format

Some of the data files (*.Z) have been compressed to ease their transfer. They may be uncompressed on Unix machines using the "uncompress" command or on PCs with appropriate software.

The uncompressed files are unformatted binary. The SST data in units of ^oC is calculated from the byte values using:

SST = (0.15 x bytevalue) - 3.0

Byte values of 0 indicate missing data caused by cloud cover or heavy sea ice.

The data cover three different regions in the Southern Ocean:
Region 1: 52 - 66^oS, 130 - 175^oW
Region 2: 55 - 65^oS, 165 - 175^oW
Region 3: 65 - 80^oS, 160^oE - 150^oW

The array sizes and starting and ending center pixel values for the data files from each region are as follows:

region	array size	first pixel	last pixel
1	513 x 160	175.034^oW, 66.05^oS	130.035^oW, 52.0755^oS
2	115 x 115	175.034^oW, 65.0832^oS	165.015^oW, 55.0637^oS
3	570 x 171	159.915^oE, 80.0245^oS	150.073^oW, 65.0832^oS

The data points in between the first and last pixels are on an evenly-spaced grid. The grid is in ~9-km equal-angle format.

Website by Jasmine S. Bartlett, Oregon State University.