Details of the data processing methods to calculate the monthly pseudostress wind fields can be found in Picaut et al., 1985, Servain et al., 1985a, 1985b and 1987.
Briefly summarized, this method is based on a combination of objective and subjective analysis. The data ar first averaged in 2°latitude by 5°longitude boxes. All the individual values statistically unrealistic with in these boxes are then discarded, corrected or kept according to the result of a climatalogical test and a consistency test with values of the surrounding boxes. This procedure prevents rejecting dramatic abnormal events. Then, an objective analysis method of the successive-correction type (Cressman, 1959) is used to create a 2°x2° gridded monthly data field without gaps.
Pseudostress and SST data for 1964-March 2009 are available in the original ASCII and COAPS derived netCDF formats (1964-2006). Plots of the data are also available.
Note: Analyses for recent months are available on a Portugese language page (look under Campos Numericos do Atlantico Tropical link on left of page).
Picaut, J., Servain, J., Lecomte, P., Seva, M., Lukas, S. and Rougier, G., 1985: Climatic Atlas of the Tropical Atlantic Wind Stress and Sea Surface Temperature: 1964-1979. Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France, University of Hawaii, HI, USA, 467 pp.
Servain, J., Picaut, J., LeComte, P. and Seva, M., 1985a: A 16 year Series of Observations of Sea Surface Temperature and Wind Stress Field in the Tropical Atlantic. UNESCO, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Technical Series, Time Series of Ocean Measurements, Volume 2, 30, 29-32.
Servain, J., Picaut, J., and Busalacchi, A.J., 1985b: Inter annual and Seasonal Variability of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean Depicted by Sixteen Years of Sea Surface Temperature and Wind Stress. Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Models, J.C.J. Nihoul Ed., Elsevier Ed., 211-237.
Servain, J., Seva, M., Lukas, S. and Rougier, G. 1987: Climatic Atlas of the Tropical Atlantic Wind Stress and Sea Surface Temperature: 1980-1984. Ocean Air Inter. J., 1, 109-182.
Last Modified: Friday 7 February 2009