SMIP-2 Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice:
Observational and Boundary Condition Data Sets

The SMIP-2 SST and sea ice boundary conditions are available at this site. Two distinctly different data sets have been prepared. The first is the SMIP-2 SST and sea ice observational data set. These data represent the monthly averages of the SST and sea ice data used in the ERA-40 reanalysis project. This newly constructed dataset supercedes the original AMIP II observational data set, and is the best available data as of January 2001.

The second data set is the SMIP-2 SST and sea ice boundary conditions. These data are derived from the observational data set, and should be used in the SMIP-2 simulations. The primary difference between the boundary condition data set and the observational data set is that adjustments have been made to insure that when daily values are linearly interpolated between the monthly values contained in the data set (i.e., when used as boundary conditions for an AGCM), the monthly average of the observations is preserved. Monthly averages are not preserved when daily values are obtained by linearly interpolating between the monthly mean observations (as in AMIP I). When the boundary condition data (as opposed to the observed monthly means) are used for an AGCM simulation, it has been shown that in addition to preserving the observed monthly means, the seasonal cycle and the interannual variance are more accurately represented than the method used in AMIP I.

Documentation is available for both data sets and the the data can be obtained from:

SMIP-2 SST and Sea ice Observations: documentation and data
SMIP-2 SST and Sea ice Boundary Condition: documentation and data