IOCCP-Activities: Synthesis Activities

We are thrilled to inform you that the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) version 2025 is now available on the SOCAT website. We would like to congratulate and thank the entire SOCAT team, as well as all data providers, for their enormous continuous efforts related to annual releases of the product.

We are thrilled to announce the release of Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) version 2024 which is now available on SOCAT website. Since 2017 there has been a reduction in surface ocean CO₂ observations that is impacting our ability to quantify the ocean's role as a major sink for CO₂ emissions. The latest update of the community-led Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas, version 2024, has delivered 38.6 million, quality-controlled, in situ surface ocean fCO2 (fugacity of CO2) measurements collected between 1957 and 2023 with an estimated accuracy of < 5 μatm.

We would like to Congratulate and Thank the whole SOCAT team as well as all data providers for their enormous continuous efforts related to annual releases of the product!

On behalf of the GLODAP Reference Group, and hundreds of seagoing oceanographers who tirelessly have collected data all over the ocean, we are happy to announce the publication of GLODAPv2.2023.

The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) data product provides access to quality controlled surface to bottom ocean biogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon. GLODAPv2.2023 is an update of the previous version, with 23 additional cruises and includes measurements from more than 1.4 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 1108 cruises. The data for the 13 core variables have undergone extensive quality control, especially systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCE exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias.

More details about GLODAP background as well as the v2.2023 release poster can be found here.

We would like to draw your attention to a recently released document titled "Case for SOCAT as an integral part of the value chain advising UNFCCC on ocean CO₂ uptake" which aims to highlight the importance of consistent funding for SOCAT. The authors of the document request that funding agencies work with SOCAT to

1. provide emergency support over 2024-25 to ensure that the next two Global Carbon Budgets can contain an ocean element and
2. from 2026 transition SOCAT into a sustainable funding space based on nations underwriting its core elements, national hubs, a subscription-based model, or a mix of these.

Please read the full text here: http://www.ioccp.org/images/Gnews/2023_A_Case_for_SOCAT.pdf

We are thrilled to announce the release of Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) version 2023 which is now available on SOCAT website. SOCAT-based estimates have shown that the oceans take up a quarter of the CO₂ emissions from human activity, thus helping to mitigate climate change and providing a way to balance the Earth's carbon budget. The latest update of the community-led Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (www.socat.info), version 2023, has delivered 35.6 million, quality-controlled, in situ surface ocean fCO₂ (fugacity of CO₂) measurements collected between 1957 and 2022 with an estimated accuracy of <5 μatm.

The SOCAT synthesis products and the fCO₂ measurements in them are key for quantification of ocean CO₂ uptake at a monthly timescale, providing vital information for climate policy. However, the open ocean data collection effort has dramatically declined since 2017. SOCAT itself is at immediate risk upon losing its European data management team, while facing persistent funding shortfalls. The need for accurate knowledge of ocean CO₂ uptake and its variation now and in the future makes sustained funding of accurate surface ocean CO₂ observations and their synthesis imperative.

For more information see the SOCATv2023 release poster (download here) and www.socat.info

After the successful release of GLODAPv2.2022, the GLODAP Reference Group is looking ahead and preparing the upcoming update GLODAPv2.2023. We encourage the community to respond to the official call for new cruise submissions. The team is looking for cruises which have “carbon-relevant” data, i.e. have a finalized cruise bottle file with at least one of the Essential Ocean Variable sub-variables listed below:

• Inorganic Carbon EOV (sub-variables: TA, DIC, pH, fCO₂), and/or
• Transient Tracers EOV (sub-variables: CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, SF₆, CCl₄), and/or
• Stable Carbon Isotopes EOV (C-13) and/or C-14

The submission deadline for the next update is the 17 February 2023. For submissions or questions, principle investigators are encouraged to check the attached submission requirements document and contact Nico Lange (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Please share the announcement broadly among your peers.

On behalf of the GLODAP Reference Group, and hundreds of seagoing oceanographers that tirelessly have collected data all over the ocean, we are happy to announce the publication of GLODAPv2.2022.

The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP, www.glodap.info) data product provides access to quality controlled surface to bottom ocean biogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon. GLODAPv2.2022 is an update of the previous version. GLODAPv2.2022 includes measurements from more than 1.4 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 1085 cruises. The data for the 13 core variables have undergone extensive quality control, especially systematic evaluation of bias. Data are available at https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/oceans/GLODAPv2_2022/

We are excited to announce the release of Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) version 2022 which is now available via www.socat.info. The ocean absorbs a quarter of the global CO₂ (carbon dioxide) emissions from human activity. The community-led Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (www.socat.info) is key for the quantification of ocean CO₂ uptake and its variation, now and in the future.

