Merged Hadley-OI sea surface temperature and sea ice concentration data set

The merged Hadley-OI sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice concentration (SIC) data sets were specifically developed as surface forcing data sets for AMIP style uncoupled simulations of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). The Hadley Centre's SST/SIC version 1.1 (HADISST1), which is derived gridded, bias-adjusted in situ observations, were merged with the NOAA-Optimal Interpolation (version 2; OI.v2) analyses. The HADISST1 spanned 1870 onward but the OI.v2, which started in November 1981, better resolved features such as the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Current which are important components of the climate system. Since the two data sets used different development methods, anomalies from a base period were used to create a more homogeneous record. Also, additional adjustments were made to the SIC data set.