Ocean Station Vessel
Weather Ships
Ocean Station Vessels (OSV) or Weather Ships captured atmospheric conditions while being stationed continuously in a single location. While While most of the collection Navy vessels would go to a specified coordinate, stay for variable lengths of time, and record weather and meteorological observations. The collection begins in 1940, at the onset of WWII, when meteorological observations in the Atlantic Ocean were critical for military strategy in the Eastern theatre. While the vast majority of the collection derives from United States Navy and Coast Guard vessels, Ocean Station Vessels were considered an international cooperation, and there are a few non-United States ships included as well. Beginning in the 1960s, satellites and buoys capturing climatological data began to replace Ocean Station Vessels, almost completely phasing out the use of these ships by the mid-1970s. The collection includes a significant quantity of upper air observations on microfilm as well as paper transmittances describing instrument statistics, abnormalities, and basic reporting.
Dataset Citation
- Cite this dataset when used as a source.
Dataset Identifiers
- NCEI Physical Archive Collection: OSV
- gov.noaa.ncdc:C01207
ISO 19115-2 Metadata
gov.noaa.ncdc:C01207
Distribution Formats |
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Ordering Instructions | Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions. |
Distributor |
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov |
Dataset Point of Contact | Customer Engagement Branch NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information 1-828-271-4800 ncei.orders@noaa.gov |
Time Period | 1940-01-01 to 1980-05-10 |
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates |
West: -180.0
East: 180.0
South: 25.0
North: 77.0
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Spatial Coverage Map |
General Documentation |
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Associated Resources |
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Publication Dates |
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Data Presentation Form | Hardcopy image - image archived in analog format |
Dataset Progress Status | Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility |
Data Update Frequency | Not planned |
Supplemental Information | Many of these observations were keyed by the archive into Card Decks (184, 116, and others) in the 1960s. These collections have since been incorporated into other Marine datasets available from the Archive, but is primarily found in DSI 1160. |
Purpose | Provides a stationary, in situ reference point for meteorological observations in the ocean. The information was used by commercial, military, and civilian organizations to track weather and storm systems over the ocean before satellite observations were commonplace. |
Dataset Citation |
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Theme keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
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Data Center keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
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Platform keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords
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Instrument keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
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Place keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
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Stratum keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
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Lineage information for: dataset | |
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Lineage Statement | Observations were collected by the U.S. Navy (through WWII) and the U.S. Coast Guard in conjunctions with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Data were then transferred to the Archive for long-term storage. |
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Last Modified: 2023-09-08
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov