To create your own time series of OI SSTs, go to the NCEP NOMADS server:
 
   http://nomad3.ncep.noaa.gov/ncep_data/


Then:


-- You'll see a list of data sets.  
   Under 'Climate Monitoring (real time)', find 'SST' and select 'plot'


-- Next page
 - Select control file (for weekly 1990 onward, weekly 1980's, or monthly)
 - Select 'include variable definitions and units' for better info 
   describing available data
 - DO NOT select 'use X windows...' for time series
 - Select time series
 - Click on 'Next Page' button

-- Next page 
 - Select a variable (sst for total, ssta for anomaly, dt for anom increment)
 - Select any extra operations from menu 1 and 2
   - for weekly data, consider a temporal smoother under 'extra operation 1:'
** - For OIv2 SST, total fields are now Kelvin.  To get SSTs in Celsius, use
   the K->C conversion in the 2nd pull-down menu for extra operations.
   (Don't use this option for anomalies or increments).

 - Select dates
 - Select lat and lon ranges.  These must be ranges. (So even for one 
   point, vary the lat and lon by a fraction.)  The directions of the 
   ranges must be:  S->N, W->E.  OI SST data are on a 1-degree grid 
   centered on the half-degree.  
 - Click on  'Plot' button

-- A time series plot should appear
 - Towards bottom, select 'Download data file' to see a printout of the numbers.


Notes: 
-----

- Only the data value is printed to the text file.  The user must assign the
date to each value after downloading the file.

- Weekly data available from 1990 onward represent weeks centered on Wednesday.
If a chosen starting or ending date is not a Wednesday, the plot of the time 
series will show an interpolated value for that date (but there won't be a mark).
The printout would only include values for the Wednesdays between the start and
end date.

- Values over land are missing. 

- In general, our analysis is not intended for coastal regions.  
It is a rather smooth analysis, intended for climate monitoring of the open 
ocean regions.  So the OI SST typically does not represent the coastal regions 
very well.

- If you get "data is missing", you may have the lat and/or lon ranges in the
  wrong order or you may have chosen an area entirely masked out as land.

- To be sure the lat/lon ranges match the area you want, you may want to 
start off with a map for just one month or week.  Follow the instructions at:
   http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/cmb/sst_analysis/OISST_map.txt
and enter the same region:
   - you must pick "custom" from the "Map Projection:" pull-down menu
   - note here, you specify the long width and lat height rather than the end
     points
   - from the "Draw:" pull-down menu, choose "pixel" or "value".


- There is additional useful info at 
    http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/wesley/ncep_data/index.html




   Contact: Diane.Stokes@noaa.gov


Last updated:  27 Dec 2007