Management of Real Time Oceanographic Data

With the advent of improved communications systems and on-site processing hardware in recent years, the Marine Environmental Data Services Branch now makes available real-time and near real-time "in-situ" oceanographic, wave, and tides and water level data to its user community.Oceanographic data accessed from the Integrated Global Ocean Station System, for data collected within one month of observation,is quality controlled, archived and accessible to users on a weekly basis. Daily surface gravity wave spectra are also accessible through this same network.Tides and water level data for Canadian stations are accessible on a daily basis through the Tidal Acquisition and Telemetry System. This paper describes the data sources, communications and processing systems, quality control criteria, and some data products presently available from these data received in MEDS.