This dataset is comprised of CTD temperature, salinity and potential temperature collected using seal tags. Data were collected as part of the NERC-funded project 'Ocean processes over the southern Weddell Sea shelf using seal tags'. Data were not collected as part of a cruise as seals were used as data activity platforms. 20 Weddell seals were tagged at the eastern end of the shelf-break north of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf between 11 February 2011 and 03 May 2011. The aims of the project were: 1. The resulting data from the seals’ dives will provide the most comprehensive picture to date of the ocean conditions over the southern Weddell Sea continental shelf. 2. By mapping the temperature of the water near the sea floor it will be possible to determine the locations where dense waters leave the shelf, and the processes involved: either a direct flow down the slope under gravity, or initially mixing at the shelf edge with waters from off the shelf before descending down the slope. 3. To determine where the source waters come onto the shelf. 4. Though the research was primarily oceanographic, the movements and diving behaviour provide insight to seal biologists studying the animals' beahviour. Data were collected as part of NERC standard grants NE/G014086/1 and NE/G014833/1. NE/G014086/1 was the lead grant and was led by Dr Keith William Nicholls of NERC British Antarctic Survey, Science Programmes and runs from 01 April 2010 to 31 December 2018. The secondary grant, NE/G014833/1, was led by Professor Michael Fedak of University of St Andrews, Sea Mammal Research Unit and runs from 01 October 2010 to 28 February 2014. The seal tag CTD data have been received by BODC and are currently available in original format upon request.

The data set comprises time series of wave height and period data from in-situ wave recorders at fixed locations. Principal parameters are significant/characteristic wave height and mean zero crossing period - usually derived from the analysis of 20 or 30 minute recordings taken at intervals of the order of 3 hours. Data holdings include over 1500 recording months of data from some 60 sites across the continental shelf areas around the British Isles and the NE Atlantic between 1954 and 1995. Recording periods vary from 2 months at some sites to over 15 years. The longer series are noted here: Channel Lightvessel (49 54.4N, 002 53.7W; 01 Sep 1979 - 31 Dec 1985); Dowsing Lightvessel (53 34.0N, 000 50.2W; 01 May 1970 - 30 Apr 1971; 01 Nov 1975 - 30 Jun 1981; 01 Jan 1982 - 31 Dec 1982; 01 Jan 1984 - 31 Dec 1984); Ocean Weather Ship Lima (57 00.0N, 020 00.0W; 01 Jan 1975 - 31 Dec 1983); Saint Gowan Lightvessel (51 30.0N, 004 59.8W; 01 Aug 1975 - 31 Jul 1976; 01 Dec 1976 - 31 Dec 1983); Seven Stones Lightvessel (50 03.8N, 006 04.4W; 31 Jan 1962 - 31 Jan 1963; 01 Jan 1968 - 31 Dec 1969; 01 Jul 1971 - 30 Jun 1974; 01 Apr 1975 - 31 Dec 1985). The data originate primarily from UK and Irish laboratories and are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre. Data collection is ongoing at some sites (for example, Seven Stones Lighvessel) but these data are not managed by BODC. They are part of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) wavenet network.

