CORA dataset
CORA (standing for Coriolis Ocean database for ReAnalysis) is a global oceanographic temperature and salinity dataset produced and maintained by the french institute IFREMER. Most of those data are real-time data coming from different types of platforms (research vessels , profilers, underwater gliders, drifting buoys, moored buoys, sea mammals, opportunity ships,...).
Description
This in-situ dataset produced by the french institute Ifremer in the framework of the european project MyOcean and french project CORIOLIS is a picture of the content of the operationnal oceanographic database CORIOLIS. This database is one of the two global data assembly center. The latest version of CORA product is v3.3, it covers the years 1990 up to 2011 and has been released in july 2012. Observations are profiles distributed on measured levels (pressure or depth) and organized by dates of measurment and type of platform. Main users of CORA dataset are ocean modelers who needs to constraint and initialize their model. MERCATOR-océan[1] is a privileged partner of CORA dataset since feedbacks from models assimilation (meteorology) are used to check suspicious profiles found thanks to innovation computing. CORA[2] is free of access and can be download via CORIOLIS website[3] in netCDF file format.
Validation Procedure
Validation in database
- duplicate observation check
- automatic checks (spikes, climatology, monotonic depth, valid date/position,...)
- objective analysis (ISAS software with 21 days, 300 km covariance ray): suspicious observations are visualized by an operator
Validation post extraction
- second duplicate observation check (detection and choice parameters tuned)
- raffined climatological test
- XBT depth correction[4]
- second objective analysis with tuned parameters: anomalies are visualized
- ARGO special diagnostics
Data sources
The CORA dataset is designed for operational oceanography, so most global real time monitoring networks are plugged into this database. The data sources are the following:
- ARGO (autonomous drifting profilers)
- moored buoys network TAO TRITON PIRATA RAMA
- EGO (underwater gliders)
- GTSPP (channel of real-time data distribution maintained by the US institute NOAA)
- GOSUD thermosalinograph data coming from opportunity ships
- GTS (BATHY, TESSAC, drifting buoys messages) channel of low resolution data distribution
- Sea mammals equipped with sensors (seals and sea elephants)
- other datasets integrated in delayed-time (CTD, XBT, ocenographic cruises,...)
Versions
| Date of release | Time span | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CORA1.0 | 2007 | 1990-2005 | Beta version of the dataset, full years extracted |
| CORA2.2 | 2009 | 1990-2008 | Add of validation procedures (climatological checks) and gridding of the data |
| CORA3.2 | 2011 | 1990-2010 | Add of validation procedures (duplicate check, XBT depth correction) integration of sea mammals data, automatisation of the update procedure |
| CORA3.3 | beginning of 2012 | 1990-2011 | Article submitted to Ocean Science review, add of year 2011, completion of anomalies feedback from objective analysis towards CORA dataset and Coriolis database. |
| CORA3.4 | beginning of 2013 | 1990-2012 | add of year 2012 |
| CORA4.0 | mid 2013 | 1990-2012 | full MyOcean NetCDF format release integrating historical data from SeaDataNet project and update of the whole years |
References
- ^ http://www.mercator.com.fr MERCATOR OCEAN website
- ^ http://www.coriolis.eu.org/content/download/10987/73170/file/CORA3_UserManual.pdf
- ^ http://www.coriolis.eu.org/Science/Data-and-Products official website of CORIOLIS project
- ^ Hamon et al, 2011
