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Key ocean variables in forecast products
Meet the main ocean variables you'll find in forecast products, and what each one tells you about the sea.
Before you can read a forecast map or chart, you need to know what it is showing. In this lecture, we introduce the key ocean variables that appear in operational forecast products, and what each one represents.
You’ll meet the variables that describe the physical state of the ocean – sea surface temperature, sea level and sea level anomaly, salinity, ocean currents, and surface winds – along with variables that matter for specific applications, such as ocean colour and significant wave height.
For each one, the lecture looks at what it measures, why it matters, and the kinds of observations and systems it comes from. Keep these variables in mind – in the next activity, you’ll start reading them directly from forecast maps.
