Upper Ocean Temperatures:

Upper ocean temperatures from the sea surface (1 m) to
500 m  depth begin in 1980 and continue to the present
at sites  located across the Tropical Pacific and Atlantic. TRITON
buoys replaced ATLAS buoys in the Pacific west of 160E beginning
in 1999. For sites recently occupied by TRITON buoys, SST is
measured at 1.5 m depth, and the deepest temperature is measured
at 750 meters. Temperatures are in units of degrees centigrade.

For standard depths of ATLAS temperature measurements, see
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/mooring.shtml#depths

In certain instances, additional temperature sensors may
have been added to ATLAS moorings for special purposes.

At TAO mooring sites which measured subsurface currents in
addition to temperatures, i.e. on the equator at 156E, 165E,
140W, 125W, 110W, and 95W, and at 7N, 140W, there have
been a wide variety of depths for temperature sensors over
time in response to changing scientific priorities.

For a qualitative picture of the distribution of depths 
with time, you can view data availability plots at

   http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/temp.html

and on the TAO/TRITON delivery page

     http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/data_deliv

In addition, all depths are clearly indicated in the 
data files themselves.

For detailed information about TAO and PIRATA sampling and 
sensors, see these two web pages:

   http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/sensors.shtml

   http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/sampling.html

For general information about the TAO Array, see

McPhaden, M.J., A.J. Busalacchi, R. Cheney, J.R. Donguy,
K.S. Gage, D. Halpern, M. Ji, P. Julian, G. Meyers,
G.T. Mitchum, P.P. Niiler, J. Picaut, R.W. Reynolds,
N. Smith, K. Takeuchi, 1998: The Tropical Ocean-Global
Atmosphere (TOGA) observing system: A decade of
progress. J. Geophys. Res., 103, 14,169-14,240.
   http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/outstand/mcph1720/abstract.shtml

For general information about PIRATA, see

Servain, J., A.J. Busalacchi, M.J. McPhaden, A.D. Moura,
G. Reverdin, M. Vianna, and S.E. Zebiak, 1998: A Pilot
Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA).
Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 2019-2031.

For information about the TAO/TRITON collaboration, see
   http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/proj_over/triton.html

In ascii format files, to the right of the data you will 
find data quality codes which use the definitions below. 
In NetCDF format files, you will find a quality variable 
with the same shape as the data. Using these codes you 
can tune your analysis to trade-off between quality and 
temporal/spatial coverage. 

Quality Code Definitions:

0 = datum missing

1 = highest quality; Pre/post-deployment calibrations agree to within
sensor specifications.  In most cases only pre-deployment calibrations have
been applied

2 = default quality; Pre-deployment calibrations applied.  Default
value for sensors presently deployed and for sensors which were either not
recovered or not calibratable when recovered.

3 = adjusted data; Pre/post calibrations differ, or original data do
not agree with other data sources (e.g., other in situ data or climatology),
or original data are noisy.  Data have been adjusted to correct for error.

4 = lower quality; Pre/post calibrations differ, or data do not agree
with other data sources (e.g., other in situ data or climatology), or data
are noisy.  Data could not be confidently adjusted to correct for error.

5 = sensor or tube failed

C (ascii) or -9 (netcdf) = Indicates special adjustments were 
made to the data. For further information, see the following:

 	Freitag, H.P., M.E. McCarty, C. Nosse, R. Lukas, M.J. McPhaden,
 	and M.F. Cronin, 1999: COARE Seacat data: Calibrations and
 	quality control procedures. NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL PMEL-115,
 	89 pp.

PDF versions of this and other PMEL Technical Memoranda and Reports 
are available on line at

	http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/PDF/pmel-pdf.html