) benthic community analysis. The aims of cruise JC136 were then to sample a range of sites and depth bands to: 1. obtain physical samples of 4 model organisms for molecular analysis, 2. gather benthic biological survey data for community level analysis, 3. collect oceanographic data to validate high-resolution oceanographic models with which we will model larval dispersal. The chief scientists of this cruise were Kerry Howell (University of Plymouth School of Marine Science and Engineering) and Michelle L Taylor (University of Oxford Department of Zoology). This dataset contains a variety of navigation data (position, heading, bathymetry), atmospheric measurements (air temperature, wind speed and direction, irradiance and humidity) and sea surface hydrographic data (transmittance, chlorophyll fluorescence, sea surface temperature and conductivity). Data were collected in the NE Atlantic (Rockall Bank, George Bligh Bank, Anton Dohrn Seamount, Wyville-Thomson Ridge, Rosemary Bank) from 27 ROV dives, 12 AUV missions, 43 CTD casts, 2 mooring deployments and equipment trials. All cruise aims were broadly met. 3630 biological samples were obtained, including sufficient depth and site coverage for molecular analysis of 3 target species. Video transect data was also obtained, with sufficient replication and depth stratification from 3 sites and near complete sampling from a 4th. This cruise provides sufficient oceanographic data to validate our models. In addition, 5811.66 km2 of seafloor multibeam was collected to contribute to ongoing efforts to map the North Atlantic, including the first multibeam from the Geike Slide and Hebridean Slope Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA). Poor visibility at the seabed prevented a planned resurvey of the Darwin Mounds Marine Protected Area (MPA).

This dataset comprises hydrographic and meteorological data transmitted in near real time from unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). Also included are hydrographic profiles through the water column obtained from submarine Slocum gliders, upon recovery. Data from these platforms have been converted into the international 'Everyone's Gliding Observatories (EGO)' exchange format. The dataset is supported by barotrophic tidal current imagery. Hydrographic data were obtained from two geographical regions. Firstly, from a transect extending from the Isles of Scilly out to the moored Carbon And Nutrient Dynamics and Fluxes Over Shelf Systems ('Candyfloss') Array in the Celtic Sea. Subsequently, a more localised survey was carried out in the English Channel, south of Plymouth. The tidal image data span the period 1st October to 21st November 2014 (15 minute intervals). Autonomous platforms were deployed between 1st and 26th October 2014 (Phase One, Celtic Sea), subsequently between 4th and 7th November 2014 (Phase Two, English Channel). Data were collected as part of Marine Autonomous Systems in Support of Marine Observations ('MASSMO'), contributing to the Exploring Ocean Fronts project. Tidal images are a product of Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modelling System (POLCOMS) simulation runs. MASSMO was carried out as a trial of new autonomous technologies and to collect scientific data, including observation of marine life. The dataset acquired provides valuable oceanographic and meteorological measurements including a traverse of an ocean front. MASSMO was a collaborative effort involving various UK laboratories and commercial organisations, coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). This data archive consists of measurements made by wavegliders operated by NOC and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the MOST Autonaut and Slocum glider units 398 and 400, operated by NOC.

The data set includes depth soundings, water temperature, salinity, oxygen and nutrient (phosphate, silicate, nitrite, nitrate) data, meteorological measurements (temperature, pressure), and wind and sea state observations. The data primarily originate from the Southern Ocean, although some data from the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Australia, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean are also included. The data were collected between 1925 and 1951 and are held in the series of nine Discovery Reports published between 1929 and 1957. These reports contain station lists of measurements taken by RRS Discovery and RRS William Scoresby and staff of the Marine Biological Station at South Georgia between 1925 and 1939, plus station lists of observations made by RRS William Scoresby and RRS Discovery between 1950 and 1951. Discovery station numbers 1 to 2911, William Scoresby stations WS1 to WS1107, Marine Biological Station MS1 to MS106, South Sandwich Islands stations 1 to 58 and Ross Sea stations 1 to 29 are included in the data set. The Discovery Project was commissioned by the Royal Society as a series of Antarctic cruises, originally with the aim of investigating the commercial whaling industry. The Discovery Reports are currently held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre in paper format. There is an ongoing effort to digitise the reports and the intention is to store these digitised versions at BODC.

The CARBON-OPS data set comprises partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and ancilliary parameters, measured aboard selected UK research vessels between 2007 and 2008. The parameter suite includes geographical position; partial pressure and fugacity of CO2; sea surface temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentration; air pressure, temperature and humidity; occasionally the parameter suite also includes fluorescence, transmittance, wind speed and direction. CARBON-OPS, led by Nick Hardman-Mountford at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council under the Knowledge Transfer initiative (2007-2009). The aim of the project was to develop an automated supply chain of ocean surface and atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements from research ships to operational end-users. The data were first provided in near real-time following an initial level of automated quality control and processing. Following a secondary level of manual quality control and processing (delayed mode) the data are integrated into the BODC National Oceanographic Database. Measurements were taken aboard five UK research vessels: RRS Discovery, RRS James Clark Ross; RRS James Cook; RV Plymouth Quest; and RV Prince Madog.

This dataset comprises water column measurements of water temperature, conductivity, pressure, chlorophyll, currents, sound velocity as well as meteorology measurements of air temperature, pressure, relative humidity, Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), Total Irradiance (TIR) and navigation data as platform orientation, position, bathymetry from instruments deployed during several cruises that took place from September 2006 to March 2009. These data were collected as part of wider Bristish Antarctic Survey (BAS) science programme, Global Science in the Antarctic Context. The main objectives of DISCOVERY 2010 are to investigate the response of an ocean ecosystem to climate variability, climate change and commercial exploitation by identifying, quantifying and modeling the interactions and processes on different scales (from microscopic life to higher predators) and regions (local to circumpolar). The project was led by Eugene Murphy from BAS and involves different scientists from the BAS Ecosystems team.