UpTempO buoys: Measuring the Upper Layer Temperature of the Polar Oceans, from drifting buoys 2010-2025. Level2 data: Quality controlled and Value Added.

UpTempO (Upper Temperature of the Polar Oceans) provides in situ measurements from autonomous surface-drifting buoys deployed in the Arctic Ocean. We focus on deployments in the Seasonal Ice Zone where the ocean is ice-free in summer and ice-covered in winter. The buoys record temperature at the ocean surface, generally at hourly resolution (but sometimes with 10 minute or 2-hourly resolution). Many buoys measure below the surface as well, down to a maximum of 60 meters depth with ocean pressure sensors to determine sensor depths. In recent years, salinity sensors have also been included to better understand stratification and other salinity-determined properties. Level 1 data consist of unprocessed "raw" data. Here we describe and provide the Level 2 data product, generated through standardized quality-control procedures that flag and remove spurious measurements. In addition to corrected temperature and salinity fields, Level 2 products include derived variables such as open water and under-ice sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), and interpolated sensor depth estimates where possible.