A monthly mean dataset of global oceanic temperature and salinity derived from Argo float observations

We produced a global monthly dataset of temperature and salinity using data from Argo floats, Triangle Trans-Ocean Buoy Network (TRITON), and available conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) casts. The Argo project started from 2000, and the number of floats is increasing yearly throughout the global ocean. The Argo floats observe pressure, temperature and salinity from the sea surface down to 2000 dbar and enable the production of monthly global datasets of temperature and salinity. We have created Grid Point Value of the Monthly Objective Analysis using Argo float data (MOAA GPV) that contains optimally interpolated temperature and salinity values at selected standard pressure levels on a 1° grid in the global ocean. The dataset is freely available on the Argo website of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) at http://www.jamstec.go.jp/ARGO/J_ARGOe.html.