CTD Cast Files
CalCOFI CTD Cast Files
calcofi_ctd-castCalCOFIv2026.09.05ingested
- years
- 1993–2026
- observations
- 13,295,014
- sampling events
- 9,630
- stations
- 97
- variables
- 33
- depth
- 0.968–3630 m
Overview
CTD downcast profiles with temperature, salinity, oxygen, fluorescence, and other sensors at standard depths. 1 m-binned final data for 1993-2002 come from the SIO-CalCOFI Technical Group’s own archive (J. Wilkinson), which covers the decade calcofi.org does not publish finals for; 1998 and 2003 onward come from calcofi.org. Where both publish the same cruise, calcofi.org is used; the two agree on 130 of 140 comparable files, and the four cruises that differ are recorded in question calcofi_ctd-cast_20.
Open with the provider
- Q28 license — proposed
- Q29 pi_names — proposed
calcofi.org page ↗source ↗ingest notebook ↗record JSON JSON-LD
Coverage
33 variables
beam_attenuationbtl_ammoniumbtl_chlorophyll_abtl_depthbtl_nitratebtl_nitritebtl_phaeopigmentbtl_phosphatebtl_silicatebtl_temperaturedynamic_heightfluorescence_visus_voxygen_btl_ml_loxygen_btl_umol_kgoxygen_ml_l_1
Also contributes to
- Carbonate System — ph
- Nutrients & Chemistry — btl_ammonium, btl_nitrate, btl_nitrite, btl_phosphate, btl_silicate, isus_v
- Productivity & Pigments — btl_chlorophyll_a, btl_phaeopigment, fluorescence_v, par, spar
Access
Every endpoint this dataset can be reached through, grouped by how you would use it. Every URL is in the release record and answered when the release was cut.
Explore
Apps that read this dataset from the release. A row marked “this dataset” opens with it already selected.
https://calcofi.io/explore/?datasets=calcofi_ctd-cast
https://app.calcofi.io/station/?dataset=calcofi_ctd-cast
https://app.calcofi.io/hex/?datasets=calcofi_ctd-cast
https://app.calcofi.io/cruise/?datasets=calcofi_ctd-cast
https://calcofi.io/ctd-transects/
https://app.calcofi.io/ctd/
Query
SQL against the release itself, in the browser — nothing to install and nothing downloaded until a query asks for it. __TBL:obs__ resolves to the pinned release’s parquet.
-- calcofi_ctd-cast in the CalCOFI release v2026.09.05
SELECT *
FROM __TBL:obs__
WHERE dataset_key = 'calcofi_ctd-cast'
LIMIT 100;https://calcofi.io/db-query/?sql=--+calcofi_ctd-cast+in+the+CalCOFI+release+v2026.09.05%0ASELECT+%2A%0AFROM+__TBL%3Aobs__%0AWHERE+dataset_key+%3D+%27calcofi_ctd-cast%27%0ALIMIT+100%3B#sql-shell--shell
Code
The same release, from a script.
con <- calcofi4r::cc_get_db()
calcofi4r::cc_cite("calcofi_ctd-cast")con = calcofi4py.cc_get_db()
calcofi4py.cite("calcofi_ctd-cast")SELECT * FROM read_parquet('https://storage.googleapis.com/calcofi-db/ducklake-staging/tables/obs/dataset_key=calcofi_ctd-cast/289cd370d793e56e0f98ad92/data_0.parquet') LIMIT 100;Get the data
Every way to have the bytes, by source. Nothing here asks you to register first.
Files from the release (Parquet)
The frozen objects this release is made of. A partition holds only this dataset’s rows; a shared table holds every dataset’s, so filter on dataset_key.
https://storage.googleapis.com/calcofi-db/ducklake-staging/tables/obs/dataset_key=calcofi_ctd-cast/289cd370d793e56e0f98ad92/data_0.parquet
CF netCDF
One self-describing file, for a tool that reads netCDF.
how far this file is CF
Fully CF: this dataset has one sampling level with many depths per event, which is exactly a CF profile, so it needs no extension beyond the standard.
https://storage.calcofi.io/calcofi-files-public/netcdf/calcofi_ctd-cast/v2026.09.04/calcofi_ctd-cast.nc
how far this file is CF
Fully CF: a single sampling level with a depth axis is a CF profile, so this dataset needs no extension beyond the standard.
https://storage.calcofi.io/calcofi-files-public/netcdf/calcofi_ctd-cast_full/v2026.09.04/calcofi_ctd-cast_full.nc
ERDDAP (erddap.calcofi.io)
One ERDDAP dataset per grain, each with its own data formats and its own pages. Subset in the browser or query it from a script.
- full resolution (pre-thinning)
- the unthinned series, every bin as the instrument recorded it
- observations
- one row per measurement, joined to the event it was taken on
- sampling events
- one row per cast, tow or transect — when, where and how it was sampled
Legacy ids, still answering until 2026-12-04: calcofi_ctd_thin (replaced by calcofi_ctd-cast) · calcofi_ctd_measurement (replaced by calcofi_ctd-cast_full)
From the provider
The dataset as its provider publishes it, before CalCOFI ingested it.
https://calcofi.org/data/oceanographic-data/ctd-cast-files/
Metadata records
Records about the data, in the standards each portal harvests.
https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/metadata/iso19115/xml/calcofi_ctd-cast_iso19115.xml
https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/metadata/fgdc/xml/calcofi_ctd-cast_fgdc.xml
https://calcofi.io/datasets/calcofi_ctd-cast.jsonld
https://calcofi.io/datasets/calcofi_ctd-cast.json
https://calcofi.io/data.json
https://calcofi.io/stac/#/collections/calcofi_ctd-cast/collection.json
Archives & portals
Where this dataset is registered outside calcofi.io, by the identifier each portal knows it as.
https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/info/calcofi_ctd-cast/index.html
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22281994
Everything here is open — nothing on calcofi.io asks you to register first. If this dataset ends up in something you build or publish, register your use so it can be credited and linked back; to hear when a release changes it, stay informed. Questions: data@calcofi.io.
Cite
CalCOFI. (2023). CalCOFI CTD Cast Files. CalCOFI.org.BibTeX
@misc{calcofi_ctd-cast,
title = {CalCOFI CTD Cast Files},
howpublished = {CalCOFI. (2023). CalCOFI CTD Cast Files. CalCOFI.org.},
year = {2023}
}…and the release it came from
CalCOFI (2026). CalCOFI Integrated Database, release v2026.09.05 [Data set]. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA Fisheries, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. https://calcofi.io/db-schema/?v=v2026.09.05BibTeX
@misc{calcofi_release_v2026_09_05,
title = {CalCOFI Integrated Database, release v2026.09.05},
author = {CalCOFI},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA Fisheries, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife},
url = {https://calcofi.io/db-schema/?v=v2026.09.05}
}