SOCAT version 2022 has quality-controlled in situ surface ocean fCO₂ (fugacity of CO₂) measurements made on ships, moorings, autonomous and drifting surface platforms for the global ocean and coastal seas from 1957 to 2021. The main SOCAT synthesis and gridded products contain 33.7 million fCO₂ values with an estimated accuracy of < 5 μatm. A further 6.4 million fCO₂ sensor data with an accuracy of 5 to 10 μatm are separately available. SOCAT is used for quantification of ocean CO₂ uptake and ocean acidification and for evaluation of climate models and sensor data. The SOCAT synthesis products are a crucial step in the value chain based on in situ inorganic carbon measurements of the ocean, which provides policy makers with vital information in climate negotiations. The need for accurate knowledge of global ocean CO₂ uptake and its variation makes sustained funding of in situ surface ocean CO₂ observations and their synthesis imperative.

Please see the SOCATv2022 release poster for more information. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the timely, annual release of SOCATv2022!

We would like to let you know about the call for new cruise submissions in preparation for the next annual release of the Global Ocean Data Analysis Project GLODAPv2.2022 data product. The GLODAP Reference Group is looking for cruises which have “carbon-relevant” data, i.e. have a finalized cruise bottle file with at least one:

• Inorganic sub-parameter (TA, DIC, pH, fCO₂) and/or
• Transient tracer (CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, SF₆, CCl₄) and/or
• Carbon isotope (C¹³, C¹⁴)

The submission deadline for the next update is the 17 January 2022. For submissions or questions, principal investigators are encouraged to check the attached submission requirements document and contact Nico Lange (nlange[at]geomar.de).

The current product, GLODAPv2.2021, can be accessed from here: https://www.glodap.info

We would like to let you know that an updated version of Jena CarboScope ocean CO₂ flux product can be accessed from the website at http://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/CarboScope/?ID=oc_v2021. CarboScope provides the temporally and spatially resolved estimates of the global sea-air CO₂ flux based on the SOCAT data set of pCO₂ observations, as presented in Rödenbeck et al., 2013. The product comprises seasonal, interannual, and day-to-day variations. This update involves the use of SOCATv2021 data and the additional year 2020.

On behalf of the GLODAP Reference Group, and hundreds of seagoing oceanographers that tirelessly have collected data all over the ocean, we are happy to announce the publication of GLODAPv2.2021. The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) data product provides access to quality controlled surface to bottom ocean biogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon. GLODAPv2.2021 is an update of the previous version, with 43 additional cruises, extension of time coverage until 2020, and the inclusion of DOIs for each individual cruise. GLODAPv2.2021 includes measurements from more than 1.3 million water samples from the global oceans collected on 989 cruises. The data for the 12 core variables have undergone extensive quality control, especially systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCE exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias.

The original data, their documentation and doi codes are available at the Ocean Carbon Data System of NOAA NCEI. This site also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones. An accompanying manuscript has been submitted for consideration for publication in Earth System Science Data: https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2021-234/. See also the GLODAPv2.2021 release poster.

We are excited to announce the release of Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) version 2021 which is now available via www.socat.info. SOCAT documents the increase in surface ocean CO₂ for the global oceans and coastal seas. Quantification of the global ocean CO₂ uptake to better than 0.2 Pg C yr-1 requires an accuracy of < 2 μatm for in situ surface ocean fCO₂ (fugacity of CO₂) measurements. Quality-controlled, synthesis and gridded products in SOCAT version 2021 contain 30.6 million in situ surface ocean fCO₂ measurements with an estimated accuracy of < 5 μatm. A further 2.1 million fCO₂ values with an accuracy of < 10 μatm are also available. Data collection has continued during the pandemic, albeit at a reduced rate.

On behalf of the GLODAP Reference Group, and hundreds of seagoing oceanographers that tirelessly have collected data all over the ocean, we are happy to announce the publication of GLODAPv2.2020.

The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) data product provides access to quality controlled surface to bottom ocean biogeochemical data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon. GLODAPv2.2020 is an update of the previous version, with 106 additional cruises, extension of time coverage until 2019, and the inclusion of available discrete fCO₂ values in the merged product files. GLODAPv2.2020 includes measurements from more than 1.2 million water samples from the global ocean collected on 946 cruises. The data for the 12 core variables have undergone extensive quality control, especially systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted by the data originator but updated to WOCE exchange format and (ii) as a merged data product with adjustments applied to minimize bias. The original data, their documentation and doi codes are available at the Ocean Carbon Data System (OCADS) of NOAA NCEI. This site also provides access to the merged data product, which is provided as a single global file and as four regional ones. For a more detailed summary of the product see the attached poster. 

