Yearly observational estimates of near-global upper-ocean heat content and thermosteric sea level from 1970 to 2023, depth-integrated over 700 m for 65N-65S

This dataset provides yearly estimates of near-global (65N - 65S) ocean heat content and thermosteric sea-level depth-integrated for the upper 700 meters of the ocean for 1970 - 2023. The yearly values are presented with three-year smoothing and one-sigma error estimates. The dataset builds upon and updates the methodology established in Domingues et al. (2008, Nature), incorporating temperature measurements from ocean observation systems and applying corrections for instrumental biases and sampling irregularities. To estimate ocean heat content for the upper 700  m and the associated thermosteric sea level, we used ocean temperature profiles from the ENACT/ENSEMBLES version 3 (EN3) data set (1970 - 2004), and Argo profiling floats (2000 - 2023, updated January 2024). Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs) were used to model variability of the time-varying sea level and were calculated from 23 years (1993 - 2015) of satellite altimeter data sourced from CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), including TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2 and Jason-3 datasets.