The Role of the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set in the Sustained Ocean Observing System

The International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) is an archive of in situ marine surface observations and products, which has been developed over 25 years. The current Release 2.5 spans 1662-2007 and has preliminary monthly updates for 2008 onwards. ICOADS is a worldwide respected reference dataset, combining data from multiple sustained ocean observing systems. In this paper the impact of ICOADS on associated advanced data products and research is reviewed, the improvements in data composition and coverage relative to the previous Release are illustrated, the positive influence and support from the international collaborators is described, the free and open access is recounted, and the future objectives and recommendations to the community are defined