Sections below: Definitions | Contour plots | Derived properties | Data Distribution | Early QC maps | Comparison plots | Other

CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas (CARS2009) - Figures

Definition of plotted properties

See table "Variables" in Using CARS section of main CARS page for explanation of plotted variables.

CARS contour plots

These jpeg plots are auto-generated. The value range for colours is between the 5th and 95th percentiles for T and S, so that we can see much of the structure in the bulk of the oceans without all of the colour range being taken up by a few extreme values from around the globe. For nutrients the range may be different, for example the 1st to 99th percentiles are used for nitrate. Feel free to reproduce these maps - and your acknowledgement would be appreciated.

Temperature | Salinity | Oxygen | Silicate | Phosphate | Nitrate

CARS2009 included nutrients from June 2011. Previously these were only avaliable in CARS2006.

Derived properties

Mixed Layer Depth

Mixed Layer Depth (MLD) is mapped fitting annual cycle using loess, using MLD calculated for all profiles in BOA. The applied definition of MLD is documented in the netCDF file. The present version uses: MLD = min(mld1,mld2) where: mld1 = depth of abs(t-t(10m))>0.2, and mld2 = depth of abs(s-s(10m)) > 0.03

Can also calculate MLD from the CARS T and S fields - which gives a smoother product but which should be inferior because MLD is then being calculated from averages on standard depth levels. In reality the results are very similar.

MLD mean | MLD annual amplitude | MLD - January | MLD - July

Data Distribution

Plots of distribution (space/time/data-source) of temperature data at different depth levels. (Salinity is very similar - plots to be generated.)

Distribution maps, by time period

Depth (m)	periods before 1990	periods after 1990
5	5m A	5m B
200	200m A	200m B
1000	1000m A	1000m B
4000	4000m A	4000m B

Temporal distribution histograms, by region

Depth (m)	Regions 1-4	Regions 5-8
5	5m A	5m B
200	200m A	200m B
1000	1000m A	1000m B
4000	4000m A	4000m B

QC maps - After first mapping

These are mapped after T/S screening, but before map-residuals (outlier) screening. The plots here use lurid colours to accentuate problems in the maps - they are intended for diagnositc purposes rather than for oceanography.

temperature | salinity

Comparison plots

A collection of figures which compare CARS2009 to former versions or other products.

Dynamic height, at 1000m referenced to 2000m, to reveal deep ocean transports. Look for sharply defined southern fronts, which also capture a great deal of structure is such areas as the Natal Basin, in cars2009 vs cars2006.

T(100) seasonal plots for cars2009 and cars2006.

Other plots

Random figures derived from CARS2009.

190E Section T and S sections along 190E

Height 0/2000 hgt0_2000