The data set comprises time series of non-directional surface wave spectra from moored buoys and shipborne wave recorders at fixed locations. Individual spectra comprise some 60 or so estimates of wave energy at a range of spectral frequencies, computed from 20 to 30 minute recordings of the sea surface displacement/heave. The spectra are computed at intervals ranging from 1 to 3 hours. Data holdings comprise 500 recording months of data from some 14 sites across the continental shelf areas around the British Isles and the NE Atlantic between 1976 and 1995. Observation periods at specific sites vary from 4 months to 6 years. Data from the following sites are included in the data set: Holderness offshore (53 55.9N, 000 01.4E 01; Mar 1986 - 31 Mar 1987); Holderness nearshore (53 55.7N, 000 03.5W; 01 Mar 1986 - 30 Jun 1986); West Bexington (50 38.1N, 002 42.5W; 01 Nov 1983 - 31 Mar 1985; 01 May 1985 - 26 Feb 1986; 01 May 1986 - 30 Apr 1987); West Bexington (50 36.0N, 002 39.6W; 01 Sep 1987 - 01 Apr 1988); Eddystone (50 10.0N, 004 15.0W; 01 Jan 1976 - 31 Dec 1981); Kinnairds Head (57 55.8N, 001 54.1W; 01 Feb 1980 - 30 Dec 1981); Scilly Isles (49 51.8N, 006 41.0W; 01 Apr 1979 - 31 Jul 1979; 01 Feb 1980 - 31 Dec 1982; 01 Apr 1983 - 31 Dec 1983); South Uist deep water (57 17.8N, 007 53.6W; 01 Aug 1980 - 31 Dec 1982); South Uist offshore (57 18.2N, 007 38.3W; 28 Feb 1976 - 30 Nov 1982); South Uist inshore (57 19.8N, 007 27.2W; 01 Apr 1978 - 31 Jul 1982); Channel Lightvessel( 49 54.4N, 002 53.7W; 01 Mar 1986 - 30 Jun 1987; 01 Apr 1988 - 30 Nov 1988); Dowsing Lightvessel (53 34.0N, 000 50.2E; 01 Jul 1985 - 31 Dec 1985; 01 Feb 1986 - 30 Jun 1986; 01 Sep 1986 - 30 Apr 1987; 01 Jul 1987 - 31 Dec 1987); Ocean Weather Ship Lima (57 00.0N, 020 00.0W; 01 Jan 1984 - 30 Jun 1988; 01 Aug 1988 - 31 Dec 1988); Seven Stones Lightvessel (50 03.8N, 006 04.4W; 01 Jan 1985 - 28 Feb 1986; 01 May 1986 - 31 Mar 1987; 01 May 1987 - 31 May 1987; 01 Oct 1987 - 31 Oct 1987; 01 Dec 1987 - 31 Dec 1987). The data originate almost exclusively from UK laboratories and are managed by the British Oceanographic Data Centre. Data collection is ongoing at some sites (for example, Seven Stones Lighvessel) but these data are not managed by BODC. They are part of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) wavenet network.

Sea surface temperature and salinity data have been collected around British coastal waters and in the North Atlantic between 1963 and 1990. The data were collected by ships regularly plying routes between ports in the British Isles and the Continent, and along routes to the North Atlantic Ocean Weather Stations (OWS). Thirty individual shipping routes have been involved, approximately weekly measurements being taken at intervals ranging from 10 to 50 miles depending on the route. The following list details shipping routes and dates of data collection: Bristol - Finistere (Jan 1963 - Nov 1968); Clyde - OWS Alpha (May 1963 - Feb 1974); Clyde - OWS India (Jan 1963 - Jul 1975); Clyde - OWS Juliet (Jan 1963 - Jul 1975); Clyde - OWS Kilo (Mar 1963 - Dec 1972); Clyde - OWS Lima (Mar 1963 - May 1965, Jul 1975 - Dec 1990); Felixstowe - Rotterdam (Aug 1970 - Dec 1990); Fishguard - Cork (Jan 1963 - Oct 1968); Fishguard - Waterford (Jan 1963 - Dec 1966); Folkstone - Boulogne (Jan 1963 - Aug 1966); Heysham - Belfast (Feb 1965 - May 1977); Holyhead - Kish (Jan 1963 - Feb 1966); Hull - Kristiansand (Jan 1963 - May 1976); Larne - Stranraer (Jan 1963 - Feb 1966, Jan 1971 - Dec 1986); Leith - Bremen (Jan 1963 - Apr 1972); Leith - Copenhagen (Jan 1963 - Mar 1968); Liverpool - Belfast (Dec 1970 - Nov 1978); Liverpool - Douglas (Mar 1965 - Nov 1968); Liverpool - Dublin (Mar 1965 - Aug 1979); Liverpool - Larne (Jan 1987 - Dec 1988); Newhaven - Dieppe (Apr 1963 - Feb 1990); Scilly - Shamrock (May 1967 - Mar 1974); Southampton - Le Havre (Jan 1963 - May 1964); Southampton - St. Malo (May 1963 - Sep 1964); Swansea - Cork (May 1970 - Mar 1979); Weymouth - Channel Islands (Nov 1970 - Nov 1985); Weymouth - Cherbourg (Apr 1986 - Sep 1986); Whitehaven - Anglesey (Feb 1965 - Jan 1969). These observations provide useful information on the seasonal and short-term variability of temperature off-shore, and may enhance our knowledge regarding extreme values. The data were collected on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Lowestoft Fisheries Laboratory and are stored at the British Oceanographic Data Centre.

