Real-Time XBT data assembled by US NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) for the Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP) since 2004-04-23

These data represent data collected from the Shipboard Environmental (data) Acquisition System (SEAS), a program developed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide accurate meteorological and oceanographic data in real time from ships at sea through the use of satellite data transmission techniques. The system transmits data through either the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) or the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT C) satellites to NOAA for use in weather, climatological and ocean models. NOAA is actively participating in an international effort to increase the number of subsurface temperature observations in support of global oceanographic and climate studies. NOAA's Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) program, SEAS, currently supports about 80 Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS). SEAS XBT data are archived on a weekly basis.