The continuous work to regularly update and refine GLODAP is a priority for IOCCP, and we are happy to support this effort. 

On behalf more than 100 contributing scientists worldwide, we proudly announce the release of 2020 version of the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT, www.socat.info) which is a synthesis activity with annual public releases prepared by international marine carbon scientists. SOCAT version 2020 contains 28.2 million in situ surface ocean fCO₂ (fugacity of CO₂) measurements for the global ocean and coastal seas with an accuracy < 5 μatm, while a further 2.3 million fCO₂ values with an accuracy of 5 to 10 μatm are made available separately. SOCAT documents the increase in surface ocean CO₂ (carbon dioxide), a critical measure as the oceans are taking up one quarter of the global CO₂ emissions from human activity.

The SOCAT community-led synthesis product is a key step in the value chain based on in situ inorganic carbon measurements of the oceans, which provides policy makers with essential information on ocean CO₂ uptake in climate negotiations. The global need for accurate knowledge of ocean CO₂ uptake and its variation makes sustained funding for in situ surface ocean CO₂ observations imperative. The annual SOCAT release is a Voluntary Commitment for SDG 14.3 (#OceanAction20464) and contributes to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The poster handout has further details on 2020 version key features, findings and other information, including timeline for preparing the 2021 version.

We are very happy to inform you that the GLODAPv2_2019 data product has been released on March 26, 2019, during the First International AtlantOS Symposium in Paris. The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) is a data synthesis activity of carbon-relevant ocean interior data by a consortium of international marine scientists. The EU project AtlantOS supported the new release, together with the IOCCP and numerous national funding bodies, universities and research institutes.

GLODAPv2_2019 is an incremental update of the GLODAPv2 data product released in 2016. Data from 116 new cruises have been added and small errors in the previous GLODAPv2 data product have been corrected. GLODAPv2_2019 contains data from 840 cruises with more than 1.1 million Niskin bottle sample analyses covering all oceans from 1972 through 2017.

We are happy to inform you that the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT; www.socat.info) has released an updated cookbook for data quality control procedures. The updated cookbook, which applies from version 7 onward, was prepared by a team led by Siv Lauvset (Bergen, Norway). There is no intention to retrospectively implement the revised quality control criteria for data sets in SOCAT versions 1-6. We also kindly remind you that the deadline for quality control of SOCAT version 7 is 31 March 2019.

You can download the updated cookbook from the SOCAT site HERE.

On behalf of more than 100 contributing scientists worldwide, we proudly announce the release of Version 6 of the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT). SOCAT (www.socat.info) is a synthesis activity by international marine carbon scientists with annual public releases. SOCAT version 6 has 23.4 million quality-controlled in situ surface ocean fCO₂ (fugacity of carbon dioxide) measurements from 1957 to 2017 for the global oceans and coastal seas, as well as additional calibrated sensor fCO₂ measurements. The poster handout has further details on version 6 key features, findings and other information.

We would like to inform you that the new Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) website is now live. If you're looking for GLODAP data in various formats, want to know who the GLODAP Reference Group is, or want to find out more about GLODAP and its impact, check out the website at https://www.glodap.info. The new web page is built on the same framework and is meant to serve a similar purpose as the SOCAT web page (www.socat.info). This should make many of you feel right at home from the start. If you're keen on receiving timely updates on GLODAP-related news, follow GLODAP on twitter (#GLODAP).

The GLODAP website is hosted by the Bjerknes Climate Data Centre and the ICOS Ocean Thematic Centre (Bergen, Norway). If you see any room for improvements or have trouble with GLODAP data, please do not hesitate to let the team know either by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by filling out the contact form on the website. 

On behalf of the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) scientific community, we are proud to announce the release of SOCAT Version 5! SOCAT is a synthesis activity by the international marine carbon research community (>100 contributors). SOCAT version 5 has 21.5 million quality-controlled, surface ocean fCO₂ (fugacity of carbon dioxide) observations from 1957 to January 2017 for the global oceans and coastal seas. Calibrated sensor data are also available. Automation allows annual, public releases of SOCAT. The SOCAT data is discoverable, accessible and citable. SOCAT enables quantification of the ocean carbon sink and ocean acidification and evaluation of ocean biogeochemical models. Celebrating its 10^th anniversary in 2017, SOCAT represents a milestone in biogeochemical and climate research, and in informing policy.