A set of underwater noise observations which provide information on noise levels over an 21 year period potentially setting a base line for future environmental monitoring. The data were collected for military operations by RAF Nimrod aircraft using air-deployed sonobuoys. They consist of averaged noise levels, measured in db, at a range of frequencies and depths throughout the UK Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This dataset comprises sea surface temperature measurements taken close to the time of high water at intervals of three to four days. The measuring programme consisted of approximately 50 observing sites around the shoreline of England and Wales and the data set spans the time period from 1963 to 1990. A few observing sites were already in existence when the network was established, for example observations at the Seven Stones and Varne Light Vessels go back as far as 1905. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Lowestoft Fisheries Laboratory (MAFF), now known as the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) - part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), set up a database for these data, supplemented by both the earlier data and also by data from non-MAFF sources. Data from 1963 until 1990 are held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). The time series is ongoing but data later than 1990 are not stored at BODC, these data are available from CEFAS.

The data set comprises of measurements of surface currents collected across the Indian Ocean in the region 50 E (the Gulf of Aden) to 100 E and 25 S to 10 N. The data were collected between 1854 and 1974. The surface currents, measured from ships' drift, have been compiled into 10 day periods and 1 degree latitude-longitude squares. For each of these the vector mean of all of the observations from all years has been calculated. With this amount of subdivision, coverage is often sparse and sometimes non-existent. The source material for this atlas was obtained from the UK Meteorological Office archive of historical surface currents and this data set was compiled by the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory (IOSDL).

The LOCATE (Land Ocean CArbon TransfEr) project in the UK consists of measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, temperature, salinity, alkalinity and sediment in rivers and estuaries combined with a terrestrial model to predict the future evolution of the land ocean carbon flux. LOCATE samples identify the amount of organic carbon, washed from soils, enters the oceans, with emphasis on estuaries and coastal waters. The LOCATE project integrates knowledge and skills across NERC terrestrial, freshwater and marine research centres to transform the UK’s ability to measure, model and predict land-ocean fluxes in a changing environment. LOCATE is a collaboration between the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). LOCATE is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) from 2016 until 2021. The estuarine and oceanographic data are held by the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), the river data are held by the Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC).

To understand seasonal climatic variability in the North East Atlantic, a fortnightly resolution marine climate record from 1353–2006 was constructed for shallow inshore waters on the west coast of Scotland using red coralline algae. The data are available in an Excel file as mean winter and summer temperatures with 95% confidence intervals for each year from 1353 to 2006. SCUBA was used to collect a 46 cm core from a coralline algal (Lithothamnion glaciale) deposit in Loch Sween, Scotland. The core was frozen and sectioned longitudinally and into 2 cm horizons. Coralline algae from each horizon were sectioned along the length of each thallus. Mg, Ca, and Sr were quantified along each thallus using electron microprobe analysis. For the live collected surface specimens, this process enabled absolute dates to be assigned to each year’s growth band present within the coralline algae. Five thalli down core were selected for radiocarbon rangefinder dating at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre. Live thalli and the five rangefinder thalli were used as anchor points in construction of a combined chronology which was fine-tuned using dendrochnological techniques. Twenty seven (including anchors) Mg/Ca time series were available; each from an individual thallus. The work was funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The data set comprises temperature and salinity hydrocasts collected across the North Atlantic Ocean between 1910 and 1990. The measurements were collected by nine North Atlantic Ocean Weather Ships (OWS): OWS Alpha (1954 – 1974); OWS Bravo (1928 – 1974); OWS Charlie (1910 – 1982); OWS Echo (1910 – 1979); OWS India (1957 – 1975); OWS Juliet (1950 – 1975); OWS Kilo (1949 – 1973); OWS Lima (1948 – 1990); OWS Mike (1948 – 1982). This data set also includes measurements collected close to the general positions prior to the stationing of the Weather ships for the OWS Bravo, Charlie and Echo stations. Data from OWS Alpha, Bravo, Echo, India, Juliett and Kilo have been taken from the US National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) compilations whereas those from OWS Charlie, Lima and Mike have been constructed from both the US NODC and International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) data holdings. In addition a daily averaged data set for OWS Charlie is available for the period 1975 - 1985 (supplied by Syd Levitus). This data set was supplied to the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) by ICES. Additional files and more recent data can be acquired from the ICES website.